BSR Cultural Pearls 2025

The BSR Cultural Pearls project works to improve quality of life in smaller towns and cities across the Baltic Sea Region by strengthening civic engagement and fostering connections to national and international networks. This has led to the development of new action plans through which participating towns and cities work towards becoming “Cultural Pearls”, while the most successful initiatives are recognised through the Cultural Pearls Award. In 2025, the project concluded with the Culture for Resilience Forum in Varde, bringing together international experts, cultural practitioners, and representatives from towns and cities across the region. Danish Cultural Institute was actively involved throughout the project and contributed to the forum with its own workshops on the role of culture in times of crisis.

The work will continue in 2026, as several towns and cities carry the initiative forward as new Cultural Pearls, with a focus on strengthening social resilience through culture.

Partners

Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) – lead partnes; Alytus municipality (LV); ARS BALTIC (DE); Baltic Sea Cultural Centre (PL); Heinrich Böll Foundation Schleswig-Holstein (DE); Loov Eesti/Creative Estonia (EE); Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture; Regional Council of Ostrobothnia (FI); Ministry of Justice, European Affairs and Consumer Protection of Land Schleswig-Holstein (DE); Varde Kommune (DK); Vidzeme Planning Region (LV), BSR Cultural Pearls-project is Co-financed by the EU’s Interreg Programme for the Baltic Sea Region.