Bench of discussions in Daugavpils - "LAVKA"

A discussion bench „LAVKA”, being popular in Daugavpils, has already taken place for times in our city and once also in Līvāni. LAVKA is a discussion event which encourages people to develop their knowledge across a variety of areas of life. In an informal setting the participants have the opportunity to meet with entrepreneurs and representatives of other professions who share their experiences on the progress made. The discussion bench LAVKA is organized by the association "D-JUNO", the author of the idea is Jeļena Dedele. This event is a real delight, because the initiative comes from the people who want to show their city in a positive perspective and involve residents of the city without asking anything in return.

Very interesting guests participated at the event, such as Sandra Poplavska-Rimicāne and Jānis Rimicāns from „Studija 3KM” who told about themselves, their creative work and program “Sajūti Latgali!” (“Feel Latgale!”), which is broadcasted on regional television Re:TV and National Television of Latvia. The aim of “Studija 3KM” is to popularize the Latgalian cultural values, creating a competitive and high-quality video broadcasts, short films, advertisements in  Latgale by involving and informing the civil society. “Sajūti Latgali!” (“Feel Latgale”) programs provide an opportunity to get to know Latgale and feel its magic. It breaks the stereotypes about Latgale as an underdeveloped region and shows the stories of enterprising and interesting people.

Aleksandrs Visockis un Valdis Užuls from the sports movement “Be Active” also had tried out LAVKA. These guys not only organize and lead weekly workouts “Friday Activities”, but also successfully participate in various events in the city and the republic. They shook up all the LAVKA participants also in the ZINOO center.

Olga and Valentīns from the cafe "Imbir" shared their dream come true of a small cafe in their hometown.

The core of “Stop Time Dance Studio” Aleksandrs Lukša inspired the participants by his story that everything is possible and you should only strive for what you want to do and achieve in your life.

Indeed, the discussion bench would be hardly possible without Viktorija Kozlovska and Jeļena Dedele, the authors of the idea and the spark of each event.

Information about the project “Get into the swing of the City!” within the framework of the programme URBACT III was outlined during the LAVKA event, as well as questionnaires were distributed during the event with a variety of questions on the business environment in Daugavpils, on the creative industry sphere of the city, on what young and creative people are missing in Daugavpils for their life, work and professional development. With the help of questionnaires organizers wanted to give the opportunity to all the participants to express anonymously their opinions, assessment of the work of the City Council in the corresponding field, to express their needs and define specific problems that young and creative people of Daugavpils face when they want to start their own business, to organize an event in the city, or they simply need information or other assistance. The information of this questionnaire will be summarized and incorporated into a local action plan within the framework of the project.

Photo and video from the event – on Facebook pages LAVKA.sarunusols. and Gen-Y City.