Summary meeting in Latvia (April 2023)

The sixth and last meeting of the Erasmus+ “European Future Skills” project took place in Latvia, Ventspils 3.pamatskola.

The students participated in activities related to the theme of the project, which aims to develop skills such as critical thinking, autonomy and cooperation. They took part in workshops and debates on the skills needed to apply for different professions, as well as exchanging ideas about their dream job and using 3D technology.

Monday

On the first day, both students and teachers visited Riga, the capital city. The group had an amazing excursion to the Old Town. This charming maze of narrow and crooked cobblestone streets is filled with a mixture of architectural styles including Nordic, Gothic, Renaissance, baroque and Jugendstil, plus such historic sites as the 13th-century Riga Castle, St. Peter’s Church, the Swedish Gate and the Freedom Monument.

After the lunch the students and teachers visited Cinevilla Studios. A visit to Cinevilla was like travelling in a time machine – we saw what Riga looked like about a hundred years ago.

There is a church, bridges, market squares, cobblestone streets, Daugava embankment and boats, tramway, military machinery and a lot of other props at Cinevilla, offering visitors insight into the film making business.

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Tuesday

On the second day, all the participants had the excursion around the school to get acknowledged with the way the students are studying, the way their ordinary school life is organised.

After that the meeting with Erasmus+ volunteers was organised, where the volunteers told about their experience of doing volunteering. Then students tried the Icebreaking activities provided by the volunteers, all the participants were split up into groups and played the icebreaking games. That helped not only to know each other better, but also to learn the skills of teamwork, co-operation and friendship.

During the afternoon the project participant visited the PĀRVENTAS library, where they attended a workshop of local handicrafts.

This day ended with a charming concert, where the students from the city and school of Ventspils performed.

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Wednesday

On the third day, the students visited the Science Centre VIZIUM. The task of VIZIUM is to educate children and youth about STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics — using exhibitions, creative workshops and science shows.

VIZIUM is like a future city, where more than 80 interactive and educational exhibits, including creative workshops and science shows, offer to learn science and find out about such topics as physics and maths, modern technology and programming, healthy lifestyle, human and self-exploration, geography etc.

During this visiting the students worked in a robotics workshop as well. At the end of the activities each group also got to know the company Azeron, a start-up company selling gaming keypads worldwide. In the afternoon, a tour around the city took place, during which the project group also visited the concert hall “Latvia” and the musical library.

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Thursday

The fourth day of the Erasmus+ project started with a German creative and fascinating workshop. The students had several challenges: to think over their dream job, the skills they have and need to have in order to get a job, important things related to the future job, to discuss their ideas with other participants.

Then students had a workshop provided by the Greece team.

After the lunch, all the participants went on a tour to Kuldīga, where they visited the Kuldīga District Museum. It was possible to learn a little more about the country’s history. The students got to know Kuldiga, where they could observe the famous “Flying Fish”, as well as discovered the city through adventure game “The nuances of the Old Town”.

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Friday

On the last day of the Erasmus+ project all partner countries gathered at the school to celebrate and live the last day after a week full of emotions and activities in Ventspils. In the morning the students participated in sports activities at the school sports hall. Then the students and teachers went to TestDevLab, where they learned about software testing.

In the afternoon the Portuguese, Germans, Estonians, Spanish and Greeks were offered a lunch prepared by the students and their hosts in families as a form of gratitude for this week of sharing.

In conclusion, the students and teachers received certificates of participation in the mobility in Latvia.

It was an intense week of work and also fun. It was amazing with its friendly and warm atmosphere. Everyone could feel as a member of a huge team. Once again, this school exchange gave them the unique opportunity to interact with students from other countries to create bonds of friendship.

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During this week, 2 coordinators meetings took place, where important issues related to the completion of the project were discussed.

As it was the last mobility of this project, it was considered that the specific objectives of this project were achieved, above all, by the strong bonds of friendship created between teachers, students, host families and school.

Dissemination:

• Spain: Diari la Vila Digital.