24 April, 2018

In the last ecoRIS3 workshop, CIT hosted the meeting. This time we traveled to Vidzeme, a north-central region in Latvia.  With no time to see Riga, the capital of the country and the only place that was familiar to the partners that weren’t Latvian, we went to Valmiera where the first day's workshop took place.

During this workshop, all the partners presented and exchanged two “Best Practices” examples from their region. For the meeting, the group was joined by local Stakeholders from Cork: Martha Halbert (Cork City Public Participation Network Coordinator) and Darragh O’ Suilleabhain (EU Project Manager at Cork County Council) who presented the two “Best Practices" from Cork. 

Besides the talks and idea sharing we had during the workshops, these gatherings gave us the opportunity to get to know our partners and surroundings a little bit better. The trip was completed by visiting a local beer brewery -  Valmiermuiza Beer Boutique; an old school reconverted to a co-working space - Skola6; a science museum for kids where we challenged our minds - ZINOO and last but not least, The Institute for Environmental Solutions, where many different projects are managed, all of which are related to the environment and to health. 

As mentioned before, Riga was the place that we thought innovation and creativity would be placed in Latvia, but thanks to this extraordinary visit, we realized the potential that this region has. 

Thank you very much to the Vidzeme Planning Region for arranging everything, we are looking forward to coming back again!