Representatives of the municipality of Rezekne participate in the Setesdal festival in Norway

From 26 to 28 July, a Setesdal festival devoted TO UNESCO's intangible values was held in the municipality of Walles of the Kingdom of Norway (aust-Agder), which also took part in the Rēzekne municipality's Head of Development Planning Planning Division Anna Jaudzema. Cooperation with Setesdal, this Norwegian unique cultural historical valley, was started in 2018 by the municipality of Rezekne, when the Setesdal dance group was visited BY THE European Heritage Days at Lūznavas.
The main theme of the event was the identification and preservation of the unique values of the region. Oslanne (author Aasland), head of the National Commission for Education, Science and Culture of the United Nations (UNESCO), presented the principles and values of UNESCO's activities as well as the establishment of a world heritage list based on the specific cultural and/or natural value of the cultural and/or natural heritage site, the preservation and development of the values included in the list. The representatives of the municipality of Valles reported their intention to include the intangible cultural values of the Setesdal Valley in THE UNESCO list, its traditional folklore. The Norwegian authorities presented their historical experience in the preservation of national identity and cultural heritage, paying special attention to activities in the outermost rural areas: there are programmes in the country that motivate citizens to preserve rural architecture and traditional forms of occupation. Asnāte Ziemele, head of the Latvian Rural Tourism Association “Rural traveller”, presented Latvia's experience in shaping the rural tourism product, the role of goodwill in increasing the value of the tourism product. As a successful experience, she mentioned the international project for the promotion of UNESCO heritage sites, which developed a methodology for using local cultural heritage in the development of tourism supply, as well as the existing UNESCO heritage sites.
At the time of the meeting with the Mayor of Valles, Steinar Kyrvestad and experts from various sectors discussed project ideas, taking into account the challenges common to both municipalities: a large proportion of rural areas, a considerable distance from international airports and capital cities, a desire to develop entrepreneurship and attract new specialists to the region.
The municipality of Rēzekne, the municipality of Rēzekne, was represented BY a group OF Lūznavas, which continues the tradition of fraudulent dance. The cadastre is a dance of French origin, which has risen from the contrance and emerged at the end of the 18 th century and was very popular in Europe until the end of the 19 th century. The spread of these dances, especially in Latgale, indicates that they have been very popular in the people. In the early 19 th and 20 th centuries, the cadriils were dances of intelligent balls, and they were dancing everywhere in the 19 th and 20 th century, in honour, balls, pubs, and dancing evenings. During the festival, THE Lūznavas frame group provided several performances, as well as organized masters. Within the framework of cultural cooperation, the members of the group of frames also participated in Norwegian traditional dance Gaga masters classes. The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway, Christian Ødegaard, welcomed the activities of the municipality of Rezekne during the festival.
Anna Jared,
Head of the Regional Development Planning Unit of Rezekne