On February 5, 2026, in Vilnius, Lithuania, the “Seeing is Believing” event took place within the framework of the European Union Horizon Europe project Cultural Literacies’ Value in Europe (CliViE). The team of Daugavpils University was represented by Dr.philol., IHSS lead researcher Oksana Kovzele.

The aim of the “Seeing is Believing” clustering seminar in Lithuania was to introduce CliViE project participants to the latest methods in cultural education for children and young people and to provide them with the possibility to try these methods in practice in close collaboration with artists. For this purpose, the Lithuanian National Gallery of Art was chosen as the venue. Located in central Vilnius on the banks of the Neris River, it is a national centre for 20^th and 21^st century art.

At the opening of the “CliViE Seeing is Believing” event, the participants had the opportunity to attend the launch of a Pop-up exhibition. The exhibition is dedicated to issues in cultural education and to the existing possibilities for evaluating cultural impact. It provides an insight into the case studies carried out in partner countries within the CliViE project, which offer innovative approaches to promoting cultural literacy among children and the youth. Visitors reflected on the key concepts of the project and the topicality of the presented case studies.

The opening of the exhibition was followed by a presentation by the event organizers – the creative professionals’ community Kūrybinės Jungtys (Lithuania) – about their achievements in cultural education for children and the youth and the creativity-enhancing methods they most frequently use in practice.

Later, the participants were given the opportunity to explore the Lithuanian National Gallery of Art exhibition dedicated to the topic of Soviet mass deportations. This tragic chapter in the history of the Baltic states was presented by the curator of the exhibition, Eglė Nedzinskaitė, who also answered the project participants’ questions.

The content-rich first part of the event was followed by a series of creative workshops. The project participants discussed ways and forms of expressing protest in various genres of art; visualized stereotypes about relationships between children and adults; and took part in diverse icebreaking activities that practicing artists offer to younger generations in their everyday work.

The “CliViE Seeing is Believing” event in Lithuania concluded with the participants’ reflections on what they had seen and experienced. IHSS lead researcher O. Kovzele took part in a video interview that would form part of the upcoming CliViE project documentary film.

Additional information about the event:
IHSS lead researcher Oksana Kovzele
e-mail: oksana.kovzele@du.lv

Additional information about the CliViE project:
Daugavpils University Associate Professor and lead researcher Alīna Romanovska
alina.romanovska@du.lv

Photo: Oksana Kovzele

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