A group of six young people from the Jablanica group lived and created in Latvia at the end of September as part of a youth exchange. The goal of the European project Handicrafts (crafts) on the Erasmus+ program, in which the Association for Rural Development LAZ Partner, is to encourage young people to develop a desire to create by agreeing and learning traditional European crafts and perhaps find their profession.
The participants of the exchange from Latvia, Lithuania, Turkey, Romania and Slovenia spent 6 days in a fairy-tale mansion on the outskirts of Riga in Latvia, acquiring skills in various forms of art and crafts and at the same time training social skills in an international environment.
‘It was a superb and unforgettable experience that I would repeat immediately,’ the group leader Žan Hauptman was enthusiastic about the exchange. The craftsman Barbara Dacar was of the same opinion, who regrets that the older generations did not have similar experiences: ‘Daughter Neža connected with the participants extremely, so a Turkish woman comes to visit us at the beginning of next year, with whom she got along perfectly. This is a really wonderful experience for young people who were able to learn about other cultures, customs, food and, of course, create.’
The Handicrafts project with participants from 5 countries presented the cultural diversity of Europe, offered the opportunity for practical learning, influenced the reduction of youth unemployment and exposure to the risk of young people being excluded from social events.
The president of the Latvian association, Andra Vanaga, who hosted the exchange, believes that the main goal of the project is to make new friends and get to know the cultures of other countries, improve knowledge of English and communication skills, learn more about Latvia and get to know other nations and their crafts.