Barents Scholarships for Cultural Cooperation is a new initiative on awarding scholarships to Barents cultural actors (both institutions and individuals) which has been started in 2016.
The goal of the Scholarship is to serve as a recognition of outstanding arts and culture, encouraging cross-border cooperation in the Barents region. The purpose of the Scholarship is to bring up the cultural activities, artists and cultural cooperation in the Barents region and to encourage the cultural actors to work in the Barents region. The Scholarship will be awarded two times for a trial period with the aim to award it on a bi-annual basis in the future.
Each of the four Barents countries can nominate one candidate. The Joint Working Group on Culture makes an assessment of the nominated candidates and each of these four selected candidates is awarded a Barents Scholarship.
The First Barents Scholarships for Cultural Cooperation were awarded during the BEAC Ministerial in Arkhangelsk on 19th October 2017 to cultural actors, one from each of the member countries of the Barents Euro-Arctic region (Finland, Norway, Russia and Sweden). Four scholarships, each amounting 10 000 euros, were awarded to the photographer Jaakko Heikkilä (Finland), travelling theatre Samovarteateret (Norway), poet and writer Mona Mörtlund (Sweden) and Ethno-Cultural Initiatives Support and Development Fund in the Republic of Karelia (Russia) for their impact and exceptional work across the borders in the field of the arts.
Through the Barents Scholarships for Cultural Cooperation initiatives, the Joint Working Group on Culture aims to promote dialogue and cooperation in the Barents Region.
