In the period from 12.12.23. -15.12.23. ViA representative Linda Murane went to the Frence, Rennes to meet BASICC project partners from France, Belgium, Italy and Germany. During the meeting, the work done within the first work package was presented.
The activities are implemented by the Erasmus+ project “Building Alternative Skills to Implement Creativities and Commons, No. 101111802” and are co-financed from the European Union budget.
In November, representatives of ViA together with the organization "Free Riga" went on an experience exchange tour to get to know each other and better understand the experiences and needs in the restoration of abandoned and uninhabited places. ViA together with Free Riga visited and studied experiences in Riga, Līgatne and Cēsis.
The activities are implemented by the Erasmus+ project “Building Alternative Skills to Implement Creativities and Commons, No. 101111802” and are co-financed from the European Union budget.
From 11.10.23.-13.10.23. Linda Murāne went to Brussels, where with the organization "Free Riga" and other project partners, she had the opportunity to "step into the shoes of French students" and participate in a training session with the aim of getting to know the experience of creating Brussels communes in uninhabited buildings. During the meeting, it was discussed that the creation of communes in abandoned buildings often has a negative connotation due to its specific subculture, but in fact it is one of the ways that can solve the housing crisis and find temporary housing for people who need it.
During the experience visit, it was learned that each commune has its own administrative model, which solves the daily situations of the community and promotes the development of projects in cooperation with municipalities. Through the projects, it is possible to organize various events to help people who are in a crisis situation, and often a large number of artists are located in the communes and it is a great platform to promote business and get the necessary support. The French students attended the training session to obtain the certificate, but the BASICC project partners attended to familiarize themselves with the course and structure of the training, so that the knowledge gained could then be integrated into their own country context.
The activities are implemented by the Erasmus+ project “Building Alternative Skills to Implement Creativities and Commons, No. 101111802” and are co-financed from the European Union budget.
A contemporary Ukrainian research-based digital art game for developing narrative skills and cinema literacy
In collaboration with Kharkiv State Academy of Culture
The MSCA4Ukraine research program
Part of the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Project No. 1233058
Implementation time: 01/04/2023-31/03/2025
Budget: 146 659,20 EUR
TEAM
Yuliia Kovalenko
Researcher
Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences
Associate professor
Kharkiv State Academy of Culture
Kristaps Biters
Producer and technical director
Matīss Stepiņš
Digital artist
Daņiils Goba
Programmer
Ieva Gintere
Scientific consultant
Lead researcher
Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences
The team is working on an educational virtual environment CineGame Ukraine to represent modern Ukrainian cinema, as well as, in cooperation with the Kharkiv State Academy of Culture, to support cinematography students in the process of creating cinema narrative and studying contemporary aesthetics.
The project envisages further development of modern cultural heritage and research on serious art games carried out at ViA since 2018.
Results
D1.2 Master's thesis, supported by academic mentor Ieva Gintere
Oleksandr Poberaylo (Master’s degree program Audiovisual Art and Production). The thesis entitled “Interactive cinema: history, typology, artistic techniques”
D3.2, D3.3, the CineGame prototype: https://cinegame.va.lv/
D3.1, CineGame design document
Q2 article: Gintere, I., Kovalenko, Y., Misjuns, A., Peters, J. (2025). The Weirdness – Openness Paradigm in Contemporary Aesthetics. Cogent Arts & Humanities (Q2). Taylor & Francis, doi: 10.1080/23311983.2025.2469438, available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2469438
D2.1 Article in the proceedings: Kovalenko, Y., Gintere, I., Misjuns, A. (2025). Using Serious Art Games to promote the Circulation of Ideas Embodied in Contemporary Aesthetics. Proceedings of the 17th International Conference of Computer Supported Education (CSEDU2025). Institute for Systems and Technologies of Information, Control and Communication, Prague, SciTePress library, available here.
