Cultural Affairs Rapporteur Report Final 2016

25 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceThe Rapporteur on Cultural AffairsReport 2015/201625 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceThe Rapporteur on Cultural AffairsReport 2015/20162The BSPC Rapporteur on Cultural Affairs The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference(BSPC) was established in 1991 as a forum forpolitical dialogue between parliamentarians© Storting, Oslo 2016 from the Baltic Sea Region. BSPC aims at rais-ing awareness and opinion on issues of currentText: Sonja Mandt political interest and relevance for the BalticEditing: Bjørn Andreassen, Bodo Bahr Sea Region. It promotes and drives various in-Layout: produktionsbüro TINUS itiatives and efforts to support a sustainablePhotos: BSPC Secretariat environmental, social and economic develop-ment of the Baltic Sea Region. It strives at en-hancing the visibility of the Baltic Sea Regionand its issues in a wider European context.BSPC gathers parliamentarians from 11national parliaments, 11 regional parliamentsand 5 parliamentary organisations around theBaltic Sea. The BSPC thus constitutes aunique parliamentary bridge between all theEU- and non-EU countries of the Baltic SeaRegion.BSPC external interfaces include parlia-mentary, governmental, sub-regional and oth-er organizations in the Baltic Sea Region andthe Northern Dimension area, among themCBSS, HELCOM, the Northern DimensionPartnership in Health and Social Well-Being(NDPHS), the Baltic Sea Labour Forum(BSLF), the Baltic Sea States Sub-regional Co-operation (BSSSC) and the Baltic Develop-ment Forum.BSPC shall initiate and guide political ac-tivities in the region; support and strengthendemocratic institutions in the participatingstates; improve dialogue between govern-ments, parliaments and civil society; strength-en the common identity of the Baltic Sea Re-Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference gion by means of close co-operation betweenwww.bspc.net national and regional parliaments on the basisof equality; and initiate and guide political ac-Bodo Bahr tivities in the Baltic Sea Region, endowingHead of BSPC Secretariat them with additional democratic legitimacybb@bspc.net and parliamentary authority.The political recommendations of the an-nual Parliamentary Conferences are expressedin a Conference Resolution adopted by con-BSPC Secretariat sensus by the Conference. The adopted Reso-c/o Lennéstraße 1 lution shall be submitted to the governments19053 Schwerin of the Baltic Sea Region, the CBSS and theGermany EU, and disseminated to other relevant na-Phone (+49) 385 525 2777 tional, regional and local stakeholders in theBaltic Sea Region and its neighbourhood.3ContentsBALTIC SEA REGION CULTURAL HERITAGE .....................5Summary and recommendations: ................................................5Introduction .................................................................................9CBSS’s work on Cultural Heritage Cooperation:Action Plan and Monitoring Group ..........................................10EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR)Priority Area Culture ..................................................................11Building preservation and maintenance ......................................12Underwater Cultural Heritage ....................................................13The Coastal Heritage ..................................................................14Baltic Harbours .........................................................................15Historic Ships .............................................................................164 The Rapporteur on Cultural AffairsThe Rapporteur on Cultural Affairs 5BALTIC SEA REGIONCULTURAL HERITAGEReport fromSonja Mandt,BSPC Rapporteur onCultural AffairsSummary andrecommendations:With reference to the Confer- Sonja Mandtence Resolution Adopted bythe 23rd Baltic Sea Parliamen-tary Conference (BSPC) inOlsztyn, Poland, August 2014, and the appointment as BSPC rap-porteur at the BSPC Standing Committee meeting August 2015 inRostock, I am very pleased to present this report to the 25th confer-ence of the BSPC.The Baltic Sea Region has an outstanding diverse and attractive cul-tural life and a cultural heritage of great value. Culture is a vast area,and in this report I have chosen to investigate and to focus on coast-al culture and maritime heritage, including underwater heritage.In accordance with the Lübeck Declaration, adopted by the 3rdConference of the CBSS Ministers of Culture, a working group ofsenior heritage experts, the Baltic Sea Monitoring Group on Heri-tage Cooperation, was established in April 1998. The work is organ-ised in