Aesthetic learning processes and young people's creativity

The creativity of young people has become an ever more important issue. Cultural expressions, stimulating and using one's all senses like art, film, media, theatre, dance, music and other cultural forms, are closely connected to creativity and innovation. Schools focus on reading- writing- mathematics but would have much to gain by opening for the broader potential of creativity that lies in the human nature.
It is important that young people, both in there leisure time and in school, have better access to creative activities than they have now. Contact between artists and art institutions, which possess the skill and competence, and schools who need it, is lacking. The international dialogue in these matters needs improving.
Objectives: We want to develop the role of culture and creativity in school, within all subjects, related to the tasks and goals in school. We want to develop new and more open structures in leisure activities for young people to reach wider ranges of creativity, which has the potential to lead to a professional career. We want to develop contacts and a flexible form of cooperation between artists, cultural institutions and schools and find new and better ways to create culture/creative activities for young people in their leisure time. We want to develop contacts, concrete cooperation and interchange of ideas in these matters around the Baltic, both on the level of organizations and between young people.
Activities: Create a dialogue between artists and pedagogues in school to develop new and more creative ways of learning. Development projects to reach young people in their leisure time. Evaluation and research is to be continued in cooperation with universities. A bank of methods and experience, where project partners, schools, cultural institutions, universities etc collaborate, is created as a ground for long time development in the field. In this way we want to create a lasting dialogue for development in these matters around the Baltic Sea.
This is what we would like to reach in the project:
Young people get better access to their creative capabilities. Possibilities for increased cooperation and mutual understanding is created between the representatives of the cultural sector, school and professional life. Open and interdisciplinary methods to increase creativity connected to work in art is created for use in school and inspiring young people in their leisure time. To establish arenas in the participating municipalities/regions with partners from schools, cultural organisations and institutions, cultural workers and universities. Methods for grades related to the goals in school are developed. Scientific research and analysis to support the development to a more creative school has been carried out. The ground is set for a lasting development for how the arts can support creativity in schools, professional life and in meeting young people in their leisure time. A ground is set for a lasting cooperation around the Baltic in development of methods and work between the participating partners both on organizational level and individual level.

Contact: Jan Martinsson
jan.martinsson@kalmar.se  

Youth Houses

Liepajas Youth centre (more info - http://www.jauns.lv/en/ ) are interested to create new cooperation in Baltic Sea Region.
We are searching for potential partners for common Project (Central Baltic INTERREG IV A - see below) to create or support the youth centre. Our idea is create the Youth house in Liepaja, support some local youth house/centre activities (for example exchange experience of dance, graffiti, bands, youth NGO's work, outdoor, nun formal activities, photo workshops etc.) in cross border and made common activities with similar youth house in other countries.
The Central Baltic Programme covers the following regions and adjacent areas:
- Estonia Kesk-Eesti (Järvamaa, Lääne-Virumaa, Raplamaa), Kirde-Eesti (Ida-Virumaa), Lääne-Eesti (Hiiumaa, Läänemaa, Pärnumaa, Saaremaa) Põhja-Eesti (Harjumaa)
- Finland Itä-Uusimaa, Kymenlaakso, Uusimaa, Varsinais-Suomi, Åland
- Sweden Gotlands län, Gävleborg län, Östergotlands län, Södermanlands län, Stockholms län, Uppsala län

We consider youth different needs in Baltic Sea Region, but the same time youth life style is common. The partnership between youth houses between different countries could be good start to common activities, ideas & futures projects.
The Central Baltic INTERREG IV A program rules include common planning between Project partners, Liepaja are ready to take lead partner role in Project.
If you can please forward this message to your partners who can be interested of this idea.

Pavels Jurs
ljc@jauns.lv  

South Baltic programme - partner search from Gdańsk

The next call for proposals within the South Baltic Programme is planned for 1 April 2010. The City of Gdańsk is looking for partners within the following actions:

- maritime, sailing education; eco-education;
- tourism, eco-tourism, sustainable tourism, maritime tourism;
- promoting the South Baltic area as a tourist destination;
- sustainable use of natural and cultural heritage for regional development (festivals, maritime museums, maritime cultural monuments, historical sites, etc.)
85% of the project/investment costs can be covered by the programme.

Please inform us if your authority/institution is interested to cooperate with the city of Gdańsk within the South Baltic Programme for project funding.
Please distribute this call among potential partners in your region.
South Baltic Programme website: http://en.southbaltic.eu/index/  

For more info contact: info@ubc.net

Partner Search from the city of Pruszcz Gdański

The City of Pruszcz Gdański is searching for partners from regions of Baltic countries eligible in the South Baltic Cross-border Co-operation Programme 2007-2013 (map available on www. southbaltic.eu) in order to implement a common project within the frames of Priority Axis 2 - Attractiveness and common identity, Measure 2.4 - Local community initiatives.
The project lasting three years aims to create a strong partnership in the South Baltic region able to organise a range of cultural events increasing attractiveness of the region and strengthening the cross-border identity.
The planned project through different kinds of cultural events among others concerts, workshops for children and youth, historical reconstructions, festivals, early dance and music groups' performances will intensify local communities' actions and will help them develop their historical awareness. Thanks to cooperation with international partners the citizens of each partner city will be able to intensify dialogue with other cultures and meet their neighbours crossing psychological barriers and breaking stereotypes. Awareness about cultural diversity as well as common history and identity of this part of Baltic Sea will rise. Therefore we search for partners interested in exchange of cultural experiences and common application to the South Baltic Programme. We would like each partner to organise a historical festival in their city as well as take part in events organised in other cities and enrich them with an artistic programme.
More informat at:
http://www.ubc.net/plik,2100.html

Anna Knoch
knoch@pruszcz-gdanski.pl  

Baltic Sea Identity

I would very much like to draw your interest to the proposal for an EU Funding Project, called Baltic Sea Identity. More info here:
http://www.ubc.net/plik,2101.html  Point of departure for the project is the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. Especially Work Package 6 "Baltic Sea Brand, Marketing & Internet Platform" is very interesting. In case, that you are interested in a participation, please contact Wolfgang Schmidt by 5 February 2010.

Wolfgang Schmidt
Chairman
UBC Commission on Business Cooperation
wschmidt@kiwi-kiel.de  

Social Economy BSR

Consortium of Gdansk State University and Regional Information and Support Center for NGOs is long time, active supporter of different initiatives undertaken in area of social economy and implemented in Pomerania Region. Between many different instruments and methods, those with informational and educational dimension, developing entrepreneurial attitude among youth, are considered as a high priority.
Currently our Consortium is working out a project, focused on forming a platform for experiences exchange as well as creating mechanisms of cooperation between different actors engaged in promoting and monitoring social economy development within Baltic Sea Region.
Potential Project partners have been identified as:
- local government
- educational units
- job center and all institutions supporting labor market development.
- business/private companies
- non-governmental organizations
Here: http://www.ubc.net/plik,2105.html  you will find draft of the abovementioned project, that we hope to submit under South Baltic Programme regulations. Presented scheme has been simplified to make the content more visible and easier to identified aims and results, that are to be achieved in cooperation with our international partners. Full version of the project will be result of mutual consultations between partners, planed on second part of January 2010.
All potential partners interested in cooperation, are kindly invited to submit their offers.

Dr. hab. Witold Toczyski
For more information please contact Agnieszka Grafińska Dejna (mail: agnieszka.grafinska-dejna@rci.org.pl ) from Regional Information and Support Centre for NGOs.