On 24 April 2024, ARS BALTICA participated in the online part of the hybrid event 'Culture makes cities stronger: Baltic Sea Cultural Pearls – resilient cities and regions' hosted by the EUSBSR PA Culture and the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre in the National Library in Warsaw, Poland.
The aim of the event was to introduce the BSR Cultural Pearl project and the overarching topic of 'Social Resilience through Culture'. After some opening remarks and a warm welcome to everyone on- and offline by the hosts, the first input of the day was given by Felix Schartner Giertta introducing the BSR Cultural Pearls project - of which ARS BALTICA is also a partner - as representative from lead partner Council of the Baltic Sea States. Lea Lükemeier from project partner Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, who is mentor to 2024 BSR Cultural Pearl Kiel, then brought the project to life more by giving insight into her mentee's actions for the running title year.
Following this input, Adam Mikołajczyk from Best Place - European Place Marketing Institute elaborated on the question “Why do we need another title?” by highlighting the importance and impact of building a brand as well as taking part in competitions for cities and regions with multiple examples. Such an example is also Tartu2024, with the city of Tartu and Southern Estonia holding the European Capital of Culture 2024. Kadri Laanmets presented the city and regions efforts, highlighting amongst other aspects the increase in collaboration within the region and international attention gained through the title.
The final presentation by Joanna Erbel from CoopTech Hub wrapped up this part of the day with sharing parts of her research on the topic ‘Urban and Cultural Resilience’. This concluded the online part of the event while onsite the exchange was continued with table discussions.
Thank you to the PA Culture and the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre for putting together this inspiring event with the hope that its impact is reflected in the number of applications for BSR Cultural Pearl 2025 to follow!
Deadline is the 24 May 2024.
More information on how to apply is found here.
