Turku Baltic Sea Days 2014

Time: 1-5 June 2014
Place: Turku, Finland

During the Turku Baltic Sea Days, CITYWATER/ Tallinn University presented for the first time internationally the results of the communication survey conducted in the Baltic States. CITYWATER organized a workshop entitled “Save the Sea – communication as a tool for water protection”.

During the workshop, first, the survey results were presented by Arko Olesk from Tallinn University (picture to the right). He addressed questions such as what are people’s attitudes towards the Baltic Sea? Who do they think is responsible for saving our common sea – local municipalities, EU, the citizens? And what are the keys of success in water protection work according to civil servants?

Then followed comment speeches by project manager Hannamaria Yliruusi from the Union of the Baltic Cities Environmental Commission and by project manager Martti Komulainen from the Turku University of Applied Sciences and the BalticSeaNow.info project (pictures below). The comment speeches emphasized the value of the survey results for understanding the current knowledge and attitudes and for planning future activities.

After that the participants divided into small groups and discussed what citizens can do to contribute to the protection of the Baltic Sea and how to empower them to act. The discussions pointed out that people can do a lot for the Baltic Sea by making wise consumer choices. The workshop also concluded that visualized facts and localized information can help a lot to bring information to people and encourage them to act. Many good example already exist, the participants found, but there is little sharing between projects and activities. The input from the workshop will be used by Tallinn University in writing a communication strategy for water protection activities on local level.

The workshop was chaired by Professor Kaja Tampere from Tallinn University.

Save the Sea – is it worth it?

Professor Kaja Tampere also took part in a panel during the seminar “Save the Sea – is it worth it” that was held before the workshop. The seminar was organized by the Baltic Sea Challenge, CITYWATER and other cooperation partners. The panel consisted of experts representing fields of ecology, economy, communication and law. The seminar discussed among other things how we can overcome the challenge of getting our message through, and the topic of Tampere’s presentation was “Speaking to deaf ears? Critical aspects of Baltic Sea Communication”.During the seminar, a few new Baltic Sea Challenge partners were presented: Friends of the Baltic from S:t Petersburg, Russia, and Tallinn University from Estonia. Friends of the Baltic joined the network after having participated in the Cities Forum that CITYWATER arranged in connection to the opening of the Gulf of Finland Year 2014. Tallinn University is about to join the Baltic Sea Challenge network.

In the picture from the left: Salla-Maria Lauttamäki, BSC coordinator; Olli-Pekka Mäki, Director of environmental protection at the City of Turku; Kaja Tampere, University of Tallinn; Tatiana Shauro, Friends of the Baltic; Lotta Ruokanen, BSC coordinator; Kajsa Rosqvist, CITYWATER.

The “Save the Sea” seminar and workshop were organized during the Baltic Sea Forum entitled “Talk about water – how to save the sea”, which was part of the Turku Baltic Sea Days 1-5 June 2014. During the week major Baltic Sea discussion forums and a number of other seminars and conferences were held in Turku, Finland. Among the large scale conferences were the 16th Baltic Development Forum Summit and 5th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy of the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR). The joint 16th Baltic Development Forum Summit and 5th Annual Forum of the EUSBSR, themed “Growing together”, explored how cooperation can help strengthen economic growth, contribute to sustainable development, and create a strong and integrated Baltic Sea Region. Bringing together decision-makers from business, politics, international organizations and academia from across the Baltic Sea Region, the event provided a platform for exchange of opinions and experiences; discuss key issues and chart the way forward.