Inauguration of the Youth Space at the National Library of Latvia (NLL) and Second Physical Project Partners’ Meeting

The collaboration with the Young Architects’ Club Atelpa has reached its final stage, culminating in the introduction of newly designed features and furniture created by aspiring architects. During the inauguration event, 50 visitors had the opportunity to explore the results of this innovative co-creation process.
“It is important that a space for youth is created by young people themselves through a co-creation process,” said Katrīna Kukaine, Director of the NLL Development Department, during her opening speech.

By focusing on young people as its primary target audience, the NLL aims to enhance the accessibility of public library services for the population of Latvia. The Youth Space will encourage more active participation of young people in educational and cultural activities while fostering creativity and improving digital literacy.
The space opening event showcased a successful example of a public-private partnership involving a state-level cultural institution (NLL), a higher education institution (Riga Technical University), NGOs (the Latvian National Library Foundation and the Young Architects Club Atelpa), and private enterprises (Creative Tuesdays, Latvijas Finieris, Acoustic Technologies, Lemona Latvia, among others). These contributors supported the creation of the space’s design, furniture, and technological solutions.

The event was attended by Baltic-UKH project partners from Hamburg, Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Oslo, as well as young people, cooperation partners, visitors, and library staff. It provided an excellent opportunity for project partners to meet in Riga and celebrate this special occasion together.
During the opening address, lead partner Miriam Green expressed her hope that this collaboration would extend beyond the project’s duration. She also looked forward to returning in the future to witness the transformation that the new Youth Space will bring to the NLL.

Since representatives from all partner organizations and local projects traveled to Riga for the inauguration, a partners’ meeting was held from 4 to 6 November. Following digital focus interviews led by Jamie Johnston from OsloMet, which reflected on the pilot activities in Riga, Hamburg, Aarhus, and Copenhagen, as well as feedback gathered from participants at the Bibliotheca Baltica Symposium in Warsaw, the toolbox reached a new stage of development. The meeting in Riga served as a platform to jointly discuss its further progression and finalize deliverables for the next stages. The toolbox’s finalization is planned for spring 2025, which will be the primary focus of the next physical partners’ meeting in Oslo.

Additionally, the participants delved deeper into planning the fourth partners’ meeting, which will coincide with the final conference scheduled for June 2025 in Copenhagen.

Beyond the productive sessions, partners had the opportunity to explore Latvian history by visiting the newly reopened National History Museum of Latvia, located in Riga Castle. The visit concluded with a guided tour of the new library facilities at the University of Latvia Campus in Torņakalns. Thanks to the Latvian hosts, the time in Riga was not only productive but also enjoyable. Now, all partners are ready to roll up their sleeves and continue the work ahead!

Authors: Viktorija Piščikova and Miriam Green

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