Photo: Baltictravelnews.com
Author: www.eas.ee
Source: www.eas.ee
Soon, six new Estonian-Latvian cooperation projects will be launched, focussing on classical and folk music, youth art education in Valga and Valka, and the organisation of craft markets on the border of Estonia and Latvia, near Ape, as well as urban rainwater drainage systems. In total, the Estonia-Latvia Programme is supporting these cooperation projects with nearly EUR 623 000. The Estonia-Latvia Programme is one of the European Territorial Cooperation Programmes, supported by the European Regional Development Fund.
"In this call for applications, many good ideas were presented. As the resources of the programme are about to be exhausted, the competition was tougher than usual and I am truly sorry that there was not enough money for all good proposals," said Head of Secretariat of the Estonia-Latvia Programme Peeter Unt. "At the same time, we are glad to see that there are so many people in both Estonia and Latvia who are truly interested in cooperation between neighbours", added Unt.
The project House of Sounds will renew the skills required for making and playing old traditional instruments (diatonic accordion "Levina" and stringed instrument zither, or kokle/kannel in native languages), during trainings for interested musicians in Krape and Põlva. Trainings will be accompanied by folk music festivals with concerts, special workshops and exhibitions. The methods of playing traditional music will also be introduced in radio programmes and on the Internet.
Classical music channels of Estonian and Latvian Public Broadcasting will carry out a cooperation project entitled Radio Classics. Through several programmes and reportages on different topics, one can learn about the classical music of one's neighbours. Special attention will be given to young musicians from local music schools during concert recordings organised particularly for this purpose.
The project Art School "Walk" will allow the youth from Valga to study in the Valka Art School in the future. As there is no separate art school in Valga, the Valka Art School will be developed as a joint art education centre, also offering educational programs in Estonian, in the future.
The neighbouring communities of Ape and Mõniste will cooperate in the project Idea on the Border to maintain handicraft skills and revive joint craft markets on the Estonian-Latvian border, which were once common. In addition, Estonians and Latvians will learn each other's language during the project.
Youth from Põlva and Ogre will come together within the project Young Active Creative. Together, they will learn the skills of organising visual arts and music events on the basis of real-life examples, as they are directly engaged in organising two notable youth festivals.
The project (D)rain for Life will explore the best ways to develop urban rainwater drainage systems. Using the examples of Baldone, Tartu, Riga and Pärnu, the project will look for the most natural ways to drain rainwater back into the environment without the use of expensive piping works. The project team will place a lot of emphasis on the active involvement of the public and specialists, as well as the training of local experts.
During the last four years, 57 cross-border projects have been supported by the programme to enhance Estonian-Latvian cooperation for developing border regions.
Additional information: www.estlat.eu
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