different subgroups. During my work with this report, I havegot the understanding that the national representation and partici-pation may vary a lot, perhaps due to budget restraints. In my viewit is very important that all countries around the Baltic Sea facilitateand give sufficient financial support, so every country is representedand may contribute to this important work of heritage cooperation.6 The Rapporteur on Cultural Affairs• Building preservation and maintenanceTh e work of safeguarding buildings and architecture is extreme-ly important. It is necessary to educate craftsmen and increaseknowledge and competence both cross border and in the localcommunity. Educational programme that seeks to spread knowl-edge cross border on traditional handicraft, and the relevance ithas for society today should be supported.A particular area of work is the preservation of the Baltic light-houses. In many countries lighthouses have been listed as cul-tural monuments and protected by law. But national and inter-national funding for maintenance are often not enough. It isonly by finding suitable new uses for former lighthouses that wecan hope to successfully preserve a greater number of them.• Underwater HeritageTh e Ministers of Foreign Affairs have stated that safeguardingthe uniqueness and variety of the underwater heritage of the Bal-tic Sea is a regional concern.O ne special important project is the Rutilus project, which listedthe 100 most valuable underwater sites. The project has also pro-duced the Code of Good Practice for the Management of Under-water Cultural Heritage in the Baltic Sea Region (COPUCH).I f underwater heritage is located in territorial waters it is mostlyprotected by national laws. But some 40 percent of the BalticSea is divided into Economic Zones in which no effective herit-age legislation can be applied.Th is is quite unsatisfactory and BSPC should take an initiativeand work for a proper heritage legislation which cover the wholeof the Baltic Sea.O ne area of grave concern is the underwater heritage from the Sec-ond World War: About 40 000 tonnes of chemical munitions weredumped into the Baltic Sea after the war. In view of the increasingutilization of the seafloor for economic purposes (e.g., offshorewind farms, sea cables, pipelines), the risk of encountering sea-dumped munitions is increasing. It is therefore important to fullyrecognize the findings from the CHEMSEA (Chemical MunitionSearch and Assessment) project, and make use of the guidelines de-veloped for different stakeholders in the Baltic Sea Area.The Rapporteur on Cultural Affairs 7• Coastal Culture and Maritime HeritageTh e coastal culture is threatened, not only by the crisis in the tra-ditional coastal industries, but also by the pressure of recreation-al activity. But documentation and information on the culturalvalues may generate economic development through culturaltourism.I find it essential that coastal culture should be made more visi-ble, but further protected and developed by identifying and de-scribing the values, possible problems and potential.B uildings, quays, cranes and other structures are demolishedand disappear. The need to document these losses is an urgenttopic for international co-operation in the Baltic Sea area. Thisis not only about monuments, but also about traditions andidentity.Th ere is an economic interest in the re-use of coastal areas as wellas new use of the open sea. Integrated coastal and maritime spa-tial planning poses new challenges and opportunities for cultur-al heritage.W hen transforming a harbour area to new uses we need to takecare of the heritage and establish processes that can cope withcontradictory values held by different stakeholders.H istoric ships are unique monuments of cultural heritage. Shipshave connected people and seafarers have shipped cultural in-fluences across the seas.‘ Baltic Ships’ – is an exhibition of twelve posters to raise aware-ness and promote the preservation of historic ships under threatin the Baltic area.T oday the knowledge of using, building and restoring old shipsis in short supply and skilled labour is an endangered species.Th e preservation of our historic ships should be a goal for all na-tions, to be undertaken by public institutions, politicians andnon-governmental organisations together. We must secure theknowledge of using, building and restoring old ships.8 The Rapporteur on Cultural Affairs• EU Strategy; Priority Area CultureTh e Priority Area Culture is one of the 17 priorities of the EUStrategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR).A representative from the Coordinators (the Ministry of Justice,Cultural and European Affairs of Land Schleswig-Holstein) em-phasized the