The Consultation on Cultural Routes in the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) took place from 26-27 March in Helsinki, Finland. The event was organized in the framework of Routes4U, our joint programme with the European Commission – DG REGIO, which aims at fostering regional development in the four EU macro-regional strategies through the Cultural Routes.
Organised within the Finnish Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the meeting was opened by Paavo LIPPONEN, former Prime Minister of Finland. The event gathered participants from European Institutions, Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe networks and stakeholders from the cultural and tourism field at national and macro-regional level in the Baltic Sea Region.
Participants discussed the Cultural Routes' priorities as defined by the stakeholders of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, in order to strengthen the already certified Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in the Region and develop new projects, such as “Modern Architecture” and the Alvar Aalto Cultural Route and “Maritime and Ice Age Heritage”. These Cultural Routes should promote and protect the rich heritage of the Baltic Sea Region, contributing to cultural tourism and transnational cooperation.
Eight countries are part of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden.
