Concluding Event of the Finnish Presidency of the BEAC
The concluding event of the two-year presidency of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) of Finland was organized under the leadership of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in Joensuu on 23-24, October 2023.
The event introduced some results of the Finnish Presidency of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC). The focus of the presidency has been on the areas of sustainable development and healthy environment, people-to-people contacts, green transition and transport and logistics.
The interim Trio Presidency of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) of Finland, Norway and Sweden follows the Finnish Presidency for a one-year period unless otherwise decided. North Karelia holds the chairmanship of the Barents Regional Council (BRC) 2023-2025. The Joensuu Statement 2023 of the The Barents Euro-Arctic Council and the Statement of the Barents Regional Council were issued in Joensuu meetings.
Generation Barents event collected young people from the Barents region from Finland, Norway and Sweden to discuss the various aspects of Barents cooperation, working life and entrepreneurship, student exchange possibilities, and attractiveness factors of the Barents region to Joensuu on 23 October 2023.
The Barents Scholarship for Cultural Cooperation 2023
Scholarship Award Ceremony in Joensuu, October 2023
Every second year the Barents Scholarships for Cultural Cooperation are awarded to professional artists and artistic associations within the cultural field in the Barents region.
The Barents Scholarship for Cultural Cooperation recognize and encourage artistic excellence and cooperation across borders and support common arenas and meeting places for artistic and cultural development in the region.
The recipients of the Barents Scholarship for Cultural Cooperation were awarded on 24 October in Joensuu.
Barents Scholarship Recipients 2023
Finland: Koli Art Residence
Norway: Ekaterina Bespalova
Sweden: Marit Shirin Carolasdotter
Discover Barents 2023 Photography Competition
The Winner of the Discover Barents Photo Contest: "Rolling up the Past towards the Circular Economy" by Anna Ziya Geerling.
Second prize of the Discover Barents Photo Contest: "Creative play with carton waste" by Nikolai Petrov
Third prize of the Discover Barents Photo Contest: "Resilience Rewoven" by Juhokalle Pekkala
The Discover Barents Photography Competition focuses on the Barents region aiming to develop and strengthen cross-border co-operation, provide support for the joint promotion and improve its visibility in the Barents region. The first competition was initiated by the Finnish region of Kainuu in 2017, during their chairmanship of the Barents Regional Council (BRC). Since 2017 the competition has been organized in 2019, 2020 and 2023.
The Discover Barents Photography Competition in 2023 was organized by the the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment as part of a project called “Journey of Plastic in the Barents Region” financed by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The theme of this year’s competition was “Circular economy in the Barents region”. The winners of the competition were awarded on 24 October in Joensuu.
Winners of the Discover Barents 2023 photography competition:
1st prize: Rolling up the Past towards the Circular Economy" by Anna Ziya Geerling
2nd prize: "Creative play with carton waste" by Nikolai Petrov
3rd prize: "Resilience Rewoven" by Juhokalle Pekkala
Prisoners of Ice is a historical graphic novel about the Dutch explorer Willem Barents (c. 1550 - 1597) created by Pekka Pohjolainen, a Finnish journalist and enthusiast of maritime history. The Prisoners of Ice tells the story of Willem Barents' fateful third expedition to the Northern seas in 1596-1597.
The Prisoners of Ice comic book was published on 24 October in Joensuu. You can read the story here.
