IQ Camp 2015 (#11)
Many people have complained that there was no real summer this year, but we know that yes, there was a real summer! Evidence of that includes the outstanding IQ camp, without which our summers have been unimaginable during the past 11 years. This year we met on the banks of the Daugava River near Ķegums to spend a nice time in the environment and to have enormous buckets of inspiration and new knowledge.
This year we began the morning with bubbles, collective craziness and bad temptations, including the charming report by economics expert Pēteris Strautiņš about things that Latvia's economy has experienced and may still experience. Though that was a difficult topic, everyone felt good, because it is hard to oppose optimism, particularly if it is based in numbers.
We were honoured to welcome our second guest, physicist and former University of Latvia rector Mārcis Auziņš, who talked about preparations for a life that does not yet exist. He didn't talk about colonising the Universe, instead focusing on the cosmic amount of information that increases in an exponential progression, also discussing what is worth learning in the 21st century.
After a thorough lunch, the dessert was an inspirational story told by the director of the Homo Novus international new theatre festival, Gundega Laiviņa, about the theatre that opens people's eyes, sharpens their minds and touches their hearts. That happens to lots of people, because Gundega continues to rock the boat of Latvian theatre by bringing untamed performances to our country. We will be able to enjoy these at this year's Homo Novus festival.
Artist Matīss Zvaigzne, in turn, helped us to freshen up and make untamed our accustomed clothing and skills. His outdoor silkscreen workshop created new identity for shirts and excitement for those who wear them, with Matīss himself becoming the star of the evening.
To be sure the IQ camp also had sports and dancing, which we began together with the contemporary dance choreographer Elīna Lutce and then with our friend and regular IQ Camp guest, Toms Grēviņš. It's hard to tell you about all of this, so let these pictures tell the story instead!
