We are a group from Latvia - Evija, Kate, Sanita, Krišjānis, and Rinalds! All of us are colleagues from the Riga Northern Cultural Association.

We really enjoy bringing culture to life and being young people in the cultural field. Even though our daily tasks are very different, only by working together can we bring culture to people the way we do - with joy, love, and a never-ending creative journey. As Latvians, we might look shy at first - basically, our small talk skills come fully loaded only after a few deep breaths.. 😃 Curious what it’s like to be a Latvian? Check out this funny clip: https://ej.uz/beinglatvian

We also like to joke about ourselves: https://ej.uz/aboutlatvianlastnames

Greetings from Latvia! We can’t wait to meet you all in Kotor! :)

Our team is a colorful mix of talents, passions, and slightly chaotic energy that somehow always works out perfectly together:

Julie – the soul of an artist, who can turn every idea into a drawing, a film, or even a card game. She brings stories to life faster than others manage to open their laptops.

Sofia – the multilingual connector , always ready to organize, translate, and make everyone feel at home. She claims she’s “just coordinating events,” but secretly she’s building entire cultural universes.

Tereza – the storyteller of inclusion , who believes that words can change the world. With her, every discussion turns into something meaningful (and usually also funny).

Valeria – the poetic explorer, who dances between art, writing, and hosting. She has a talent for creating warm, magical spaces where everyone feels safe to share their voice.

Matěj – the hacker-teacher, who can explain IT security and edit a video in Adobe Premiere before the rest of us have even found the WiFi password.

Together we are like five very different instruments – but when we play, the melody is surprisingly in tune.

We come from a country where beer is cheaper than water, dumplings are considered a national treasure, and people disappear into forests every autumn to hunt mushrooms like it’s a national sport. If you ever visit us, don’t be surprised to meet a carp living in someone’s bathtub before Christmas dinner.

Well, I can only confirm these as 100% true.

As dark as that might seem, I will personally make sure that it will be fun having us around, even if there could be some collateral damage.

Regards,

Julka, Sofia, Tereza, Valeria and Matěj from the Czech team

We'll also reflect on how this youth exchange can support our own learning process and which tools Erasmus+ has to facilitate this.

And of course, in the evening more time to explore KOTOR in a fun and intercultural way.

In the afternoon Manos and Miki have prepared an activity in which we'll take a closer look at diversity and inclusion. And of course, some good examples of all of us can help us understand better how we can make cultural spaces more inclusive.

And be ready for a nice intercultural game in the evening!

In the afternoon we'll continue "our journey" observations!

And of course as every day, we"ll have a moment of reflection (youth pass) to see how our own learning process is taking shape.

The key question will be "Safe Spaces in practice. How can cultural centres create authentic, inclusive environments—especially for young people, LGBTQIA+ groups, and racial/ethnic minorities?

We'll meet with

• Hamish McIntosh from New Zealand who is dancer and researcher;

• Patrick Krebs (theatre maker from Slovakia – Divadlo bez domova who work with homeless people;

• Kaća Dimitrijević who is an artist from Serbia;

• Amin Srasra, co-initiator of Qace, a community-based network focused on empowering marginalised voices through art and activism.

These encounters can help us understand better what it means to create really inclusive spaces for all young people.

We'll have dinner in the hostel and some free time to discover the surroundings.

In the afternoon, we'll discover more interesting examples of how cultural can be a tool for inclusion and/or go deeper into our own experiences and try to identify steps we can take to change something!

Of course as every day we'll have a moment of reflection and looking at our own learning journey.

In the evening we're invited to a concert!

And in the afternoon we'll go on a boat tour!

Relaxing evening and enjoying the time together!

We'll look together at how we can learn from this experience and give feedback on how things can be improved in the future. You're Youth Pass is waiting for you!

And of course, a good farewell party (Manu Chao is in town!!) to close our week together in Kotor!

Lunch will be brought by an external catering service. So, we'll have a packed lunch which makes it easy for us to go outside or to be flexible!

Dinner will be in hostel, except on Sundays and normally is between 18:30 -19:30.

Before the dinner we'll always have a moment of getting together and looking back at the day!

Today we kicked off this amazing experience! The first day was all about getting to know each other, planning the week ahead, and ending with a guided tour through the charming Old Town of Kotor 🏰🌊. The perfect start to what’s coming next!

And after dinner found a nice place near the water where we shared with the rest of the group some fun facts about our countries. And guess what...the Latvian group had brought some nice candies and drinks to share! A perfect closure of the day!

And of course we also had to organise a birthday party! Happy birthday Matej! Your love for mountains and nature has definitely inspired all of us for exploring more the beautiful surrounding here in Kotor.