By Rota Rulle
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October 16, 2025
On September 30, 2025, the first Language Café organized by the COLOURS Project was held at Ventspils University of Applied Sciences. The event gathered international and local students in a relaxed and informal environment to practice languages (Mainly Latvian Language for now), exchange cultures, and foster connections across study programs. The event took place at student lounge, bringing together students from more than 6 different nationalities and speakers of a wide variety of languages, including English, Latvian, French, German, and Russian. The Language Cafe was designed to support student integration and intercultural communication, two key focus areas of COLOURS. During the event, participants engaged in small-group conversations guided by Lasma Asme, the EDI coordinator. The atmosphere was lively and inclusive, with background music by Liva Slesare, allowing students to gain confidence in speaking while enjoying snacks and refreshments prepared by the EDI coordinator. “The participation from both Latvian and international students exceeded our expectations,” commented Janvier Dylan, COLOURS representative and International student “It was inspiring to see how open and engaged everyone was, especially how many Latvian students were eager to communicate and connect across cultures. The energy and motivation to continue this kind of event were remarkable.” The event concluded with students dividing into small groups, where Latvian participants taught international students common words and phrases useful for everyday communication. This interactive exchange created a lively and friendly atmosphere that encouraged mutual learning. The session ended with an open discussion about future activities, during which students shared creative ideas for how upcoming café meetings could look. Many also expressed interest in volunteering and helping to organise the next events, highlighting their motivation to make the Language Cafe a regular and sustainable part of campus life the organisers noted that the success of the first Language Café demonstrates the importance of creating spaces that encourage communication, collaboration, and cultural exchange beyond the classroom. The next Language Café is planned for 29th October 2025, and all VeA students, international and local, are welcome to join.