An international jury has announced the cities awarded the BSR Cultural Pearls title for the year 2024. The municipalities of Svendborg (Denmark), Kiel (Germany), Jakobstad (Finland) and Rūjiena (Latvia) were chosen from among 12 candidates from the countries in the Baltic Sea Region. These cities prepared Culture and Social Resilience Action Plans aimed at making their communities more resilient through culture and creativity.
BSR Cultural Pearls is a title for towns, cities and municipalities that provides awarded candidates a programme to strengthen their capacity to use culture in building social resilience. By engaging and involving their citizens, enhancing the quality of life, fostering a sense of belonging and building trust, they aim to make their communities stronger and more resilient. The project is co-financed by the Interreg BSR programme and the next call for application will be open in April 2024. ARS BALTICA is one of the project partners and responsible for the communication of the BSR Cultural Pearls Award as well as the awarding ceremonies.
The most impactful and convincing action plans were selected by an international jury comprised of experts in social resilience, urban planning, arts and culture. This jury also included representatives from pan-Baltic and European organisations and networks of cities.
Jakobstad, Kiel, Svendborg and Rūjiena will now enrol in a year-long Cultural Pearls programme. This includes mentorship to support the implementation of the action plan, capacity-building with expert interventions and networking, international exchange, and a ready-made model for procuring service providers from the local Culture and Creative Sector, covered by the project.
The dedication and efforts of the non-selected candidates in striving to strengthen social resilience in their communities have been acknowledged too. By becoming part of the BSR Cultural Pearls network, they too gain access to knowledge and best practices on culture-driven social resilience. The project encourages all candidates to implement their action plans and join in the shared vision of building social resilience in communities across the BSR.
