From October 25 to October 31, 2025, Daugavpils University ERASMUS +  students participated in a Civic AF (as future) programme organised in collaboration with the Embassy of Sweden in Latvia, the Danish Cultural Institute, the Royal Danish Embassy in Riga, and Daugavpils University. The program aimed to promote civic engagement and participation. The lectures were presented by experts in advertising, campaigns, storytelling, and activism. The students engaged in sparking conversations with other participants on how they can develop resilience and participate in civic activities within their respective contexts.

The programm has offered a space where participants could strengthen their mental well-being and resilience, opportunities to understand media and tackle disinformation, to explore civic participation and activism, experience a supportive environment to express identity and foster inclusion, to contribute to sustainability and gender equality and to acquire creative tools to tell stories and inspire others.

As one of the participants of the programme, Koketsso reflected: “From the day we met and hosted the team at Daugavpils University to the last day of the residency, all engagements were meaningful and carefully crafted. The experience of selecting a second-hand shirt from the R.D.A. store and later using a screen-printing tool to make a design on the shirt was the highlight for me – and this was just on the first day.”

“It is imperative for individuals to have personal and intrinsic motivations for civic and environmental action, as it is through our inner convictions that meaningful change becomes possible. These were my sentiments throughout the programme. It was a very creative and interdisciplinary residency format, sparking ideas not only for the change I would like to effect as a person but also for approaches in my environmental education classroom as a teacher.”

The Civic AF* programme was guided by the values of gender equality, diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunities. The programme actively supports youth participation and promotes social sustainability. It provided a supportive learning environment where all voices were valued and different perspectives were welcomed.

Further information:
Daugavpils University professor, Ph. D. Dzintra Iliško
dzintra.ilisko@du.lv