importance of a strong parliamentary support andinvolvement in the BSR Cultural dialogue, especially the needof BSPC representation in the steering group of the Priority areaCulture.I suggest that the BSPC explore the possibility to observe thework of the Steering group, and participate in the BSR Culturaldialogue (Conferences and forums organised in the frameworkof the EUSBSR.Oslo, June 29, 2016Sonja MandtRapporteurThe Rapporteur on Cultural Affairs 9IntroductionThe countries surrounding the Baltic Sea have been connected bywaterways throughout history. The Baltic Sea water basin is one cul-tural region, where we share similar coastal traditions and maritimeheritage.Over centuries, skills, crafts, tools and other goods travelled alongthe sea routes and overland. As a result of this continuous sailing ac-tivity, approximately 100 000 shipwrecks scatter the seabed, cover-ing the entire period from pre-historic times to the present day.This is one example that make underwater heritage of the Baltic Seaoutstanding on a global scale.The Conference Resolution Adopted by the 23rd Baltic Sea Parlia-mentary Conference (BSPC) in Olsztyn, Poland, 24-26 August2014, had many references to cultural heritage, i.e.- d evelop regional cooperation, including teaching, academic re-search, scientific cooperation and support to joint activities suchas the Monitoring Group on Cultural Heritage, Northern Di-mension Partnership on Culture, EUSBSR Priority Area Cul-ture and Ars Baltica;- p romote and support the preservation, documentation and dis-semination of maritime cultural heritage in museums and byother heritage actors and initiatives;- s upport projects which capture and provide traditional knowl-edge and skills, to promote education and its application as wellas to develop educational programs for the future preservationof traditional boat building;- S upport projects and activities aimed at protecting architecturalmonuments, including those which increase energy efficiency inhistoric buildings without destroying their heritage values;- e ncourage dialogue and cooperation in the fields of contempo-rary culture and creative industries and support cultural opera-tors in innovation and cross-sectoral cooperation;10 The Rapporteur on Cultural AffairsThis reportThe Baltic Sea Region has an outstanding diverse and attractive cul-tural life and a cultural heritage of great value. Culture is a vast area,and in this report I have chosen to investigate and focus on coastalculture and maritime heritage, including underwater heritage.CBSS’s work on Cultural Heritage Cooperation:Action Plan and Monitoring GroupThe mandate to create an action plan for the common heritage inthe Baltic Sea States was included in the Lübeck Declaration adopt-ed by the 3rd Conference of the CBSS Ministers of Culture (Lü-beck, 22 Sept. 1997).In accordance with this decision, a working group of senior heritageexperts, the Baltic Sea Monitoring Group on Heritage Coopera-tion, was established in April 1998. The work is organised in foursubgroups under the supervision of the Monitoring Group:• B uilding preservation and Maintenance in practice – Its aim isto ensure accessibility to traditional materials of the region forconservation needs. This also includes information to buildingsector professionals, to owners of cultural property and to thegeneral public.• Underwater Heritage – Its aim is to study the implications andpossible content of a regional agreement to protect underwatercultural heritage in the Baltic Sea. This includes the prohibitionof CBSS nationals and ships flying member-state flags from in-terfering with historic wrecks and archaeological structures.• Coastal Culture and Maritime Heritage – The aim is to deepenthe cooperation between authorities concerning the coastal cul-ture and its development and to draw the attention to the strat-egies for sustainable use of coastal areas. Special attention is giv-en to documentation and presentation of coastal culture interms of research and exhibitions.