LALIFE Project Researchers Launch Research and Collaboration in Latgale

In July this year, researchers from the Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) FLPP project Caring for Democracy: Life-Making Practices in Geopolitical Uncertainty (LALIFE) travelled to Latgale to begin anthropological fieldwork and establish collaboration with representatives of the region’s media and arts sectors.

In early July, LALIFE researcher Zanda Gailume-Zohar participated in an expedition to the Nautrēni cultural space, conducting research in Rogovka and the surrounding area together with researchers from RSU, the Archives of Latvian Folklore, the Latvian Academy of Culture, RTU Rēzekne Academy, and the Latgalian cultural movement “Volūda”.

On 16 July, project researchers Ieva Puzo, Aiga Ļaksa, Anna Žabicka, and Diāna Kiščenko visited the Latgale editorial office of Latvian Public Media (LSM) in Daugavpils, where they met with editor Madara Bērtiņa and discussed opportunities for collaboration in communicating the project’s findings and developing multimedia stories based on the project’s research data.

On 17 July, the project researchers visited the Branch of Latgale of the Art Academy of Latvia in Rēzekne, where they met with Head of the Branch Dana Zelča, lecturer Evija Vasilevska, and Assistant to the Head Raimonds Platacis. During the meeting, they discussed opportunities for collaboration on creative activities and explored ways to make the project’s research topics and findings accessible and engaging to a wider audience.

These meetings form part of the LALIFE project’s ongoing research and collaboration activities in Latgale, fostering connections between research, the regional media, the arts, and society.