Cultural Pearls Network Conference: Fostering Exchange and Collaboration in the Baltic Sea Region and Beyond

The two days of the conference in Helsingborg offered participants workshops, keynotes, and study visits on the topic of culture and resilience.

The study visits were hosted by the enthusiastic team of Helsingborg creatives and city administration recently awarded the BSR Cultural Pearls 2025 title. They combined the visit to the unique Fredriksdal Museum and Gardens with the introduction of their Culture and Resilience Action Plan activities which will be carried out during the title year – initiatives on how culture and local assets can connect people – young and old, with differing backgrounds and interests.

“The mission of the Cultural Pearls Network is to empower local authorities in the Baltic Sea Region by promoting stronger and more resilient communities, fostering community engagement­, exploring culture and creativity as a driver of positive change,­ and most importantly – elevating regional exchange for competitive, liveable, and resilient cities­,” says Felix Schartner Giertta, BSR Cultural Pearls project manager representing the Council of the Baltic Sea States Secretariat, lead partner. “The conference is a first step in a series of events focusing on improving the toolbox of local administrations and building a viable transnational network.”

All participants of the Cultural Pearls Network conference took part in a hands-on workshop trying to convert cases and practices on how to engage local communities using the power of culture into transferrable methods that can be used by any organization or city administration. The workshop enabled the exchange of views and experiences from all around the Baltic Sea Region as well as Ukraine and Moldova.

“For a small town like ours, being part of the network and events like this grants us with valuable resources, tools and connections necessary to continue addressing cultural and social resilience in the future,” noted Madara Seile, representative of Rūjiena (Latvia), BSR Cultural Pearl 2024.

To open the minds for new perspectives for those present, two interesting keynote speeches were given: Agata Bisping, future strategist who builds solutions based on futures thinking and radical imagination, and Niels Righolt, CEO of the Danish Centre for Arts & Interculture.

Next Cultural Pearls Network conference will be held in Plock, Poland in September 2025.

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