BSR Cultural Pearls 2024 meet in Kiel to learn, to exchange, and to network

During the two-day visit, they got to know the Kiel Welcome Centre and their marketing strategies on culture and tourism, met colleagues in the Kiel Creative City Department and Creative Hubs as well as visited Kiel Opera to see the work in progress on the children’s opera as part of Kiel’s Culture and Resilience Action Plan. In parallel, they all shared their success stories and challenges of the title year so far. These exchanges help cities avoid repeating mistakes, speeding up the process of finding effective solutions by learning from others. 

 To commonly set the ground for the strong network in future, all Pearls participated in a workshop with BSR Cultural Pearls project partners exploring the wishes and needs for a continuation of the work in strengthening social resilience in the Baltic Sea region. 

The second day of the exchange programme took place back-to-back with the Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-operation (BSSSC) Annual Conference with the keynotes, workshops, and meet-ups raising the profile of the project and offering international visibility to our first BSR Cultural Pearl title holders. 

The exchange visit ended with the grand Cultural Evening at the Kiel Schauspielhaus Theatre Kiel. The programme included the performances of the children and youth enjoying the opportunity to engage in the classes of singing, dancing, music, theatre and more, subsidised by the city of Kiel. Eventually, the representatives of the Cultural Pearls 2024 – Kiel, Svendborg, Jakobstad/Pietarsaari and Rujiena, had the chance to introduce themselves to the international BSSSC Annual Conference delegates audience with their aims in engaging the local communities, achievements, experiences, and future plans regarding the BSR Cultural Pearls project. 

We hope that  these days in Kiel opened doors to broader international networks, creating opportunities for new collaborations and increasing visibility for our Cultural Pearls.

What is BSR Cultural Pearls Transnational Exchange?  

When the cities awarded the BSR Cultural Pearls title enrol in the Cultural Pearls programme, not only are they provided with tailored mentorship during the implementation of their Culture and Resilience Action Plan, capacity building via webinars and expert support, but they also participate in the transnational exchange activities giving them the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and learn from one another.   

Through this international collaboration, local authorities gain new tools, approaches, and partnerships that help them build more resilient, socially cohesive communities. The exchange not only strengthens their ability to build resilient communities but also creates lasting international connections that will continue to support resilience efforts well into the future.  

The key principles behind transnational exchange are mutual learning, where participants share their insights while gaining new ones; cross-cultural collaboration, which enriches problem-solving with diverse perspectives; and the diffusion of innovation, where ideas from one place are adapted and applied in another. 

Transnational exchange visits of BSR Cultural Pearls 2024 so far 

On 7- 8 May, the BSR Cultural Pearls 2024 participated in the Culture for Resilience forum in Jakobstad/Pietarsaari (Finland) gathering more than 100 municipality and NGO representatives, as well as other actors from the Baltic Sea Region. During the two-day programme, they participated in anumber of workshops, listened to keynotes, and had the opportunity to connect internationally to other cities and towns facing the same problems as them and learn from their experiences on how engaging in cultural activities can strengthen communities and make them more resilient. 

And just before the summer, all Pearls visited Svendborg (Denmark) experiencing the extensive programme exploring the town’s methods of working with young people to strengthen their sense of belonging to the community, sharing common challenges and best practices, visiting CCI organisations and institutions supporting the implementation of Svendborg’s Culture and Resilience Action Plan. And most importantly by working together, participants co-created strategies that reflect their local needs benefiting from international ideas and experiences. 

Programme Manual Online

Choose