The touring project Balticness, which is being organised by the Latvian presidency in the Council of the Baltic Sates (CBSS), will visit Warsaw on 24 April. 

As part of the project, a round-table seminar Demographic Deficit, Brain Drain, and Challenged Integration: the Complexity of Migration in the Baltic Sea Region will be held at the Tyszkiewicz-Potocki Palace. The seminar will focus on:

• Immigration from outside the Baltic Sea region to states within the region - a threat or a solution? Is immigration the only answer to halt the negative demographic trend, or is a different approach possible?
• Emigration from the region to states outside the region. Brain drain, brain overflow, or brain waste? How should education systems and labour markets, especially in Poland and the Baltic States, respond to the evident exodus of the young and the talented?
• Movement of people within the region, from one Baltic Sea state to another. An innovative solution or a stop-gap measure? What can be done in order to facilitate integration within the region?

At the University of Warsaw, the opening of the photographic exhibition âÀ¦Where the Baltic Sea and People MeetâÀ¦ will take place. The exhibition includes work 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 7 May.

The jazz club Akwarium Jazzarium will host a joint concert by Latvian and Polish jazz musicians. Latvia will be represented by Deniss Paskevics and the group Riga Groove Electro, whilst Jan Freicher will represent Poland. The concert will be complemented with a video performance about the interaction of the Baltic Sea and its people.

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 of the Baltic Sea region, and highlighting the Baltic Sea as the life line 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. The project includes a photographic exhibition, jazz concert, and discussions on themes relating to regional co-operation.

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

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