Last week, the first ABCD - ARS BALTICA CREATIVE DIALOGUE of 2025 took place at the Nordkolleg in Rendsburg, Germany. In a diverse group of 25 creatives the topic of CCI in the BSR was discussed. Partners PA Culture and the CCI Contact Desk gave detailed insights into collaboration across the BSR and their part in it before a workshop phase fostered further meaningful exchange amongst participants.
Following the motto 'Empowering Lasting Cultural Exchange Grounded in Shared Local Perspectives', the ABCD format was established and has been maintained successfully for multiple years in the countries bordering the Baltic Sea. The pandemic brought this meaningful exchange to a halt before in the second half of last year, ARS BALTICA was able to begin starting the format up again, aiming to reestablish it on a regular basis. The first ABCD of 2025 focused on the topic of 'Cultural and Creative Industries in the Baltic Sea Region' and brought together 25 creatives based in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg for a two-tiered exchange consisting of input and a workshop.
Kaarina Williams represented the Policy Area Culture (of the EUSBSR) and gave an overview of how the strategy and collaboration connected to it works. Further, she highlighted cultural projects that are active at the moment in the region, especially the BSR Cultural Pearls project (currently open call still running until April 4, 2025) with ARS BALTICA and the Ministry of Europe in Kiel as local partners present on the day. Lara Löser from the CCI Contact Desk, located in Tallinn at the Goethe-Institut continued by explaining her work and showcasing her network to the participants, giving an introduction to international and national CCI connections in Estonia. This was supported by prerecorded video messages of partners from the region explaining their fields of work such as architecture and night culture.
Following these introductions, the second part of the day focused on networking supported by a workshop format. In four groups, the participants brainstormed and extracted 1-2 common issues that come up in the field of collaboration which includes aspects involving partnerships, audience, funding and sustainability. They then developed the latter further and presented their findings as points to take into account and address jointly in future. The topics presented spanned a variety of things: mindset, voluntary work carrying cultural work, application bureaucracy and inclusion.
The event was organized in partnership with ARS BALTICA, the CCI Contact Desk Tallinn, the Goethe-Institut, the Policy Area Culture of the EU Baltic Sea Strategy, and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce / IHK Lübeck. Together, we are driving forward cultural networking and collaboration across the region.
More information on the ABCD format: www.arsbaltica.net/projects/abcd
Next ABCD: June 12, 2025 with artist and photographer Oksana Yushko at Nordkolleg Rendsburg in English language - SAVE THE DATE!
