BSR Cultural Pearls 2024 Awarding ceremony in Jakobstad/Pietarsaari

On 8 May, right after the first “Culture for Resilience Forum”, the BSR Cultural Pearls 2024 awarding ceremony took take place in Jakobstad/Pietarsaari, Finland to celebrate the moment together with the locals, project partners and forum guests.

Felix Schartner Giertta, BSR Cultural Pearls project coordinator representing lead partner Council of the Baltic Sea States Secretariat in his speech stated the importance of strengthening the social resilience in the region, why culture can play crucial role in doing that and what role the BSR Cultural Pearls project plays in trying to tackle the challenge. When handing over the award to the Mayor of Jakobstad/Pietarsaari Ms Anne Ekstrand he congratulated the city and local inhabitants for being ready to face their bilingual community challenges and come up with the action plan how to approach it international Jury had found convincing and impactful.

Thank you words in both Finnish and Swedesh were said by Tarja Hautamäki, Cultural Director, Regional Council of Ostrobothnia and Päivi Rosnell, Head of Culture and Leisure, Department of Education and Welfare, opens the future plans for Cultural Pearls in the town. 

The BSR Cultural Pearls ceremony was followed by the social event bringing together the representatives from Finnish and Swedish speaking associations. Started with the inspiring keynote “Community as a resource” by Timo Santala, co-founder of the world known “Restaurant Day” and  founder of the We Love Helsinki community, the evening continued with the hands on workshop. Participants were invited to brainstorm on the ideas how the Old fore Station – the place that is at the heart of the Jakobstad/Pietarsaari Culture and Resilience action plan, could be revitalized bring closer together the bilingual community of the city. The outcomes of the workshop will be further implemented during the title year’s activities.