The informal discussion of young people and MEPs “coffee with politicians”

On 18 February, THE informal discussion “coffee with politicians” was held IN Lūznavas manor, in an informal atmosphere at coffee, tea and snacks, with the participation of young people of Rezekne, youth affairs coordinators and members of the Rēzekne council.

The purpose of the discussion was to promote co-operation and exchange of ideas between young people in Rezekne, Rēzekne District Council and local government employees.

In the informal atmosphere, the most topical issues of young people in Rezekne municipality were discussed, as well as a discussion on how to promote the participation of young people in Rezekne in local government social processes and the development of a youth policy strategy.

The event took place in secondary schools from 4 parishes - 4 representatives from Maltas secondary school, 3 representatives from Tiskad High School, 4 representatives from Kaunatas secondary school and 4 - from Dricānu secondary school. More parish was represented by youth workers – from Verham, Ozolmuižas, Pušas, Gaigalavas, Kaunatas, Maltas and Feimaņu parish. The event was also visited by young businessman Boris Varlamovs from Silmalas parish. Among the members of the Rēzekne municipality, the informal meeting was attended by Staņislavs Skesters, Elhusband Pizane, Rita Žurzdina, Vilis Deksnis, Vinera Deme and Guntis Rasims.

The course of the discussion was conducted BY Lūznavas manor manager Iveta Balzer, whose politicians, specialists and pupils met in a masterful fashion with a variety of team-laying tasks. All the parties concerned had positive feelings and an opportunity to get to know each other a little closer, to talk to the discussion tables, and to “catch up”. In the context of the discussion, a number of themes or challenges were discussed and young people, in cooperation with youth experts and council members, shared shared experiences, opinions, their vision, ideas and expectations, resulting in very much valuable ideas for both young people and youth and the Members themselves.

The following topics were discussed in the discussions, the strongest proposals in brackets next to:

• Continuous leisure of young people, active recreational opportunities in Rēzekne municipality (it was suggested to create their own theatre, sports lessons, sports trades, which would allow young people to spend their vacant time meaningfully, as well as the idea of organising “shadow days”, which would allow young people to get acquainted with the work of different companies, creating a picture of the choice of future professions).

• Rezekne is led by a “motivating support system” for young people (it is proposed to extend the range of professions available to young people in the municipality, for example in the context of summer work; to provide free consultancy in business and accounting matters for young people who intend to start their business).

• Opportunities for the accessibility of youth information in Rezekne municipality (the creation of the common page of the Rēzekne municipality on Facebook social network on the most topical events and events in the youth field, as well as the creation of a separate youth section on the homepages of parish councils).

participation OF young people and youth NGOs in the decision-making and other public processes of the municipality of Rezekne (creation of a joint youth centre and co-administration of pupils, creation of a discussion forum to solve young people).

• Rēzekne municipality - an interesting tourist destination for young people (in this context, young people have experienced very many original ideas, including ideas not yet implemented on the Latgale side, including the creation of orientations, the organisation of a strong run in the area, the creation of a bicycle rental point, etc.)

• volunteering of young people, summer work, employment and business opportunities in Rezekne municipality (young people themselves shared their desire for what kind of work they would be willing to engage in the summer months - the parish of parish areas, parish greeneration activities, evening-story evenings, creation of parish information centres, co-operation for young people, etc.)

At the end of the event, the name was given to the young man and the young businessman Boris Varlamov, who shared his experience of launching a new business, about how he came from the original idea to the creation of his company and, of course, the unique product itself - the “black garlic”, which is an exclusive delicatess and a spices that no one still produces on our side, so Boris has all the opportunities for development in a unique sector. It served as a good example for young people and a source of inspiration not to be afraid to go against their goals and implement their ideas in life!

William Stiger, on the other hand, shared his volunteering experience in Rezekne, stressing that volunteering is an excellent opportunity to supplement his knowledge, acquire new skills and achieve his first work experience.

Iveta Balzer informed and invited young people to take advantage of the opportunity and apply for volunteering at Lūznavas. Volunteering assistants are necessary in the provision of cultural events, as well as in large open-air events such as the nature concert hall 18.06.2016, the Festival of Festival in July, etc. It is also possible for young people to earn their pockets during their holidays by offering their creative services to excursion groups. Young people are invited to create special orientation and environmental awareness trails, active rope trails, night crossings in the park area. There has also been a demand for active and creative children's birthday “parties”. As a result, the Rezekne municipality is able to get his first business experience at school and possibly also understand what is going on and where to start studying. Young people are invited to play an initiative and write to e-mail: muiza@luznava.lv.

If any proposal that came out in “coffee with politicians” will be implemented, it will be the true outcome of the debate and also a guarantee that young people will believe in effective participation in the decision-making processes of the municipality of Rezekne!