• Sustainable historic towns – Its aim is to coordinate networks,seminars, training and information on the subject.The Rapporteur on Cultural Affairs 11EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR)Priority Area CultureThe Priority Area Culture is one of the 17 priorities of the EU Strat-egy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR).The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland and theMinistry of Justice, Cultural and European Affairs of Land Schle-swig-Holstein (Germany) have taken on the role as Priority AreaCoordinators. They are supported in the implementation by theBSR cultural initiative ARS BALTICA, the Nordic Council of Min-isters and other BSR relevant stakeholders, as well as Ministries ofCulture from the Baltic Sea Region.For the implementation of the Priority Area Culture five areas havebeen identified as major action fields:1. Joint promotion and presentation of BSR culture and culturalheritage:2. Cooperation on cultural heritage: to facilitate cooperation ofexperts, to preserve the BSR cultural heritage and to visualizethe BSR cultural heritage3. Contributing to the common BSR cultural identity4. Joint promotion and presentation of BSR creative industries5. Developing an efficient framework for BSR cultural cooperationAt the Standing Committee meeting in Kiel November 2015 Mr.Stefan Musiolik from the Ministry of Justice, Culture and Europe-an affairs of Schleswig- Holstein briefed the members of the com-mittee on the cultural dialogue in the Baltic Sea Region. He statedthat a dedicated Priority Area is necessary as there is no lack of ac-tors and projects in the field, but a lack of coordination between thedifferent cultural institution in the BSR, and as a result – a lack offinancial support for cultural activities. Mr Musiolik underlined theaction oriented approach of the via concrete flagship projects (e.g.Baltic Heritage Atlas, Network of Maritime museums). He de-scribed the work so far as being very successful, as culture at thattime has received the fourth highest financial support out of 17 pri-ority areas since the launch of the action plan in February 2013. MrMusiolik emphasized the importance of a strong parliamentary sup-port and involvement in the BSR Cultural dialogue, especially theneed of BSPC representation in the steering group of the Priorityarea Culture.12 The Rapporteur on Cultural AffairsBuilding preservation and maintenanceSafeguard wooden buildings and architectureI want to highlight one project in Latvia that has received the Euro-pean Union Prize for Cultural Heritage. Kuldiga old town has over400 wooden houses built between 17th and 19th century. Together,craftsmen and experts from Latvia and abroad established a restora-tion centre to safeguards the wooden architecture, educate crafts-men and increase knowledge and competence in the local commu-nity. Several buildings have been restored. The project has alsohelped increase local involvement, awareness and competence onhow to safeguard the buildings for the future.Baltic LighthousesBaltic Lighthouses are some of the oldest aids to navigation andhave marked the main highways along our coasts for centuries.Throughout their history they have benefited from the develop-ment of new technology and increasingly automated equipment.Today the majority of lights world-wide are automatically operatedand no longer require personnel. Continual exposure to the harshmaritime environment and no regular maintenance means thesebuildings rapidly deteriorate.In many countries lighthouses and lights have been listed as cultur-al monuments and protected by law. In Norway today there are 83protected lighthouses. Sweden has had 24 lights listed as nationalmonuments since 1935, following a reassessment this may now in-crease to 73. Poland has 13 lighthouses listed as historical monu-ments, 12 are open to the public. The Finnish Maritime Adminis-tration is responsible for 49 automatically operated lighthouses, andproposals for their protection are being looked into. Estonia hasidentified 31 lighthouses for protection. Lithuania has five light-houses, two are registered monuments.A major and costly challenge for lighthouse preservation is thebuildings’ constant exposure to the harsh maritime climate. In somecountries the state provides funding for lighthouses protected bylaw. Public funding is often available for sites that demonstrate theyhave a role to play in today’s society. In some cases internationalfunding agencies such as the EU Structure Fund and the InterregIIIb Programme for the North Sea and the Baltic can provide finan-cial assistance. However it is only by finding suitable new uses forformer lighthouses that we can hope to successfully preserve a great-er number of them.The Rapporteur on Cultural Affairs 13Underwater Cultural HeritageThe Baltic Sea is a very special environment with a unique under-water cultural heritage. In the declaration of the 15th MinisterialSession of the Council of the Baltic Sea States on 4th of June 2009,the Ministers of Foreign Affairs noted that safeguarding the unique-ness and variety of the underwater heritage of the Baltic Sea is a re-gional concern.If underwater heritage is located in territorial waters it is mostlyprotected by national laws. But some 40 percent of the Baltic Sea isdivided into Exclusive Economic Zones in which no effective herit-age legislation can be applied.The regional Working group