The project will research the history of book in international and transdisciplinary perspectives in Latvia, turning its main attention to the potential of books (and the written word) to promote changes in society, build the identities of communities, and facilitate the transfer and dissemination of knowledge. Over the 500 years, the history of Latvian books has proven and continues to prove that the book has a significant role in the processes of political, social, cultural, economical change. The dissemination of books has been important in the changes of thinking, circulation of knowledge and building the value systems. The perspective through books can increase the knowledge of these processes significantly because it raises the issue of the dynamics of various forms of identity at several levels: both in regional, religious and social groups, and on a wider scale by bringing attention to Latvia’s Western and European cultural orientation. Located on the border between historical Eastern and Western regions, Latvian culture has been subject to various, often competing influences, but has convincingly joined the European cultural space. The project will address the question: in which forms has the development of the printed word influenced this process and does so today.

In the post-truth era we live in now, objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than emotions and personal belief. This post-truth reality is one of the reasons why fake news has proliferated and become so inescapable. On one hand, Internet and social media provide a new channel for fake news (misinformation/disinformation), on the other hand, people seldom verify the information/news they encounter. Misinformation is pervasive and could lead to serious consequences not only for individuals but also for the entire society. Thus, individuals need to be competent and intelligent users of information, should be able to critique the “news” being broadcast, and should be able to seek and find the information that is not being broadcast or otherwise prioritized by algorithms. In other words, in the post-truth age, critical thinking and news literacy skills seem to be the first line of defense for the survival of democracy.The main aims of this project are, firstly to develop a news literacy training course which will be designed to help individuals/adults to develop critical thinking skills needed to judge the reliability and credibility of news/information, and secondly empower trainers (such as librarians and other adult educators) to teach others the skills they need to become smart consumers of news and other information and engaged, informed participants in civic life. Main outputs of this projects will include a study report (O1), which will be based on literature and the findings of a survey on the news consumption, production and sharing behaviour of adults along with their needs for training on news literacy; a course content on news literacy (O2) which will be developed based on the findings and conclusions of the study report; a guidelines for trainers (O3) about how to implement the training course and how to teach adults (andragogy); a MOOC in five languages (O4), first part of which can be used by anyone who likes to learn or teach news literacy and the second part is for the trainers who intend to teach news literacy to adults. Project outcomes will benefit largely from the complementary knowledge and expertise of the partners, namely a public library (Belgrade City Library, RS), a higher education institution (Hacettepe University, TR), an adult education center (UPI Žalec, SI), and a national library (National Library of Latvia, LV). Literature search, both quantitative (data from survey, evaluation forms, pre and post tests) and qualitative (data from observations and feedback) methodologies along with several project management methodologies and tools will be employed. Within the project one transnational training activity will be organized to train-the-trainers (20). Trained trainers, afterwards, will train adults (80) in each country. Participants will be selected mainly based on their interest in the subject and personal qualities such as openness, communication skills, flexibility, and curiosity. Additionally four multiplier events will be organized (one in each partner country) to disseminate the intellectual outputs of the project. The desired impacts of the project are empowering adults with news literacy and critical thinking skills for post truth age to foster democracy and social inclusion; improved knowledge and skills of the partner organizations’ staff as future trainers on the subject; empowered librarians and adult trainers to teach news literacy; increased volume of cooperation between adult education providers from different sectors throughout Europe; providing effective online training content which is open to all. The project activities and results will produce benefits not only for the partners and subjects directly involved in the project but also for other indirect target groups and stakeholders across Europe and potentially the whole civil society at large, because project outputs will remain available also after the project ends. On all levels project will raise the awareness on the importance of critical thinking and news literacy competences. Trainers (who are trained within the project) will be of key importance for sustainability and long-term impact by ensuring the maintenance and the further development of the project outcomes. They will be using the training content and the guidelines (project outputs) in their day to day work. The potential for continuous use will secure the sustainability. Partners will keep using, further adapting, and developing when needed the course and guidelines (in other word the MOOC as a whole). Furthermore, when the project is completed all results/outputs will be licensed under Creative Commons which grants freedom to use, share copies, make and share remixes and other derivatives for any purpose. This will increase the long term impact (outreach, number of people who can benefit) and brings in a good potential for transferability as well sustainability.

