Report on The Barents Cultural Co-operation - LabforCulture.org

2001-09-26
In order to address culture in its broad sense, the Committee appointed reference
groups for sports, dance and contacts between the churches, and one for media, film
and TV.
The first attempts to establish a Church Committee were made when the bishops
from the Russian-Orthodox Church in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk were invited to
the Northern Nordic Priest Meeting in Gällivare, Norrbotten 1994. A Committee has
been working in this field since then, and a Christian Church Council for
cooperation in the Barents Region has been established.
The Ministerial Conference 1998
The commission for this report is based on the Communiqué adopted by the
Ministerial Conference on the Cultural Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic
Region, held in Arkhangelsksk on September 10, 1998.
The Ministerial Conference takes note of the increasing importance of cultural
cooperation as one of the means to promote a cultural identity in the Barents Region
based on historical tradition and considers the role of culture as a stimulating factor
for the development of the Barents Region at large.
The conference Communiqué states:
Statements for a new policy
• The creation of a new cultural policy, a “Northern Renaissance”, is the principal
goal for common activities on the threshold to the twenty-first century.
This new cultural policy requires all parties to be willing to work actively for
increased cooperation under the guidance of two main principles:
• From culture towards economic development
• From economic development towards culture
The new cultural policy should:
• Give priority to cross-border contacts.
• Support cultural activities aiming at joint long-term programmes and projects.
• Introduce the Barents culture in a variety of contexts and strengthen international
cultural relations.
• Develop the Barents region as a dynamic and open cultural area.
The Ministerial Conference stressed the importance of strengthening the common
identity of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region and emphasised in particular the need to
support the development of a regional identity and the culture and cultural heritage
of the Sami, Nenets and other indigenous peoples.
The Ministerial Conference was aware of the need for different kinds of support at
the national and regional level for cultural initiatives.
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