Culture for Resilience Forum 2025: Building stronger communities through culture
In cooperation with partners in the BSR Cultural Pearls project the Danish Cultural Institute is organising the Culture for Resilience Forum 2025, which will take place in Varde, Denmark, from 25 to 27 November. The international event will explore how culture enhances resilience in municipalities and regions. Over three days, the programme will feature keynote speeches, hands-on workshops, a study trip, and the festive Cultural Pearls 2026 Award Ceremony — highlighting how resilience can be built from the ground up when culture is placed at the centre of community life.
The forum is designed for municipal representatives from the Baltic Sea Region — including cities awarded the title BSR Cultural Pearls 2024 and 2025, non-selected candidate municipalities, as well as stakeholders from the culture and creative industries, regional and national authorities, and academics from the Baltic Sea Region and beyond.
To take part in the forum please register here until 1 October and add your travel information.
The Culture for Resilience Forum 2025 will build on the change on the ground achieved by the strong network of residents, creative minds and dedicated partners around the Baltic Sea, and look at the future of the Baltic Pearls initiative.
“Since 2023 over forty cities and towns across the region have answered our call to boost resilience and engage their citizens. This Forum marks a milestone as the Cultural Pearls initiative transitions from an Interreg project into a network of like-minded cities and partners on all sides of the Baltic Sea. Together we will continue to strengthen our region from the bottom up – with culture as the beating heart of our societies,” says the BSR Cultural Pearls Project Coordinator Felix Schartner Giertta.
Inspiring keynote speakers
A series of keynote presentations will form the heart of the programme. Ramon Marrades of Placemaking Europe, who captivated last year’s audience, will return to further explore the transformative power of placemaking and networks. From Latvia, Inese Suija-Markova of the municipality of Cēsis will speak on “silent infrastructure,” showing how culture can sustain and revive small towns and regions. Social and cultural planner Jonas Büchel will offer insights into what we can learn from small, resilient communities.
Hands-on workshops
In addition to the keynotes, the forum will feature workshops led by international experts. Themes include navigating change in cultural and community development, building cross-sector collaboration through arts-based approaches, transforming spaces through contemporary culture and the New European Bauhaus, and exploring how everyday cultural practices can contribute to preparedness and resilience.
Celebration and exchange
Participants will also have the opportunity to exchange tailored knowledge with peers and join the festive Cultural Pearls 2026 Award Ceremony. These moments will both honour past achievements and create space for new connections and ideas. A study trip in and around Varde will offer additional inspiration and practical insights.
The Culture for Resilience Forum is organised by the BSR Cultural Pearls project, co-funded by the EU’s Interreg Baltic Sea Region programme. The project, implemented by a consortium of 12 partner organisations, aims to strengthen social resilience in Baltic Sea Region municipalities by harnessing the potential of local assets of culture and creativity. The project is led by the Council of the Baltic Sea States.
In collaboration with the Resilient Communities Learning Platform (RESCOM), we are also excited to welcome stakeholders from Sweden, Ukraine, and Moldova to enrich the dialogue.
More information and registration: https://culturalpearls.eu/forum/2025-2/