The 2025 Summary Report captures insights and reflections from each of the six titleholders of 2025: Smiltene (Latvia), Helsingborg (Sweden), Peipsiääre (Estonia), Płock (Poland), Kaskinen-Kaskö (Finland) and Alytus District (Lithuania). The report showcases their unique approaches to overcoming challenges commonly faced by small and medium-sized cities: including depopulation, youth outmigration, and weakening community ties. From…
We invite you to join our second webinar of our Networking event series 2026, organised by BSR Cultural Pearls and its project partner, the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture (NDPC). Presented by Haakon Hildish from KEA European Affairs, this session will focus on how BSR Cultural Pearls cities can prioritise outcomes, track progress, and support learning before,…
On January 20, the 2026 Cultural Pearls title year was officially inaugurated in an online kick-off event. Since the announcement and celebration of their awarding in November and after months of preparation work, awardees Glücksburg(GER), Kristinestad-Kristiinankaupunki (FIN), Krosno (POL) and Schleswig (GER) are eager to put their Culture and Resilience Action Plans (CuReAPs) into practice. These roadmaps for the title year recognize the potential of cultural initiatives, bringing people together, involving citizens and developing a…
The Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture (NDPC) has released a new publication that gives municipalities a clear, practical method for using culture to build stronger, more resilient communities. Culture-Driven Social Resilience: A Practical Toolkit & Casebook for Municipalities to Take Action is part of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region project BSR Cultural Pearls. Produced by Creative Insights Studio, the…
Imagine a small town where cultural activities bring people together, boost local pride, and create lasting change. This is happening right now in the Baltic Sea Region, where the BSR Cultural Pearls project is using culture to help small cities and towns become more connected, resilient, and innovative. The BSR Cultural Pearls project is an initiative aimed at…
On October 16–17, the first Peipsiääre Municipality youth hackhathon ’How to Become (Culturally) Rich in Your Hometown?’ took place at Kadrina Manor. Five teams with 14 young participants from Alatskivi, Kolkja, Pala, and Vara schools took part. Over two days, the youngsters developed and tested their ideas. The youth hackhathon for 12–25-year-olds is part of…
The event ‘A Dialogue on Culture, Social Resilience and Regional Cooperation’, held on 3 December 2025 at the Hanse-Office in Brussels, brought together regional and local stakeholders, particularly from the BSSSC network, to explore the role of culture in strengthening community resilience. In this follow-up event to the strategic roundtable hosted during the Macro-regional and…
From 26–27 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-sized cities. The forum featured a remarkable group of speakers and facilitators, including the Director…
BSR Cultural Pearl 2025 Kaskinen-Kaskö is Finland’s smallest town in Finland and famous for its old and beautiful wooden houses, which it honoured with the first edition of its own Wooden House Fair on August 17th in the framing of its Culture and Resilience Action Plan (CuReAP). The idea for the event was born out…
After an intense journey that started in February of this year, the selection of the 2026 Cultural Pearls has been announced: Municipalities Glücksburg (GER), Kristinestad-Kristiinankaupunki (FIN), Krosno (POL) and Schleswig (GER) will continue their path toward strengthening social resilience through culture as BSR Cultural Pearls 2026. In total, 11 highly motivated candidates reached the final…
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