Presentations at international scientific conferences
D2.2 Kovalenko, Y., Gintere, I., Misjuns, A. (2025). Using Serious Art Games to promote the Circulation of Ideas Embodied in Contemporary Aesthetics. 17th International Conference of Computer Supported Education (CSEDU). Porto, 1st-3rd April 2025.
Kovalenko, Y. (2025). CineGame Ukraine: Integrating Gamification in Filmmaking Education through Interactive Storytelling. Innovations in Publishing, Printing and Multimedia Technologies. 18th International scientific-practical conference. Kaunas Kolegija, Lithuania, 10th April, 2025.
Kovalenko, Y. (2024). Immersive Narratives: Blending Cinematic Storytelling with Serious Gaming and Interactive Filmmaking. International Scientific Conference of Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences “Society. Technologies. Solutions”, April 12th, 2024.
Kovalenko, Y. (2024). Updating and preservation of audiovisual collections in the digital space of Ukraine. The 9th Baltic Sea Region Film History Conference. Latvian Academy of Culture, Riga, June 6th-8th, 2024 “Exploring the Past and Future of Audiovisual Media in the Baltic Sea Region: Archives, Digital Platforms, Researchers and Spectators”.
Seminars and networking events (D1.2)
On October 22nd 2024, the results have been presented at the Ted4Lat Doctorate school of Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, Paris, https://ted4lat.workshop.inrae.fr/program
Kauno Kolegija Higher Education Institution International Days (Lithuania, 14-16 May 2024)
Staff training/teaching visit to the University of Donja Gorica (Montenegro, 22-26 April 2024), approved by MSCA as Erasmus+ funding
International Week “Connecting Europe!” (St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, Austria, 25-28 November 2024)
Staff Training Week “Local and Global Education” (University of Akureyri, Iceland, 6-10 May 2024)
European Research & Innovation Days 2024 (Brussels, 20-21 March 2024)
2024 Philipp Schwartz and Inspireurope Stakeholder Forum (Berlin, 18-19 April 2024)
Steminist - Women in Science Week, organized by MSCA, February 2024
Final seminar ar Kharkiv State Academy of Culture, March 2024
Professional development: language and cultural education
Latvian Language Course (B1 level) at the Educational Center “BUTS” in Valmiera (4 October – 29 November 2024)
English for Tourism and Latvian Language & Culture courses at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences
Press release at the end of the project
Communication in the local journal e-liesma: https://eliesma.lv/izaicinajumi-uzved-kalna
Image from the CineGame VR environment, credit: Matīss Stepiņš 
In this interdisciplinary project, we will study the determining factors of nationalism and patriotism as forms of national attachments and their influence on the formation of a democratic civil society. By studying in detail the expression of patriotism and nationalism in cognition and attitudes, as well as the relation of these forms of national attachment to the individual\'s political beliefs and behavior, it is possible to understand how to build and strengthen national identity in a way that strengthens a democratic civil society. In the project, we will develop a patriotism/nationalism orientation scale and test its psychometric properties, we will conduct a series of experiments to test the relationship between patriotism and nationalism with cognition. With the help of qualitative methods we will find out how patriotism/nationalism orientations are represented in the content of citizenship education and how they are related to the political views and behaviour of young people. We will disseminate the results at scientific conferences and publish scientific articles at political science and psychology conferences. We will inform policymakers, teachers, NGOs about the results, thus demonstrating the importance of social sciences in strengthening national security and state defence.
Implementation period: 01.01.2023. - 31.12.2025.
Project No. LZP-2022/1-0456
Funding/ programme: Fundamental and Applied Research Programme
HESPI role: Project implementer
Cooperation partners: N/A
Project funding: 299916.00 EUR
Project scientific manager (e-mail): Ieva Bērziņa (
Involved staff: HESPI research staff Vineta Silkāne, Anna Broka, guest researcher Ivars Austers, master's students - guest research assistants Liene Zīvere, Kristīne Jaunzeme
Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences
Cēsu street 4, Tērbatas street 10, Valmiera, LV-4201, Latvija
Company reg. Nr. LV90001342592
