On 30 September 2025, the cross-border cooperation project “Capacity building and development of necessary competences for working with special needs children in Latvian and Lithuanian kindergartens” / “Colorful emotions” (LL-00009) was successfully completed. The project was implemented under the Interreg VI-A Latvia–Lithuania Programme 2021–2027.
For more than a year and a half, the project brought together four pre-school educational institutions from Latvia and Lithuania: Dagda City Preschool Educational Institution “Saulīte”, Krāslava Preschool Educational Institution “Pienenīte”, Panevėžys Nursery-Kindergarten “Rūta” and Visaginas Nursery-Kindergarten “Auksinis Gaidelis”. The common aim of the partners was to strengthen teachers’ professional competences and to promote the development of an inclusive pre-school education environment that responds to children’s individual needs.
During the project, teachers learned and introduced various methods in their daily work to help children better understand emotions, develop communication skills, a sense of safety, creativity and self-expression. For Krāslava Preschool Educational Institution “Pienenīte”, the acquisition and implementation of the Džimba Safety Steps Programme and Fairy Tale Therapy were particularly important. These methods continue to be used in the educational process after the end of the project, supporting children’s emotional well-being, mutual respect and understanding of personal safety.
An important benefit of the project was also psychological support for children, teachers and parents, as well as the strengthening of teachers’ emotional well-being and professional resilience. The project provided practical tools for working with children with different needs and strengthened teachers’ confidence in implementing inclusive education.
All project objectives have been achieved. Teachers’ knowledge and skills have been improved, materials necessary for the implementation of the methods have been purchased, experience exchange has been promoted, and close cooperation between Latvian and Lithuanian partners has been established.
It is particularly important that cooperation continues after the official end of the project. The professional links created during the project have developed into a long-term partnership — partners maintain contacts, participate in joint events and continue sharing the experience gained. Project partners from Panevėžys, Dagda and Krāslava took part in the 40th anniversary celebration of Visaginas Nursery-Kindergarten “Auksinis Gaidelis”, demonstrating mutual friendship and support. After the project completion, on 16 October 2025, a methodological meeting of educational support specialists of Visaginas Municipality was organised at Visaginas Nursery-Kindergarten “Auksinis Gaidelis”. During the meeting, the project “Colorful emotions”, its results and the methods learned were presented, with special attention paid to the practical implementation of the PECS communication system. This confirms that the project results continue to live on and contribute to the wider educational community even after the official completion of the project.
The “Colorful emotions” project has become a valuable contribution to the development of inclusive pre-school education. It demonstrates that cross-border cooperation, mutual support and investment in teachers’ professional development can create lasting positive changes in the daily lives of children, parents and educational institutions.
We sincerely thank all project partners, teachers, children, parents and supporters for their work, responsiveness and the jointly created “Colorful emotions”, which will continue to live on after the project completion.
