Highlights from the project’s «Navigating Post-Exile» Activities in Daugavpils, Crete, and Cēsis

Participation in the International Conference in Daugavpils On May 7-8, the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at Daugavpils University hosted the international academic conference «History: Sources and People». During the plenary session, Professor Henrihs Soms, Dr. hist., reviewed the development of the Department of History at Daugavpils University from its establishment in 1969 until 2023, while Professor Irēna Saleniece, Dr. hist., presented the achievements and development of the University’s Oral History Centre from 2003 to the present day. Researchers in oral history at the University of Latvia have maintained a close and long-standing collaboration with the Daugavpils University Oral History Centre.

Researchers from the project «Navigating Post-Exile, Maija Krūmiņa, Maruta Pranka, and Ginta Elksne, also participated in the conference. They presented the papers «Preserving Latvian Identity and Returning to Latvia after 1991: An Analysis of the Life Stories of Second-Generation Exiles» and «Latvian Migration Experiences: Exile and the New Emigration in the Context of Identity and Belonging». Their presentations addressed questions of belonging, transformations of identity, and experiences of return across different waves of Latvian migration.

Project Representation at an International Conference in Crete

From 5 to 10 May, Heraklion, Crete, hosted the 12th International Scientific Conference, «The Diaspora and the Global System: Identities, Policies, Bridges of Culture and Education," organized by the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (I.A.K.E.). The project was represented by researcher Daina Grosa, who presented the paper «Challenges in the Interaction Experiences of Two Latvian Diaspora Waves in Sweden and Australia», co-authored with Maruta Pranka. The presentation examined the experiences of different generations of the Latvian diaspora in Sweden and Australia, focusing on questions of identity, integration, and interaction within diaspora communities.

Participation in the conference provided an opportunity to discuss the Latvian diaspora experience within a broader international context and to establish new academic connections with diaspora researchers from a range of countries.

More information on conference: here.

Discussion in Cēsis «Which Way Is Return? (Post-)Exile in History, Life Stories, and Literature" On May 9, a discussion entitled «Which Way Is Return? (Post-)Exile in History, Life Stories, and Literature» was held on the veranda of Cēsis New Castle. The event was organised by the Cēsis Museum in cooperation with researchers from the Faculty of Humanities, University of Latvia.

The discussion featured:
- Historian Kristīne Beķere, who provided an overview of the history of the Latvian exile community and its role in preserving the idea of Latvian statehood during the years of exile;
- Historian and oral history researcher Maija Krūmiņa, who explored the impact of the restoration of Latvia’s independence on the lives and identities of former exiles, drawing on personal life stories;
- Literary scholar Elvis Friks, who examined the works of writer Aina Vāvere and their connection to the experience of (post-)exile;
- Historian Tālis Pumpuriņš of the Cēsis Museum, who presented historical materials on the Latvian national flag and coat of arms from the donation of Kārlis Dzirkalis, a prominent exile community activist and cultural historian, to the Cēsis Museum.

The discussion also explored the meaning of return: whether it should be understood as a physical return to Latvia, an emotional sense of belonging, or the reconstruction of identity in a new social and cultural context.

The event also provided an opportunity to introduce the wider public to the activities of the project «Navigating Post-Exile». Over the past year and a half, the project has been collecting life stories from several generations of members of the Latvian exile community, producing scholarly publications, participating in national and international academic conferences, and organising public discussions to raise awareness and foster a broader understanding of the post-exile phenomenon as a relatively underexplored aspect of Latvia’s social history.

All events were organised in collaboration with the University of Latvia’s Faculty of Humanities and the project «Navigating Post-Exile: Transformations and Transitions in the Latvian Exile Community after 1991» (Project No. lzp-2024/1-0114).