The friendship between the librarian communities of the two border countries began with training in the Alytus City Library on the topic “Digital Literacy and Circular Economy Principles”. Vida Grišmanauskienė, director of the Alytus J.Kunčinas Public Library, welcomed the colleagues from Poland who arrived: “I am happy to welcome my colleagues from Elko here, in the capital of Dzūkija. It is very important that we can implement such a project, which provides ample opportunities for improvement, renovation of library spaces, creation of new activities and sharing of knowledge and experience. Digital everyday, sustainable lifestyle, circular economy – these are topics that are of special importance today, so I hope that the newly established friendship between our libraries will be significant and useful for the border communities”, and wished to apply the newly acquired experience and knowledge in both professional and everyday life. in the activity.
The training program was really intense but very rewarding. The theme of the first day was the dynamics of global digitization, where experienced lecturer Gintarė Joteikaitė shared her accumulated experience. Later, for the practical consolidation of knowledge, the training participants visited the Alytus STEAM open access center, where they got acquainted with modern laboratories and innovations. They were pleasantly surprised by the authenticity of Dzūki when they visited the Alytus Local History Museum, where they participated in education and viewed the exhibitions currently operating there.
The second day of training together with the lecturer Vidu Patacks was dedicated to learning and consolidating the principles of the circular economy. Each training participant named one new decision in their everyday life that they intend to contribute to a more sustainable lifestyle: from giving up detergents to using paper egg trays in their gardens. The training participants were especially actively involved in the interactive knowledge test quiz, which caused a lot of excitement and consolidated the knowledge they had acquired.
At the end of the visit, Iwona Adeszko, director of the S.Nasierovska public library of the municipality of Elko, was happy with the opportunity not only to get to know her colleagues from Lithuania, but also to enrich her knowledge on topics that are extremely relevant to society at the moment: “The discussion on the circular economy was especially useful, as we will discuss about it’s with the youth. Despite the fact that we always talk about the importance of the printed word in personality development, and this is true, during the lectures I got a great tool – how to present the meaning and benefits of the word through the principles of the circular economy.”
In the future, during the implementation of the project, activities for the target audiences of the libraries are planned – a camp for young people in the summer, meetings of senior citizens of the border communities and activities for the local community of various ages in the fall.
The project “Wisdom and Growth of Border Communities” is funded by the EU European Regional Development Fund. The total amount of investments belonging to the Alytus Jurgis Kunčins public library is 119,368.54 euros, in that amount, EU funds are 95,494.83 euros. Project implementation period: 2024-02-01–2025-05-31.
Tags: sustainable life power libraries develop public habits
