From 25–27 November, the Culture for Resilience Forum 2025 took place in Varde, Denmark, bringing together municipalities, cultural leaders, researchers, and practitioners from across the Baltic Sea Region to exchange knowledge on how culture strengthens social resilience in smaller and medium-size cities. The forum marked the final event of the BSR Cultural Pearls project — but not the end of the Cultural Pearls journey.
“Small towns can shine if they invest in culture,” said the opening keynote speaker, Vice Mayor of Cēsis in Latvia Inese Suija-Markova, setting the tone for discussions throughout the forum. Her town Cēsis has overcome economic crisis and become an attractive place to live thanks precisely to investments in culture.
BSR Cultural Pearls project manager Felix Schartner Giertta from lead partner Council of the Baltic Sea States reflected on the project’s achievements in his keynote: “Over the past 2.5 years, we have developed a shared narrative, built a strong network, received 40 applications from towns and cities across the Baltic Sea Region, and awarded the Cultural Pearls title to 14 of them. This is only the beginning.”
Municipalities, partners, and experts across the region are already shaping plans to ensure the methodology developed during the BSR Cultural Pearls project, tools, and peer network continue to support towns and cities that recognise culture as key to their future resilience.
Four towns and cities — Glücksburg (GER), Kristinestad-Kristiinankaupunki (FIN), Krosno (POL) and Schleswig (GER) — officially awarded in a joint ceremony during the Forum, will carry on their path toward strengthening social resilience through culture as BSR Cultural Pearls 2026.
The forum was organised by the Danish Cultural Institute, Varde Library and GoToDenmark in cooperation with the project consortium and Cultural Pearls.
We are proud of what we have built within this partner consortium as well as together with the Cultural Pearls and are eager to continue the journey fostering social resilience through culture, stay tuned for further details to come on the Network, the Call for 2027 and more.
