From the Perspective of
the UBC Commission on Culture

ESPOO

It is inspiring to find touches of other Baltic cultures in your own culture -maybe in the everyday language or in the name of some place in your near environment. In Finnish language you can find very old loans from other languages of the Baltic Ses area.

Today the UBC gives us an instrument for cooperation and feeling of togetherness. For many cities the motivation for the membership might be environmental or economic cooperation, but the union offers also a wide forum for cultural, educational and other cooperation.

In many aspects of culture there are good reasons to expect the Baltic Sea cooperation will become a rising trend in the next few years. There exists the traditional cultural cooperation between the Nordic countries and also channels for cooperation with cultural institutions and cities in the European Union. In my opinion there is combination in creating a new future and "back to the roots" in the cultural cooperation in the region.

For example music and art education is an issue with different traditions and good practicies in many countries. The next annual meeting of the Commission on culture in Finland september 2001 will concentrate on this topic. Another favourite is choir music.

The cultural phenomena reflect the time when they have been developed. A most important question is which kind of cultural heritage our children and grandchildren will receive and which kind of possibilities for creativity there will be. The culture of young people can also be very different to the culture of older generation.

Today it's easier than ever before to create new contactsand to find financial support to different projects. The natural conclusion is: carpe diem!

Dr. Riitta Hurme
Vice-Chairperson of the CoC

SZCZECIN

The last decade witnesses a series of distinguished cultural initiatives in the BSR. Five Baltic cities have been European Culture Capitals. Many cities are celebrating anniversaries, each time recalling Baltic and European links. The Hansa cities gather to present the cultural potential of the BSR. There are countless cultural initiatives on the Baltic scene, like:

• ARS BALTICA grants its logo to ambitious projects (Baltic Triennial of Photography, Probaltica Music Festival, Biblioteca Baltica, JazzBaltica and others)
• ArtGenda - a network of 18 Baltic Sea cities with its basic project "Baltic Biennial of Young Artist", organized in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki.
• Partnership for Culture Project for artists, politicians and intellectuals from the Baltic Sea Region, Belarus and Ukraine
• Activities of the UBC through its Commission on Culture (Culture and Art Festivals, Baltic Contemporary Art Biennial, MARE ARTICUM).

The Nordic Council of Ministers, Like Danish Cultural Institute and Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art support the same pro Baltic Sea policy. Sweden has promoted the idea of Gotland as a Baltic Sea cultural center and started two dynamic institutions: The Baltic Center for Writers and Translators and the Baltic Art Center. Gdansk is an important actor of the Baltic cultural scene with its Baltic Sea Culture Center.

A lot of independent networks have also appeared, like the Baltic Music Network or NICE. The cyber space concentrates a lot of cultural activities like the Baltic Interface Net. Szczecin's Baltic experiences cannot be oveestimated. They enabled Polish inhabitants settled after 1945 to gain better identification and knowledge of the city's.

The end of the century has brought new relations into the region, where the ideology and weapons were replaced by peaceful tools and proposal. The Baltic Sea collaboration by the artistic and cultural circles seems to have long and positive perspectives.

Mr Slawomir Szafranski
Chairman of the CoC

TARTU

When I was a small boy, there was a map of the world in our house. In those days opportunities to travel were scarce. Sometimes a postcard from abroad reached us, or a traveller brought a souvenir. I had never met a foreigner.

In my imaginary world, I travelled far and wide on the map. In Africa there were huge black men with rings in the noses. In remote Canada Eskimos were hunting for seals. But the closer neighbours were equally unknown. In Norway there were genuine Vikings. Finns raced teams of reindeer along the Polar Circle.

Culture around the Baltic Sea is so varied, but at the same time so similar. Many similar circumstances, primarily wars, conquests of land and the trading routes have shaped the history of the countries and the peoples.

If you can find your way out of the airconditioned airports, fast food restaurants and hotels with international TV channels, you will discover that our neighbours are similar to us -we have the same worries, joys and values.

Our prime aim in the UBC Cultural Commission could be establishing a network of cooperation between people and their cultural activities. It is essential for people working in the field of culture to have contacts and friends in other countries to whom we can write, give a call -to receive helpful advice.

Friendly relations between people grow into a cultural cooperation between nations and cities. Then we can tell our children and grandchildren who are standing at the map how interesting and exciting the life of our neighbours can be. Somewhere far from us is another child asking his or her father the same questions about our country.

Mr Hannes Astok
Member of the CoC Board

Visby

The anthropologist Claude Lévi Strauss wrote that the real contribution of a culture is not a list of all its productions, but the qualities that distinguish it from other cultures.

Culture tells who you are and to where you belong. It makes it easier for others to communicate with you. Innovative works of art represent an artist's stand in a context of tradition and cultural diversity and are of universal interest because they may give new images of life today, or tomorrow, even if created in a very personal process.

UBC is a very useful network for collegial contacts and for learning from each other. I hope that this issue of the UBC Cities Bulletin will be well spread.

An important event is the Session next year about cultural education. It is important that young people and producers of art will have more influence on international cooperation. They need stimulation and can often mirror cultural currents as few others.

Our Commission is the only international, neutral forum for culture in the Baltic region. Its network of cultural officials stimulates to meetings of cultural expressions and joint cultural adventures. This could make us all more conscious and tolerant, and let our friendly and stimulating neighbourhood expand.

Nowadays the cultural life is as among the most decisive factors for economy, creativity, social life, tourism, and even health. The cities of the UBC are important for regional development as centers for cultural education, institutions and events. Many successful processes on Gotland have been initiated by cultural workers and enthusiasts, with rich imagination, sensitivity and competence in the languages of cultural expressions. Such initiatives should be supported in order to enhance development.

Mr Olov Gibson
Member of the CoC Board