Spotlight on resilience, openness, and cross-border co-operation at Nordic Cultural Policy Conference

Image: Kristin Danielsen, Director of the Nordic Culture Fund and one of the keynote speakers at the Nordic Cultural Policy Conference. Photo: Nea Donner

In times of rapid social change and global uncertainty, the need to strengthen the foundations of our societies is becoming ever more pressing. At the core of this resilience lies culture – not only as a source of identity and creativity, but as essential infrastructure in a democratic society. At the Nordic Cultural Policy Conference, voices from across the Nordic Region came together to discuss the role of cultural policy in promoting sustainable development, social cohesion, and democratic participation.

The conference took place at Hanaholmen, Finland, on 9 October with particular emphasis placed on the vital work carried out by local and regional authorities, as well as by grassroots cultural stakeholders who form the backbone of the cultural scene in both urban and rural areas. One of the key issues discussed was how to build cultural ecosystems that are inclusive, dynamic, and ready to face future challenges.

The programme featured inspiring presentations by the Director of the Nordic Culture Fund Kristin Danielsen, and Danish author and cultural commentator Christian Have, who shared their insights on how investment in culture and creativity can help shape a better society, now and in the future. Jenny Johannisson, Senior Lecturer at the University of Borås, highlighted the importance of the Nordic funding system for art and culture, which plays a key role in co-operation across the Nordic Region.

Gitte Wille, Director of Nordic Culture Point, concluded the day with the following words:

“Cultural co-operation strengthens our mutual understanding. Engaging with one another fosters wisdom and better conditions for art and culture. That’s why culture is our shared responsibility.”

The conference was organised by Hanaholmen and Nordic Culture Point in co-operation with the Culture Fund for Sweden and Finland, and is part of Nordic Culture Point’s ongoing efforts to support and contribute to the development of the arts and culture scene through co-operation with other Nordic partners.

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses cookies from Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Meta, and TikTok. Google Analytics is one of the most common and reliable solutions available and it helps us improve the website to enhance your user experience. It helps us understand for how long you visit the site, and which pages your visit. We do this to be able to offer you engaging content. The Meta pixel and TikTok pixel helps us target ads on Meta and TikTok according to which pages you have visited. Microsoft Clarity helps us understand how you navigate on individual pages.