As part of the European Union’s Horizon Europe project Cultural Literacies’ Value in Europe (CLiViE), the Daugavpils University team has created four Maps of Meaning that depict the process of meaning-making. These Maps of Meaning were developed in collaboration with children, young people, artists, and educators, and they reflect the emotional, social, cognitive, and spatiotemporal aspects characteristic of meaning-making. They offer an opportunity to document subjective processes that are often difficult to express in words and that traditional research methods do not always capture. This approach expands the spectrum of empirical data, allowing for a deeper understanding of identity formation, social cohesion, and the mechanisms of meaning-making in various sociocultural contexts.

The Map of Meaning created within the case study The Other in Art and Life illuminates young people’s involvement in a mini-project implemented by Daugavpils University in cooperation with the Rothko Museum. Over a period of five months, through participation in interactive workshops, exploring the museum’s behind-the-scenes work, and engaging in creative experiments, the young people learned to perceive art not only as viewers, but also as active participants who, through the artistic process, encountered otherness and developed new understandings of themselves and the world around them. This Map of Meaning reveals the emotional, social, and cognitive aspects that helped the young participants not only expand their cultural knowledge and creative skills, but also build new relationships, develop collaboration skills, and overcome insecurity when presenting in front of an audience.

The Map of Meaning of the case study Learn from Ancestors to be Open and Self-Confident in the Future! provides an overview of five different creative workshops (learning about and making ancient folk instruments, practically learning the basics of cooking, creating traditional Latvian animal masks, making traditional birch bark bracelets, making soap from natural ingredients) held at Daugavpils Secondary School of Opportunities between February 21 and May 20, 2025 and presents their main results. The document can be used as an informative supplement for Latvian secondary schools in a lesson like “Design and Technology” (age group: 10-13), visual-textual material for the inclusion into the conference presentations and for the needs of sister projects.

The Map of Meaning of the case study Polish Cultural-Historical Heritage was designed as a video presentation based on the data collected during the case study. From February to May 2025 by the 11^th grade students of J. Pilsudski Daugavpils Polish State Gymnasium under the guidance of their teacher created an online quest aimed at exploring the Polish cultural and historical heritage of Daugavpils and the surrounding area. The video highlights what the students thought and felt, creating an engaging story that reflects the key points they shared in their questionnaires and interviews. This interactive activity helped them learn about the local history and cultural heritage in a creative and engaging way.

The case study titled Together We Rise presents a visual representation of children’s experiences, highlighting their engagement in a project conducted by Daugavpils University in collaboration with the NGO HVARAN. From April to June 2025, children aged 10 to 13 participated in five sporting activities held at key locations across the city. Throughout those activities, the children were given the opportunity to cultivate new insights regarding both their individual identities and the broader context of their environment. They came to recognize sport as a vital instrument for personal development, while also serving as a constructive alternative to disengagement and anti-social behaviour. The Map of Meaning illuminates the emotional, social, and cognitive dimensions that contribute to the development of children’s physical and mental wellbeing. Furthermore, it fosters the establishment of new relationships, enhances collaboration skills, and strengthens the sense of belonging to their sports club, family, city, and nation.

Further information:
Project team lead at Daugavpils University:
Associate Professor and Lead Researcher Alīna Romanovska
alina.romanovska@du.lv

The project has received funding from the European Union’s “Horizon Europe” Research and Innovation programme under the grant agreement No. 101132285.