On April 27, around eighty participants attended a seminar in Oslo about value creation in culture, cultural heritage and creative industries through Baltic Sea Region cooperation.

 

Thursday April 27 the seminar “Value creation focusing on culture, cultural heritage and creative industries” was held in Oslo as part of the Let's Communicate project. The seminar was organized by Eastern Norway County Network (ENCN) and BSSSC in close cooperation with the Norwegian Arts Council and the Directorate for Cultural Heritage in Norway. The aim of the seminar was to increase Norwegian actors’ knowledge about the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) and the possibilities of cultural cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) with the purpose of job creation and increased prosperity.

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Further, the seminar looked at the interrelation between the work in different organizations, networks and platforms as well as financial programs in the BSR. Among others, Peter Schenk, European Commission DG Regio, presented the EUSBSR for Norwegian actors and Justyna Zielkowska from Polish Ministry of Culture presented the aim and focus of PA Culture. Marcus Hagemann from ARS Baltica informed about how his network works to encourage cultural collaboration and invited Norwegian actors to get in contact with them to discuss ideas and potential projects. Ingvild Jacobsen, Arts Council Norway, and Vegard Berggård, Directorate for Cultural Heritage, Norway, presented the funding possibilities that the European Economic Area (EEA) grants provide. Perhaps indicating a more active participation by Norwegian actors in the BSR area in the years to come. The seminar ended with three parallel sessions on culture, cultural heritage and creative industry, with the focus on how European and Baltic Sea cooperation can support jobs and create added value. 

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The seminar was arranged within the frame of the “Let’s Communicate!” project financed by Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme. The project aims to maintain and further develop the communications of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. The BSSSC/ENCN is helping communicate the EUSBSR by arranging three seminars in collaboration with other Norwegian actors, as well as sharing good EUSBSR stories and project examples through our communication channels.