The aim of the Project “Medical Information Literacy ” is to develop innovative international, professional continuing education programme based on the methods used by andragogy and to develop methodological materials (e-book) addressed to lecturers. The overriding goal of the Project is to increase the level of skills and abilities of the professionals working in libraries and information centre, to enhance their ability to fulfill the public international needs thus promoting the development of educated and knowledgeable society. Results expected during the project and on its completion:1) Innovative international, professional continuing education programme based on the methods used by Andragogy. The programme will be consisted of three parts: the basics of medical and health information searching; special health and medical information resources and evidence-based medicine. The programme will be approbate and evaluated by all partner organizations. The programme, thematic and lessons plans will be available online. 2) Methodological materials addressed to lecturers - e-book will be available online. The Project results would address the following parties: - Various types of library specialists from public, school, college, university and hospital libraries;- Healthcare sector professionals who are interested in reliable information for work purposes;- Health science lecturers who are interested in information for ensuring the study process;- European medical information specialists who plan to develop and/or to teach similar training programmes.Project participants are:1. Rīga Stradiņš University - a coordinator2. National Library of Latvia - a partner organization3. Lithuanian University of Health Science - a partner organization4. Tartu University Hospital - a partner organization5. Tallinn University - a partner organizationDuring the project, the achievements of the MIL project will be reinforced at local, regional, national and European levels through the on-going activities and communication about them ( social media, articles, involvement of experts and industry specialists, professional associations, etc.). Publicly accessible online materials and tools will be available not only in national languages of the participating countries but also in English, which will enable any user on European or international level to apply them. Furthermore, the developed materials could also be adapted to the needs of any other country or region.Project duration: 26 months (October, 2019 - November 2021)Project Total Grant: 141,815.00 EUR

"The project ""Media-practices of the Enlightenment"" combines study programmes and research clusters at the four partner sites. It follows a blended mobility strategy to develop new forms of international training that combine ICT elements with local and networkwide training activities with regard to future joint curricular accreditation.The thematic focus of the project takes on recent developments in Enlightenment research to understand the Enlightenment not so much as a fixed set of 18th century ideas but rather as an ongoing process of media-practices with the aim of public reason based critique and societal reforms. The European Republic of Letters of the Enlightenment developed medial formats from handwritten European newsletters like the ""Correspondance Littéraire"" and collective knowledge storages such as the ""Encyclopédie"" which can be seen as predecessors of current transnational medial forms and practices. The Enlightenment thus plays a crucial role in the establishment of a trans-national European public sphere with regards to ongoing debates and future developments.The partner-structure builds upon complementary competences in relevant aspects of the project with regard to archives, infrastructure and expertises e.g. in Digital Humanities and mirrors with academic and non-academic partners from France, Germany, and the Baltic states Latvia and Estonia a historical space of important cultural transfer processes. The project follows inter- and trans-disciplinary methods, methods from Digital Humanities, and approaches from transnational ""entangled history"" and cultural transfer research.At least 20 lecturers and 100 students will actively contribute to the training activities such as an Intensive Study Programme, internationally co-taught-Seminars, electronic lectures and courses, practice oriented participation in the production of exhibitions, data-bases, and digital libraries. Within the pilot project of an internationally supervised joint Master-Class a paradigm of future Joint MA-programmes is tested. Related to four Erasmus+ strategic priorities the measures of the programme will strengthen mobility of students and lecturers, develop new ICT-based teaching methods and internationalized curricula, and thus foster the excellence of study programmes and academic as well as non-academic employability.Intellectual Outputs such as a webplatform with integratet mooc-/moodle-system, exhibitions, web- and video-presentations, and a final book compendium will be disseminated via well-established platforms and networks of related non-academic institutions such as museums, libraries, and media companies. The dissemination strategy is grounded in the examination of transnational media-practices which will be used in the outreach activities of the project. The project thus proposes a sustainable contribution to ongoing public discussions on the European heritage of the Enlightenment."

The project “Cultural and creative ecosystem of Latvia as a resource of resilience and sustainability” is implemented by the research Consortium of the leading arts and cultural research, higher education and cultural heritage institutions - the Latvian Academy of Culture (LAC); Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLAM); the Art Academy of Latvia (AAL); the National Library of Latvia (NLL), and the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia (ILFA). The goal: to create new knowledge based on an interdisciplinary research approach about the 1) manifestations of the resilience of the cultural and creative ecosystem in the current processes, especially by shedding light on the dynamics of the cultural offer and accessibility in the face-to-face and digital environment, as well as the employment and education processes of the sector; 2) the connection with historical processes, emphasizing and evaluating the role of the Soviet period to understand the current culture and arts; 3) representations of the social and economic impact on the sustainable development of society. The new knowledge will be shared in 76 scholarly articles, 8 monographs, 77 international conferences, Master’s and Doctoral theses, and integrated into academic curricula of all levels. The team will develop 11 policy reports, ensuring knowledge transfer and an inclusive dialogue of researchers and cultural and creative sector, strengthening its self-confidence and resilience