The CCI Contact Desk took part in the EUSBSR Annual Forum and visited some Creative Ports partners in Finland. The first visit was to the Goethe-Institut Finland with a multilingual children’s literature corner of their library. The colleagues in Helsinki presented the international DRIN project on diversity in children’s literature. Afterwards, an experience exchange session with the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk) in Kouvola was on the agenda. The Creative Industries Research Unit of Xamk initiates and takes part in many innovative domestic and international projects, from design and game development to urban planning and participatory practices.
During the hybrid Roundtable held by the Policy Area Culture of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, Nicholas Cull, Professor of Communication at the University of Southern California, and Solomiya Borshosh, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Institute, discussed the impact that reputational security has on public diplomacy and international politics in regard to the Baltic Sea States, Ukraine, and Russia.
Cull spoke about reputation as central to international affairs as it has become a crucial element of the global marketplace. Countries are read as brands in the modern world. That leads to the problems that Ukraine experienced in 2014: the failure of the world to respond adequately was related to the absence of knowledge of Ukrainian culture and its narrative. That changed in 2022 because of government responses including developing international knowledge of Ukrainian arts and culture. Borshosh followed up the topic of Ukrainian reputational security by telling about the big challenge in the past years to convince political partners about the situation in Ukraine. She added that this has changed since the beginning of the war as the brutality was too ubiquitous. Some parts of the efforts of civil society helped in building this new reputation. Borshosh emphasized that cultural relations are a medium to better understand each other. She also spoke about Ukrainian Institut's trauma-sensitive work towards Ukrainian artists from bombed cities such as Kyiv and Kharkiv.
As for the EUSBSR Annual Forum 2022 in Lappeenranta (Finland), the CCI Contact Desk enjoyed networking opportunities with policymakers, representatives of public administrations (including the City of Lappeenranta and the South Karelia Region), business support organisations, research institutions, and youth initiatives. The motivation of around 200 participants from all over the Baltic Sea Region and abroad to solve the challenges together, exchange experience and resources, and share the results with the general public, was impressive.
Back