News

The First ACE²-EU European University Alliance Congress and “Kaleidoscope Culture Festival” Held in Ingolstadt

From 22 to 24 October, twenty-four students from the Latvian Academy of Culture (LAC) participated in the activities organised by the ACE²-EU European University Alliance in Ingolstadt, Germany. The students took part in three short-cycle Applied Blended Challenge (ABC) programmes and in the first “Kaleidoscope Culture Festival”. A delegation of seven LAC academic staff members also travelled to Germany to attend the first Alliance Congress and to contribute to the implementation of the festival programme.

New resource for museum professionals: Nina Simon's book "The Participatory Museum" published in Latvian

The Latvian translation of Nina Simon's book "The Participatory Museum" has been prepared and published – it can be considered a handbook that brings together various ideas and examples of museum collaboration with communities in the creation of exhibitions, displays and public programs, and reinforces the relevance of the idea of participatory engagement. "When staff members don't know what to expect from visitors, it's easy to imagine the worst" writes Nina Simon, encouraging us to get to know our museum audience better and understand the desired model of cooperation.

In cooperation with the SPOTTERON Citizen Science App Platform a project takes place regarding digital civic participation of youth

In October, the scientific assistants, Asnāte Kalēja and Laura Brutāne, at the Institute of Culture and Arts (KMI) of the Latvian Academy of Culture (LKA), along with 4th-year students of the LKA sub-program “Culture and Arts Studies,” Marta Dieviņa and Andis Daugavvanags, began LKA funded research project “Possibilities of the photo elicitation method in promoting digital civic participation of youth: the example of the urban environment of Riga, Latvia”, in which mobile app “CiVo - Citizen Voice” running on the SPOTTERON Citizen Science App Platform (https://www.spotteron.net) is co-used to document civic participation of youth in the urban environment of Riga.

At the international conference researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and young people will explore the meaning of authentic youth participation in contemporary society

On November 5, 2025, the Latvian Academy of Culture (LAC) will host an international scientific conference “Youth Civic Participation: Decorative or Authentic? Formal or Meaningful?” at the LAC Theatre House “Zirgu pasts” (46 Dzirnavu Street, Riga) and online. The event will bring together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and young people from seven countries to discuss the current trends in youth participation in the 21st century and share the latest research findings in the youth field.