Baltic Sea Festival: Culture and Democracy in the Baltic Sea Region
With the aim to inspire and encourage cultural actors to lead the way towards sustainable, resilient democracies in our region, the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI) and the Swedish Institute (SI) are organizing a livestreamed roundtable discussion on September 12.
The event will revolve around culture, cultural diplomacy and transparent democracies. Three key speakers from fields of culture and politics will catalyze the discussion by presenting their viewpoints, experiences, and specific perspectives. Audience members are invited to contribute to the discussion and pose questions to the speakers at the conclusion of the event.
The speakers are:
- Dr Evan Fein is a graduate and current faculty member of the Juilliard School, USA, as well as a composer. He will talk about the transformation of young artistic talents into compassionate professionals through the school’s many socially oriented programs.
- Ms Ellen Sarkisian Åkerman is an intern with the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS) at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. With a background in Russian art and feminism Ms Sarkisian Åkerman will, among other things, talk about the societal hub that culture and politics create in Russia.
- Mr Stefan Ingvarsson, Senior Analyst with the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS) at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, has a background in diplomacy, culture, publishing and journalism. He will focus on how Poland’s neoconservative and nationalist turn has affected artistic freedom in practice and the understanding of what free art is and should be.
The discussion will be facilitated by Ms Hedda Krausz Sjögren – Director, Producer and Government Official, former cultural attaché to South Africa.
This event is organized in collaboration with the Baltic Sea Festival, a festival for musical experiences and inspirational talks which takes place September 9-18. It will include the musical piece “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman” by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. The discussion will be livestreamed from 4pm to 6pm CET on September 12. Join the event through this link.