The touring project Balticness, which is being organised by the Latvian presidency in the Council of the Baltic Sates (CBSS), will visit Vilnius from 7 to 9 May. The project features a photographic exhibition, a jazz concert, and a debate on a topic of significance in the Baltic Sea Region today.

On 7 May at 8 pm the music club L'Amour will host a joint concert by Latvian and Lithuanian jazz musicians. Deniss Paskevics and Riga Groove Electro will represent Latvia, whereas the saxophonist, clarinettist, and composer Liudas Mockunas will represent Lithuania. The concert will be complemented with a video performance about the interaction of the Baltic Sea and its people. At the Vilnius International Airport on 8 May, the opening of the photographic exhibition Where the Baltic Sea and People Meet will take place at 3 pm. The exhibition includes works by 40 young photographers from the CBSS member states. The photographers are between the ages of 18 and 30 and represent all the Baltic Sea states. Looking at the Baltic Sea through the eye of a photo camera, they have created its mirror image and revealed its diversity with a touch of humour, creativity, respect for the environment, energy, and fulfilment of dreams. The exhibition will be open until 29 May.

As part of the project, on 9 May at 10 am a round-table seminar Baltic Sea Region Transport - a Network of Innovation, Efficiency, and Competitiveness will be held in the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. Participants will discuss the development of transport system, funding and implementation of strategic transport projects, and other topical issues, and will include officials from Latvian and Lithuanian ministries of transport, and regional representatives of the transport sector from various state, private, and academic institutions.

Project Balticness is a year-long series of events taking place in major cities of the CBSS states (Tallinn, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Oslo, Reykjavik, Copenhagen, Berlin, Warsaw, Vilnius, and Riga). The main aim of the project is to foster the development of a sense of identity and belonging in the region, promoting more comprehensive co-operation and closer integration among the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea, and highlighting the Baltic Sea as the living artery of the entire region and its population.

The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in association with Latvian embassies in CBSS states, local governments of the host cities, the CBSS Secretariat in Stockholm, the Centre for Contemporary Art, the Ze Pirates association of musicians, and the Baltic Development Forum.

Media representatives and other interested parties are welcome to participate in the events.

More information is available at http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/cbss/Balticness/. 

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