From 17 to 21 August, 30 young people from Lithuania and Latvia came together for “Action! Jewel-26”, a creative short-film production summer camp combining filmmaking, cultural heritage, history and cross-border friendship.
During the five-day camp, participants explored Jewish heritage sites in Joniškis and Žagarė, visited places of Jewish memory and reflected on what we can learn from the past and what lessons we can carry into the future. Their journey also took them to the Joniškis Jewish cemetery and the Holocaust memorial site in Vilkiaušis Forest, providing opportunities for thoughtful discussion and remembrance.
The participants not only learned about heritage — they turned their experiences into their own stories! Guided by prominent Lithuanian film director Saulius Beržinis, with the assistance of his Latvian colleague T. Kolosko, the young filmmakers took part in creative filmmaking sessions, developed their own cinema projects, filmed on locations in Joniškis and presented the footage they had created during camp.
The programme also included a special educational experience at “Žagarės beigeliai”, where participants learned about the tradition of Jewish bagels and took part in a bagel-making workshop and tasting.
By bringing together young people from Joniškis and Žagarė in Lithuania and Tukums and Kandava in Latvia, the camp created a space where history and heritage could be explored through creativity, teamwork and a younger generation’s perspective.
The camp also attracted the attention of Etaplius TV, whose team visited the event to prepare a television report and share the participants’ experiences with a wider audience.
“Action! Jewel-26” was organised as part of the project LL-00200 JEWEL — “Community engagement through preserving Jewish heritage in the cross-border regions of Lithuania and Latvia.”
