From June 30 to July 4, 2025, the Daugavpils Fortress hosted the international summer school “Ecologies of Trust”, bringing together participants from Latvia and abroad. Over the course of five days, participants attended one of two parallel workshops led by guest lecturers from Finland.
The Infrastructural Trust workshop focused on the role of infrastructures in everyday life and on the conditions under which trust is formed or eroded. Besides getting theoretical insights, participants explored different sites in Daugavpils, from industrial areas to public spaces, reflecting on how physical and social infrastructures sustain or challenge community life.
The Live Action Ecosystem Exercises workshop covered the fortress as a unique ecological and cultural environment. Using roleplay and collaborative methods, participants mapped the interactions between people, animals and plants that inhabit the fortress, imagining possible future scenarios for this shared living space.
The summer school concluded with a public presentation with participants sharing their projects – texts, visual works, sound pieces and multimedia presentations – offering new perspectives on Daugavpils as a place shaped by both infrastructures and ecosystems.
The event was covered by several media outlets, including Chayka.lv and Arterritory.lv
The Daugavpils edition of Ecologies of Trust was the second phase of the long-term research programme (Re)configuring Territories, which creates a platform for socially engaged design research and collaboration between Nordic and Baltic communities. The first phase took place in Narva, Estonia.
The summer school was supported by Aalto University in Finland, and the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Latvia.
Photo: Māris Grunskis
