First Advisory Board Meeting Held for the RSU LALIFE Project

On 23 January 2026, the first Advisory Board meeting of the Latvian Council of Science FLPP project Caring for Democracy: Life-Making Practices in Geopolitical Uncertainty (LALIFE) took place at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU).

During the meeting, the project team introduced the Advisory Board members to the project’s objectives, methodological approach, and planned activities, with a particular focus on life-making practices in the Latgale region. Discussions also addressed the main research directions, data collection strategies, and the project’s potential contributions to both academic research and policy-making.

The Advisory Board includes Dace Dzenovska, Associate Professor of Migration Anthropology at the University of Oxford; Vitālijs Rakstiņš, researcher and lecturer at RSU and an expert in security and crisis management; Anželika Litvinoviča, media expert and activist from Daugavpils; Raimonds Platacis, assistant to the Head of the Latgale Branch of the Art Academy of Latvia; and Iveta Ratinīka, Director of Āgenskalns State Gymnasium in Riga, poet, teacher, politician, and literary critic. The involvement of the Advisory Board will ensure an interdisciplinary perspective and support the further implementation of the project.

The project is being implemented over the course of three years (1 January 2026 - 31 December 2028), and it is led by Ieva Puzo, Leading Researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences, RSU.