First Baltic Sea Youth Dialogue in Estonia and Russia
On 10 September 2014, the First Baltic Sea Youth Dialogue starts in Estonia and Russia. It is organised in cooperation with the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) Secretariat and the Narva College. Twenty-five young Europeans from 12 different countries will join the one-week programme to deal with “Europe on the Move – History and Future of Borders and Identities”. Two thirds of the participants are EUSTORY prize winners, while the other third comes from the CBSS youth network.
What does it mean to share a border, what are the consequences if it changes and what does the Baltic region face in the future? It is issues like these that the participants will discuss with the Estonian Minister of Education and Research, Jevgeni Ossinovski, among others. This encounter certainly promises to be one of the week’s highlights.
The towns of Narva (Estonia) and Ivangorod (Russia) provide an ideal location to investigate this topic in a local, regional and European context. In the past, the twin fortresses situated on each side of the Narva River were targets of Swedish, German, Estonian and Russian influence; nowadays the sites represents the border between the European Union and the Russian Federation. Hence, participants will get the chance not only to learn about the specifics of border regions in theory, but explore it first hand.
Besides crossing the border, they will visit local institutions and talk to experts of regional development in the Baltic States. Among them will be the Deputy Director of the CBSS Secretariat. Almost 25 years after the restoration of Estonian independence and 10 years after the EU’s first eastward enlargement, he will address historical and current aspects of Baltic Sea Cooperation.
While the EU membership brought many advantages to the Estonian side of the border, including funding for modernisation projects and open borders, it intensified the division within the region. Discussing elements of cultural and regional identity with the mayors of both sides of the bridge will therefore provide valuable input for the workshop. Encounters with journalists from the local media, the Russian Counsel General in Narva and the German Ambassador of Estonia will further contribute to understanding the region. Presenting cultural diversity and dialogue from new angles will be the starting point for identifying past and prevailing challenges within the Baltic States.
Throughout the programme the young Europeans will envision and intensively debate the future of Baltic identity. Their ideas and results they will portray in pictures assembled in an Instagram photo exhibition – “Balticeye”. It will be launched on October 1st, featured on its own separate website.
Here you can read the official press release.