Members of the Belarusian national robotics teams visit Preiļi and the gymnasium on 28 November
On 28 November a delegation of 50 members of the Belarusian national robotics teams visited Preiļi, on their way from Minsk to Tallinn to take part, from 29 November to 1 December, in one of the largest robotics competitions in the world.
At the start of the visit the delegation was received at the Preiļi Municipality Council, where the guests met the second deputy chair of the Preiļi Municipality Council Klavdija Zarāne, the head of the Preiļi Robotics Club Juris Erts, the director of Preiļi 2nd Secondary School Nadežda Hļebņikova and the head of the Preiļi Tourism Information Centre Iveta Šņepste. During the meeting Jolanta Upeniece introduced the guests to Preiļi Municipality with a presentation and video, and this was followed by a discussion about the possibility of concluding a cooperation agreement between the Belarusian association “Education for Future” and Preiļi Municipality. Alexander Khomich, head of the association “Education for Future”, also attended the meeting.
The head of the Preiļi Robotics Club Juris Erts explains that a cooperation agreement would be a good basis for closer future cooperation between Latvia and Belarus regarding the opportunities for children to travel from Latvia to Belarus and vice versa in order to take part in robotics competitions.
“We are thinking of approaching the Belarusian consulate with the possible cooperation agreement and starting a conversation about arranging easier visas. The Belarusian side is open to sharing its experience; they have great experience and a knowledge base in teaching robotics to younger children (various construction sets, including Lego), while what they want to learn from our side is electronics. A cooperation agreement would be mutually beneficial for achieving a common goal – for children in both countries to gain deeper knowledge of robotics,” says J. Erts.
Later in the visit the delegation visited the Jānis Eglītis Preiļi State Gymnasium. The school’s director Ligita Pauniņa and representatives of the student parliament introduced the guests to the school. The visitors were interested in seeing in person a school whose students have had brilliant success at robotics championships. Colleagues from the neighbouring country were surprised by the modern equipment of the school, and many questions were put to the director, the teachers and the representatives of the student parliament. The electronic class register was of particular interest to the teachers.
At the end of the visit the guests expressed their gratitude for the chance to get to know hospitable Preiļi Municipality and the experience of robotics teaching at the gymnasium, and also expressed a wish to visit Preiļi again, with the chance to spend time at tourist sites.
Jolanta Upeniece,
content editor of the Preiļi Municipality Council website