Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office Cornelia Pieper will participate in the celebration at Plön Castle tomorrow (Tuesday, 13 September) marking the 20th anniversary of Ars Baltica. At this anniversary celebration, which inaugurates the German Presidency of the Council of Baltic Sea States on a cultural note, she will join the host, Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein Peter Harry Carstensen, in recognizing the successful work of Ars Baltica.

Ars Baltica was set up in 1991 on the initiative of the Culture Ministers of the Baltic Sea region to promote cultural collaboration and cooperation on cultural policy in the region. Eight Baltic coastal states and Norway now belong to the cultural network.

In her speech, Minister of State Pieper will speak about what issues Germany intends to focus on during its Presidency of the Council of Baltic Sea States, a year-long term which began on 1 July. She will also discuss the successes of Baltic cooperation over the past 20 years and current challenges.

During the course of the evening, the winners of the short film competition “Ars Baltica Youth”, one of Ars Baltica’s cultural activities, will be announced. The Minister of State will use the opportunity to discuss the place and future of Baltic Sea Cooperation with political representatives from the region and with artists.

The Council of the Baltic Sea States, to which Ars Baltica belongs, was founded in 1992 on the initiative of the German and Danish Foreign Ministers. It has since evolved into a broad network of international cooperation in many spheres affecting the Baltic. Its membership comprises all nine countries on the Baltic, as well as the European Commission, Norway and Iceland.