on Underwater Cultural Heritage,composed of decision-makers, scientists and cultural managers, dis-cusses current problems of protection, education, exploration andmanagement of underwater heritage such as wrecks, the sunkenparts of harbours and settlements from the Stone Age to moderntimes. Members of the group are delegates from official governmentdepartments in charge of cultural heritage of the Baltic Sea States.In the framework of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, the BalticSea States include also Norway and Iceland. The working groupmeets at least twice a year for two day meetings since 2000.As a result of these roundtable discussions special projects have beendeveloped. One particular important is the Rutilus project, whichwas an effort to get a grip on the whole underwater heritage sector.The main topic was to exchange data about the different protectionof underwater sites by law, the underwater archaeological educationand tourism strategies. The list of the 100 most valuable underwa-ter sites is one of the most important results of this project.In cooperation with the Monitoring Group the projects have pro-duced the Code of Good Practice for the Management of Underwa-ter Cultural Heritage in the Baltic Sea Region (COPUCH). It is aprofessional, non-controversial set of guidelines for both expertsand decision-makers.Topics on today’s agenda:- Increasing efforts for educating and informing the public aboutunderwater archaeology- Better professional media and strategies for storage, exchangeand presentation of data on underwater heritage and- More concentrated efforts on raising the status of underwaterheritage.14 The Rapporteur on Cultural AffairsThe Coastal HeritageAs already said, the Baltic Sea has always connected the peoplearound it. Therefore coastal culture and maritime heritage show im-portant similarities essential to the understanding of our commonidentity and history.The coastal culture is however threatened, not only by the crisis inthe traditional coastal industries, but also by the pressure of recre-ational activity. The coastal areas are probably the most rapidlychanging environments today, but it still seems to be a neglectedtopic, both in national preservation policies and in national and in-ternational coastal and sectional policies.Another important field is documentation and information on thecultural values in the coastal regions in order to promote develop-ment and increase understanding and awareness of its importance.This work can also generate economic contributions through cul-tural tourism and foster a responsible approach to development andnecessary changes.The WG also stresses the importance of the long term heritage pro-tection and of strategic co-operation between authorities and othersin order to facilitate a sustainable use of the region, including a di-versified economy and partly traditional trades.The three main aims of the group within the framework of the newWG strategy are as follows- Describing challenges and opportunities within the field ofcoastal culture and maritime heritage- Reporting on the status of ongoing activities in each country- Suggesting, promoting and initiating projects and actions forco-operation• I find it essential that coastal culture will be made more visi-ble, and that it is further protected and developed in all of itsdiversity by identifying and describing the common assets,problems and potential.The Rapporteur on Cultural Affairs 15Baltic HarboursThe rapid change of shipping, fishing and other maritime industriesleads to a complete change of core areas in our towns. Harbour ac-tivities are being moved out of city centres. Redundant harbourshave become attractive areas in the competition for access to the wa-terfronts. Buildings, quays, cranes and other structures are demol-ished and disappear. The need to document these losses is an urgenttopic for international co-operation in the Baltic Sea area. This isnot only about monuments, but also traditions and identity. Mostof our cities have developed because of and beside the harbour.Major industrial centres like the Gdańsk Shipyard now employsonly 10% of the workforce it had 20 years ago.The reduction of the fishing fleets is leading to further stagnation ofharbours and maritime industries.Harbour areas are seldom put under legal protection. To deal withpreservation issues in connection with a harbour means dealingwith a complex and multi-dimensional area.When transforming a harbour area to new uses we also need to takecare of the heritage and establish processes that can cope with con-tradictory values held by different communitiesThe Remains of Shipyards. One example:- An archaeological excavation prior to the