The “Youth Academy of Humanities” was initiated in February 2011 with the aim of raising young people’s interest in literature, linguistics, foreign languages, theater, cinema, fine arts, religion, folklore and other cultural and artistic fields, as well as motivating young people to choose the humanities for future studies. The Academy is attended by 10th -12th grade students of Latvian secondary schools, vocational school students and all who are deeply interested in humanities. The total duration of the classes in the “Youth Academy of Humanities” lasts 3 years (October – May, on Saturdays, once a month), but students can also choose one or two years of training.
The Academy provides an opportunity:
- to participate in free lectures and practical classes conducted by competent representatives of Latvian culture and arts and lecturers of the Faculty of Humanities of Daugavpils University;
- after each acquired year of the programme, to receive a certificate signed by the DU Vice-Rector for Studies and the Head of the Academy;
- additional 10 points will be obtained with the issued certificate, which will be useful when entering DU study programmes “Philology” (Latvian, Russian and English, German, Polish with a second foreign language), “History” / “History (History of Culture)” and “Eastern European Culture and Business Relations” (during 3 years it is possible to get 30 additional points).
The patron and supporter of the Youth Academy of Humanities is a popular Latvian film director, screenwriter, actor, holder of the Three Star Order, Honorary Member of the Latvian Academy of Arts, public figure Jānis Streičs.
| Study year | Number of participants | Number of certificate recipients |
| 2010/2011 | 96 | 53 |
| 2011/2012 | 170 | 104 |
| 2012/2013 | 106 | 42 |
| 2013/2014 | 92 | 60 |
| 2014/2015 | 98 | 52 |
| 2015/2016 | 80 | 43 |
| 2016/2017 | 118 | 58 |
| 2017/2018 | 92 | 49 |
| 2018/2019 | 92 | 41 |
| 2019/2020 | 66 | |
| TOTAL | 1010 | 502 |
