Looking out from the former backyard

Prior to the 1990s, in the days before the fall of the Wall, Kalmar alongside the rest of southeast Sweden suffered heavily from being positioned atthe end of the road in the backyard of Sweden. The fact that the city was sitting next to the Baltic coast, right in the middle of the Baltic Sea region did not connote much in those days. Quite frankly, it meant nothing!

Anders Engström, the first UBC President

The concept of a common Baltic Sea Region, stretching from Scandinavia to Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Northeast Germany, as we know it today, was non-existing. During the long cold war period, not one single ferry line crossed the Baltic, in the area between the Stockholm-Helsinki and Ystad-Swinoujscie.

The fall of the Berlin Wall, the dismantling of the Soviet Union, the reborn of the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian republics, the revival of the Polish democracy and the reintegration of Germany altogether restructured and expanded a completely new Europe. New connections and relations in trade and communication and political cooperation suddenly became plausible and easy to reach.

The political leadership in Kalmar soon treasured these new values and prospects for the city. In fact, the Mayor of Kalmar at that time, Mr Roger Kaliff, as early as the mid 1980s became a highly respected leading spokesman for the entire Southeast of Sweden, in the inspiring new developments of Baltic Region multinational cooperation. In 1989, Mr Anders Engström succeeded Mr Kaliff as Mayor of Kalmar. Mayor Engström was also intensely committed to the international Baltic region relations. Consequently, Mr Engström became one of the founders of Union of Baltic Cities elected the Union's first President. During Mr Engström's period as Mayor (and successively Head of International Relations) in Kalmar, a great number of new twin city relations with other Baltic cities was established. These include the Lithuanian city of Panevėžys in 1992, Russian Kaliningrad in 2000 and Wismar in Germany in 2002. Also, due to Mr Engström's efforts the prevailing twin city relations with Gdańsk in Poland was revitalised in 1991.

These early developments in international relations between Kalmar and its neigh-boursacross the Baltic Sea remainsa great inspiration to the city's administration.

In the past 15 years Kalmar has participated in or managed more than 65 nationally or EU financed projects in cooperation with its twin cities Panevėžys, Kaliningrad, Gdańsk and Wismar. This has had a great impact on daily life in the city. New friendships have been established across the Baltic, reaching far beyond regular professional relations. Previously closed doors in trade and academic relations have been opened wide, in some cases even completely refurnished, thus increasing capacity in both Kalmar and its partners.

Kalmar has also headed the Commission on Tourism, Telecommunication and Youth Issues. Indeed, for Kalmar the UBC has been an unmatched source of inspiration and the city's main basis for cooperation and partnership in EU projects.