4th in-person BSR Cultural Pearls Partner Meeting tackles the topic of Durability

From September 18th to 19th, the 4th in-person Partner Meeting within the BSR Cultural Pearls project took place in Kiel, Germany with the topic of durability high on the agenda. The meeting also coincided with the Transnational Exchange of the BSR Cultural Pearls 2024 – Kiel, Jakobstad/Pietarsaari, Rūjiena and Svendborg, creating the opportunity for the partners and Pearls to exchange. Furthermore, the project and especially the acting Pearls were presented and celebrated in the framing of the Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-operation (BSSSC) Annual Conference. The project meetings in Kiel directly connected to the conference as it was held from September 19th to 20th. 

The first day of the Partner Meeting was hosted at the Anscharcampus, a creative centre within the premises of an old hospital, where the project partner, mentor and meeting host Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (foundation) Schleswig-Holstein has its offices. The partners dove into discussions by reviewing the project timeline as well as communication efforts past and present but especially for the upcoming year and next call for BSR Cultural Pearls 2026, which is swiftly approaching. Tied to the latter is the question of overall durability, which the partners have been addressing since early in the project with the co-funding by Interreg BSR due to end in 2025 after three years’ time.

Different models, varying in extent and viewed from Pearls’ and partners’ perspectives, of what the future of the project could look like and how it could be financed are being discussed. Adjacent to this fundamental financial aspect, the fostering of the Cultural Pearls Network that began with the project partners and is growing through awarded Pearls and candidates, workshop leaders and other experts involved, was a focal point on the agenda. Additionally, a repository of best practices and an interactive platform to safeguard tested methods and tools is currently being established to keep the projects’ and Pearls’ achievements tangible in the long run as well as inspire further actors to build social resilience through culture. 

Day 2 in Kiel brought BSR Cultural Pearls 2024 and partners together at yet another creative hub of Kiel, the Alte Mu with its name hinting at the campus’ history of being the old (Alte) Muthesius (Mu) Art School. Today, a variety of small businesses and initiatives call the premises home with projects spanning ceramics, wood working, honey making, cooking, event and seminar spaces and much more. 

After having experienced the location’s diversity on a tour, Pearls and partners had a workshop lead by researcher and consultant Eva Mӕrsk, who works at the intersection between education, community building, culture, identity, belonging, narratives of place and is consulting throughout the project. The focus was set on the Pearls’ journey, including barriers, successes, and future plans as well as furthering direct exchange and feedback between Pearls and partners. This finalised the official part of the Partner Meeting and transnational exchange, leaving time to change locations to participate in the BSSSC Annual Conference.

Later that day, a workshop on the topic of ‘Sustainable resilience in cities and communities through culture’ opened by lead partner CBSS – Council of the Baltic Sea States and moderated by project partner ARS BALTICA offered another platform. It gave the Pearls as well as experts Eva Mӕrsk, Mikko Fritze, director of the Finnish Institute in Germany, and Taiju Kiesilä, representative of the City of Espoo Cultural Unit, Partnerships and Promoting Culture alongside the Chair of the UBC Cultural Cities Commission, the opportunity to present and exchange thoughts with the partners and conference participants. The importance of experiences, offering and filling spaces to build a community, intercultural learning and using culture as a language in the process was stressed. 

A showcase of the latter was presented in the evening at Schauspielhaus Theatre of Kiel organised by Cultural Pearl 2024 Kiel. Apart from these cultural highlights of Kiel, highlighting the 2024 Pearls by bringing them on stage and interviewing them about their achievements, experiences and future plans in regard to the BSR Cultural Pearls project rounded off this celebratory evening of promoting social resilience through culture.