In recent years, the Baltic States have been working purposefully to make water tourism more accessible to broader society groups, including families with small children, people with disabilities, and seniors. However, there is still much to be done in this area. The most significant challenges in environmental accessibility regarding water tourism infrastructure and services are physical accessibility to water bodies (in many places, people with particular risks or limitations cannot get to the water) and infrastructure unsuitable for people with disabilities.
With financial support from the Interreg Estonia – Latvia Programme 2021 – 2027, the project “Facilitating access to watertourism activities” (Riverways II) was launched in September 2024 to address these problems and other issues related to improving the accessibility of water tourism.
One of the most important activities of the project is the hackathon “The Ripple Effect: Accessibility Innovations in Water Tourism”, which took place on February 27 and 28 in Valmiera. The aim of the event was to find new solutions and opportunities to adapt water tourism services to broader groups of people, especially people with disabilities, families with children and seniors.
Over 70 participants participated in the hackathon, working in eight teams – four from Latvia and four from Estonia. Under the guidance of knowledgeable and experienced mentors, each team developed its proposed idea and solution into a specific product or service. The teams presented the ideas to the jury, which are described below.
Mint Green Team – digital safety toolkit: the device allows calling for help from the boat.
Blue Team – a digital interactive guide for visually impaired and blind people, which would make moving around the beach safer and easier for these people.
Red Team – a pontoon that facilitates access to the water body and makes it safe and possible for people with disabilities.
Yellow Team – safe swimming training.
Black Team – a mobile application that provides information about accessible water tourism service providers and locations, and has a booking function emphasizing entertainment and recreational activities.
Lavender Team – comfortable, ergonomic and specially adapted seats for boats, and other swimming equipment.
Latte Team – specially equipped swimming areas in natural waters to make them safe for everyone, providing swimming lessons and assistant services.
Motley Team – a mobile application for convenient information gathering and retrieval that is specially adapted for people with disabilities and seniors.
The jury recognized the Lavender Team representing Estonia: Ronan Leol, Sofia Dõmova, Aivar Ruukel, and Lisell Paltser as the winners. The innovative solution they proposed – to make boat seats more comfortable and adaptable – could allow boating for those currently denied this opportunity due to unsuitable seats. The Lavender team will go on an experience exchange trip to Finland in November.
At the hackathon’s end, all participants participated in a sympathy vote. The Yellow team from Latvia won the vote of sympathy: Rolands Melbārdis, Jēkabs Šķēls, Lāsma Nikolaisone, Terēza Šulca, and Beāte Jeduša, and their idea of how to learn to feel safe on the water.
We express our special gratitude to environmental accessibility experts Villu Urban, Jüri Lehtmets, Maikel Mõttus, and Jurģis Briedis for their valuable input, knowledge, and mentoring! Without their participation, support, and guidance, the result of the hackathon would not have been so meaningful, worthwhile, and rich. Thank you!
The Vidzeme Planning Region organized the hackathon in cooperation with the Kurzeme Planning Region and the Pärnu College of the University of Tartu. These were two exciting and intense days, during which valuable ideas were created, helpful solutions were offered, new acquaintances were made, inspiration for cooperation opportunities was found, and a great time was spent together!
At the end of the event, the participants admitted that this was a very valuable experience for them – they not only gained a better understanding of the challenges faced by different groups of people but also new knowledge about the possibilities of overcoming them. It was this knowledge and new acquaintances that the participants noted as among the most significant benefits, as well as the opportunity to improve their collaboration and presentation skills.
All ideas generated during the event will be carefully analyzed to assess the feasibility of their implementation in the project “Facilitating access to watertourism activities” (Riverways II) and other initiatives related to environmental accessibility.
Photos: Vidzeme Planning Region and Kurzeme Planning Region
Video: Kurzeme Planning Region
