Paula:
The eight days of Includ:ED in Zvīguļi felt like stepping into a space where softness, courage, and radical care could coexist. I arrived with curiosity and desire to learn about new tools. I left with something more profound: a deeper sense of belonging to a community that is actively shaping the future of queer-inclusive sex education.
One of the most meaningful parts of the program for me was the movement practices and consensual touch exercises. The timing of these sessions—after trust and safety had already been established—allowed us to meet each other with openness and presence. These practices were grounding, almost sacred, reminding me of the importance of physical connection as a way to cultivate kindness, consent, and wellbeing. They embodied, quite literally, what it means to practice inclusive sex education beyond words: in the body, in gestures, in non-violent and affirming touch. While this practice might be difficult to implement in traditional/intitutional teaching spaces, it nonetheless was a very fullfilling experience, that showed me how it is possible to create a closer link to people I choose to have around.
Another highlight was the open space day. Being able to share my own competencies while also receiving the knowledge and gifts of others was both humbling and inspiring. It felt like a collective weaving of energy, where everyone contributed to the learning process. Witnessing my peers step into teaching roles gave me a renewed sense of trust in community learning and the ripple effect it creates.
Throughout the training, I learned new facilitation techniques, new ways of navigating difficult topics, and how to hold space with more empathy and clarity. I was reminded that while time and institutional constraints may limit us as educators, creativity and connection can always bring depth to the work we do. I wish we had even more time to dive into real-life challenges of sex education in schools and youth spaces, but I carry with me the methods and the inspiration to adapt.
What made Zvīguļi magical was not only the workshops, but also the people. The international group, the shared meals, the reflections, and the moments of laughter reminded me of the power of solidarity. I left with personal realizations about my own place in this community, feeling more competent and fulfilled as a human being.
Most of all, I carry with me the motivation to continue this work: to dismantle shame, to advocate for inclusivity, and to create braver, safer spaces where queer youth can shine.
Sasha:
Hello!
I am Sasha, part of the Latvian team for the training programme “Includ:ed: Queering Sex Education.” I am excited to share about the enriching experience I had in Zvīguļi, Latvia this past July.
This training course was instrumental in showing how we as educators and youth workers can make sex education more inclusive, and specifically queer-inclusive. By opening up and sharing our experiences (often harmful or unhelpful) of being taught sex education in formal settings such as school, we were able to better understand our motivations for creating a different path within sex education. By learning about and trying out various non-formal education tools, I personally gained valuable insight into what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a session, which will hopefully help me become a better, more attuned facilitator in the future.
Some of my favorite and most insightful sessions were those that included physical movement. Through these activities, we explored topics such as consent and different aspects of relationship anarchy. Both require an understanding of one’s personal boundaries, the ability to articulate needs and desires, and being present in connection with others. By literally embodying and practicing these dynamics, I not only gained a clearer sense of my own strengths and limits, but also experienced playfulness and pleasure in sharing these activities with other participants. The movement-based sessions unlocked another layer of understanding, both of the topics and ourselves.
I really appreciated how thoughtfully our trainer Vikki and the Active Rainbow team included a self-care day in the last third of the programme. I found active learning, a packed schedule, and being in constant contact with others to be both enriching and at times overwhelming, so dedicating a day to caring for ourselves, spending time in nature, doing yoga, and generally slowing down helped us reset and recharge.
Another highlight for me as a sex educator and facilitator was creating a queer sex education event for the local community in Riga. This was an incredible opportunity to process everything we had been learning and practicing throughout the course, and to design and test sessions in real life. It highlighted once again the importance of experiential learning in non-formal education and gave us the space to practice it. We also had the chance to exhibit the art we created during the training – our queer tarot deck and the clay genitalia we had made!
I am truly grateful for this experience; it affirmed the importance of creating queer-inclusive spaces in sex education and gave me inspiration and knowledge to continue this work in the future. The experience also provided me with a fuller vision of activism, the one that makes place for pleasure and care. This is what this project was for me – a combination of learning, reflecting, and collaborating together, and beautiful conversations, laughter, creativity, and play.
