Invitation to participate in the preparation of the cultural report for the Barents region - Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia

14.04.2023

Invitation to contribute to the Barents Region Cultural Report

Are you a professional artist or cultural operator from Northern Ostrobothnia, Lapland, Kainuu or North Karelia? Are you or your organisation internationally active or do you have international goals or wishes? Do you want to help develop cultural and cultural cooperation in the Barents region? If you answered yes, we hope you will join us in preparing a cultural report for the Barents region by answering the survey.

The cultural report will be an overview of the cultural life in Northern Norway, Northern Sweden and Northern Finland and its international activities with development proposals. The report provides a description of the current state, opportunities and challenges of cultural life, as well as future development needs and strategies. The study takes into account the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's war against Ukraine and the economic downturn. Cultural actors in the Barents region play an important role in the drafting of the report and, through the survey, participate in analysing the current situation and drafting development ideas. In addition to the survey, the survey includes research visits and data collection, as well as interviews with selected actors.

The report was commissioned by the Barents Euro-Arctic Council. It involves the governments of Finland, Norway, Russia and Sweden, as well as the regional governments of the region. Finland participates in the Regional Councils of Lapland, North Ostrobothnia, North Karelia and Kainuu. The study was commissioned by the Barents Euro-Arctic Council Working Group on Culture Working Group on Culture.

Link to the survey: https://forms.gle/xshpYeUPScRMWUAK7 The response time is until April 28th!
Read more in the information letter.
The message and link can be forwarded to potential participants.

Thank you to all the respondents!

More information
Questionnaire: Eric Sjöström, Senior Research Fellow, Erda konsult AB, (eric@erdakonsult.se)
Cultural integration in the Barents region: Auli Suorsa, Senior Specialist, Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia (auli.suorsa@pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi)

Keywords:

Barents, culture, research

02.12.2025
Trainings from the Cultural Bank in December

Five remote training sessions will be organised on the Cultural Bank's online service during December. Two of the trainings are related to lyrics of one's own competence and three to productization. All training sessions also include the introduction training and discussion section of the Cultural Bank in addition to the theme speakers. The days are: Tue 9.12.2025 at 15-16.30 - Competence lyrics, trainer Carolina Pajula / TAMK Wed 10.12.2025 at 10-11.30 - Productisation, trainer Tuuli Penttinen-Lampisuo / Poike Productio Thu 11.12.2025 at 9-10.30 - Competence lyrics, trainer Carolina Pajula / TAMK Tue 16.12.2025 at 10-11.30 - Productisation, trainer Tuuli Penttinen-Lampisuo / Poike Productio Wed 17.12.2025 at 10-11.30 - Productisation, trainer Tuuli Penttinen-Lampisuo / Poike Productio Wed 17.12.2025 at 16.30-18 - Productisation, trainer Tuuli Penttinen-Lampisuo / Poike Productio The trainings are held in Finnish and each session can accommodate the 100 fastest. The aim of the trainings is to increase the competence of cultural and artistic stakeholders and the prerequisites for joining the Cultural Bank. The organisers are the Producer Centre Living Lab and the City of Tampere / Cultural Bank's expansion project. The registration form can be accessed via this link: The Cultural Bank of Finland has just opened a nationwide, unique online platform that brings together the creators of art and culture and their services. They can be easily found and ordered from the Cultural Bank. The service expanded from Pirkanmaa to nationwide this autumn. In Northern Ostrobothnia, the Culture Bank is provided by the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region and the City of Oulu's cultural and cultural services, which also provide additional information. The Cultural Bank can be consulted on its own website: Frontpage - Cultural Bank More information: Auli Suorsa, Culture Specialist, tel. +358 50 386 8443, auli.suorsa@pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi

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The Cultural Bank of Finland is a nationwide online service that brings together art and culture professionals and the services they provide. In the autumn of 2025, the service will also expand to Northern Ostrobothnia, and all art and culture stakeholders in the region will be welcome to join in. The service originated in Pirkanmaa and has been widely praised throughout Finland. "The Pirkanmaa Cultural Bank has been admired and such a service has been actively requested for Northern Ostrobothnia as well. Now it is a pleasure to announce that this will happen just before the opening of the European Capital of Culture year," says Auli Suorsa, Senior Specialist at the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region. In Northern Ostrobothnia, the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region and the City of Oulu are jointly responsible for the regional maintenance, communication and financing of the Cultural Bank. The Cultural Bank is an investment by organisations in Oulu 2026, the year of the Capital of Culture, and the development of the creative industries. The Cultural Bank increases the visibility and job opportunities of authors and provides an equal platform for different fields of art. Professional art and culture creators can register for the service. Each person can create their own profile and add on-demand services, such as workshops, presentations or trainings. The use of the service will be widely communicated during the autumn and information and training sessions will be organised in different contexts. The service is free of charge for art and culture creators who produce content for it. Subscribers – such as municipalities, schools, care units, companies, event producers and also private individuals – can easily find and order services that suit them through the Cultural Bank. At national level, the goal is to compile approximately 6,000 author profiles, 4,000 commissioned services and 1,000 registered subscribers into the service. A total of 14 counties from all over Finland are participating in the extension of the service. The Cultural Bank is not only an online service, it has already created a nationwide network of developers in the creative sector. It includes regional The Regional Regional Assemblys and central cities. The service supports cooperation between municipalities, counties, welfare areas and vitality services in particular. At the same time, it strengthens the possibilities for smaller municipalities to fulfil their statutory role in supporting professional art activities. The expansion work of the Cultural Bank is coordinated by the City of Tampere. As of May 2025, Red & Blue Oy is responsible for the technical maintenance of the web service. Funding has been extended by the Ministry of Education and Culture and comes from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). Additional information: Regional Assembly of Oulu Region: Auli Suorsa, Cultural Affairs Specialist. Tel. +358 50 386 8443 / auli.suorsa@pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi…

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Declaration of the Regional Regional Assemblys on the preparation of the cultural policy report

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Invitation to contribute to the Barents Region Cultural Report

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