Programme

Kommunalka-Community 

The public programme of Survival Kit 11 took place both as a series of events at the festival, and outside of it, as a series of broadcasts on Radio Naba. 

The programme’s title, Kommunalka-Community, points to the questions and problems we in Latvia face in developing an inclusive society. In our reluctance to accept people belonging to ethnic, racial, or sexual minority groups—it is as if some of us still feel that living together is once again being forced upon us, as it was in the kommunalka or communal flat, where very different people found themselves sharing living space during the Soviet era. At the same time, the English word community seems to invite us to think about forms of shared life based on positive and inclusive interactions. What is and what could be the model of Latvian society? In this space, we tried to explore problems, encourage discussions and seek solutions for developing a more inclusive future society.

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Programme

OPENING
CAN CONTEMPORARY ART PROMOTE CIVIC PARTICIPATION?
WHITE NIGHT: Culture Forum
INSECURITY AS A CHOICE: Discussion
GIORGIO AGAMBEN: Book translation opening
RESIGNATION: Performance/Installation
COMMUNAL-HOW? THE COMMON FUTURE OF LATVIA: Discussion
COMMUNAL-HOW?: Poetry Readings
INTRODUCTORY COURSE IN SELF-DEFENSE with artist Evitu Goze
FREEDOM AND CONTROL: Evening School Reading
PICNIC WITH LIGA SPUNDE
I AM A LATVIAN, BUT DO YOU LET ME BE?: Discussion
UNUSED POTENTIAL = RADICALIZATION?: Discussion
URBAN ORNITHOLOGY WORKSHOP for Kids and Teens

I AM A LATVIAN, BUT DO YOU LET ME BE?: Discussion

What is a Latvian? What is it like to be a Latvian? Simple questions, the answers to which should not be sought in one's mind. At the same time, it is inexplicable, because as many people, as many truths, but is one truth superior to another? Since the founding of the state and before it, Latvians have lived and will continue to live in the territory of Latvia, each with their own truth - Latvians who were born as such, Latvians who became such, Latvians who may not even know that they are Latvians! How to measure one's Latvianness? How much should one do, give or take to be a Latvian?

The conversation was moderated by Miks Celmiņš (Head of the Inclusive Society Foundation "Make Room").

Participants included:

Nikita Trojanskis, Cambridge University graduate, blogger, SPKC epidemiologist.

Agnese Lāce, leading researcher in migration and integration at PROVIDUS.

Abu Sohail Rehman, foreign student, future doctor.

Andrejs Judins, member of the 13th Saeima, chairman of the Citizenship, Migration and Social Cohesion Committee of the Saeima.

Roberto Meloni, an Italian-Latvian artist and TV host.