building of Copenha-gen’s new opera house discovered a wooden wharf built in the1780’s around a small mooring island. In addition to the wharf5 shipwrecks were found. Three of these dated from the early1500s and were probably sunk as a blockade by the GermanHansa. Another ship can be dated to the end of the nineteenthcentury.It is noteworthy that a change from a harbour to an area for muse-ums, concert halls, art galleries and shopping malls is a change fromlabour to leisure.16 The Rapporteur on Cultural AffairsHistoric ShipsA historic ship is a ship which has survived its purpose. Nearly allships ever built have been destroyed, either by nature or by man.Only a few have survived. Some of them might be wrecks; othersare preserved more or less in their original condition.Historic ships are unique monuments of cultural heritage. You findthem in the open sea, in harbours, on lakes or in rivers. But as theyhave always been moveable, these monuments have often been regard-ed as less valuable than buildings ashore. There is no reason for that.Ships have connected people; they have brought us our food, car-ried our goods and given incomes to most societies. Seafarersshipped cultural influences across the seas. The maritime culturesand traditions united people living far away from each other. Thehistoric ship is a book for reading.The Working Group on Coastal Culture and Maritime Heritage isresponsible for ‘Baltic Ships’ – an exhibition of twelve posters toraise awareness and promote the preservation of historic ships underthreat in the Baltic area.Each membership country has chosen a maximum of 15 historicalvessels for the exhibition, which are found either at the quayside orpreserved on land. The listed vessels are more than 50 years old,built or used commercially in either Baltic or North Sea trade, andof importance for the history of seafaring in the Baltic or North Searegion. The objective was to compile a representative selection ofpreserved vessels used in our territorial waters. The objectives of thelist are:• t o collect and present information on preserved historic vesselsin order to highlight the richness of the preserved ships in TheBaltic Sea States.• t o promote the value and importance of historic ships to a wid-er audience and to decision-makers• t o raise awareness and understanding of restoring and maintain-ing historic vesselsHistoric ships are often objects of national identity or represent thedistribution of religion and ideology. The Aurora is a national sym-bol for the October Revolution and stands for the breakthrough ofCommunism internationally. The vessel is now preserved as a mu-seum ship in St. Petersburg, Russia.The Rapporteur on Cultural Affairs 17Vasa is an example of a ship that provides a comprehensive under-standing of our maritime history. Vasa is the Swedish warshiplaunched in 1628, the vessel sank during her maiden voyage. Theship and its extensive contents have been instrumental in providinginformation about seventeenth century shipbuilding techniques,naval warfare, and the lives of people on board.In the early days all the necessary knowledge needed in shipbuildingwas handed over from master to apprentice. The character of theskills required has, however, changed dramatically in the last hun-dred years. Today the knowledge of using, building and restoringold ships is in short supply and skilled labour is an endangered spe-cies.In recent decades abandoned industrial sites have re-opened suc-cessfully as places for some of these traditional activities. The revi-talizing of old skills at shipyards and workshops, combined withhistory and resources of the place itself, offers possibilities to studyand exhibit shipbuilding skills in an authentic environment.The re-use of shipyards can also give a better understanding of thetraditional skills involved through different educational projects.Such activities not only give a new life to historic ships, but alsohelp to highlight the value of shipbuilding as an important part ofour industrial history and maritime past.• Th e preservation of our historic ships should be a goal for all na-tions, to be undertaken by public institutions, politicians andnon-governmental organisations together.• W e must secure the knowledge of using, building and restoringold ships.18 The Rapporteur on Cultural AffairsMore information:http://www.cbss.org/regional-identity/intergovernmental-cul-tural-cooperation/http://www.cbss.org/regional-identity/cultural-heritage/http://mg.kpd.lt/LT.htmlhttp://www.eusbsrculture.euThe Rapporteur on Cultural Affairs 19Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference Secretariatwww.bspc.netBSPC Secretariatc/o Lennéstraße 119053 SchwerinGermanyPhone (+49) 385 525 2777