A Summer Course on Intangible Cultural Heritage and Climate Change to Take Place in Rīga and Carnikava

On 29 August in Rīga and on 30 August in Carnikava, participants of the summer course “Intangible Cultural Heritage and Climate Change” will gather to explore the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on living heritage.

The first in-person seminar will take place on 29 August at the Archives of Latvian Folklore, Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia (Mūkusalas Street 3, Rīga). Participants will focus on issues of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, its interaction with technologies, and will acquire practical tools for identifying risks posed by climate change.

The second in-person seminar will follow on 30 August at the Carnikava Local History Centre (Jomas Street 7, Carnikava). Here, participants will turn to intangible cultural heritage traditions from different countries already affected by climate change, and will also learn about the local tradition “Lamprey Fishing and Processing Skills in Carnikava”, included in the Latvian National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2019.

The course will bring together around twenty participants – students of cultural and environmental sciences, professionals in the field, custodians of intangible heritage, municipal employees, and other interested individuals engaged in the intersections of cultural heritage and climate change.

This summer course is part of the international ERASMUS+ project “Green Heritage. The Impact of Climate Change on the Intangible Cultural Heritage”, which unites partners and researchers from Latvia, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Belgium to highlight the direct and indirect effects of climate change on intangible cultural heritage and its sustainability. The Latvian partner in the project, the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia, is responsible for organising the in-person summer course for participants in Latvia.