Nordic Weeks in St. Petersburg 2021
From 10 September to 10 October 2021 St. Petersburg will host the international “Nordic Weeks” festival. This year’s themes are ecology and sustainable development. The programme includes events in science, art, cinema, literature and urbanism. They will present the experiences of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland on responsible consumption, sustainable fashion, design, urban development and environmental protection.
The Nordic countries were among the first to step on the path of sustainable development. At the festival, the audience will get to know innovations and successful practices from the North of Europe, listen to lectures and discussions, see thematic exhibitions, and watch environmental documentaries. In addition, the festival will host an international conference on circular economy with experts from Russia and the Nordic countries.
This year, the festival aims not only to present successful experiences, but also to talk about the possibilities of implementing the principles of sustainable development in Russia. The organisers paid special attention to the issues of awareness in everyday life, an ecological lifestyle, sharing consumption practicies and rational use of resources.
The curator of this year’s festival is journalist and eco-blogger Anastasia Prikazchikova: “I have long admired how consistently the Nordic countries are pursuing sustainable development policy. And it’s not just about individual areas, such as textile recycling or food waste treatment, but also about global change. The Nordic countries understand how the climate crisis threatens all of us. They want to change the situation, and for this they are changing themselves. They are trying, and quite successfully, to rethink consumption, to make it more environmentally friendly, set ambitious goals for achieving carbon neutrality. Of course, we can learn a lot from our neighbours, but we also have a lot to be proud of. At the festival, in addition to the best sustainable practices of the Nordic countries, guests will have the opportunity to get acquainted with wonderful Russian projects on sustainable development, responsible consumption and sustainable lifestyle.”
The festival’s programme features more than 20 events. It will be organised in a mixed format: residents of St. Petersburg will be able to attend the events in person, but it is also possible to watch broadcasts of the events on the official YouTube channel, on social media or on the festival’s website.
“Nordic Weeks”. About the project.
Since 2010, the festival is organised by Consulates General of Finland, Norway and Sweden in St. Petersburg, Embassies of Denmark and Iceland in Moscow, Representation of the Faroe Islands in Moscow, the Finnish Institute and the Danish Cultural Institute in St. Petersburg with support of the Committee for External Relations St. Petersburg.
The mission of the project is to contribute to the establishment of good neighbourly relations between people in Russia and their northern neighbours. It is achieved by getting to know each other’s cultural and historical heritage, values and traditions, achievements, and way of life. For more than 10 years, the festival has been implementing this idea by organising joint art and cultural in different regions of North-West Russia.
“Nordic Weeks” is not only an opportunity to exchange experience and knowledge between professionals in different fields. It is also a unique chance for everyone to take part in discussions of important issues, to meet with Russian and Northern European experts, scientists, artists and public activists, to visit exhibitions, lectures, discussions, film screenings and master classes.
The programme of the festival and registration for events are available at the link: https://nordicweeks.timepad.ru/ as well as in social media of the “Nordic Weeks” festival on Facebook and Вконтакте.
Highlights of the festival’s programme:
10 September. At the conference “Transition to a circular economy: the experience of the Nordic countries” the best practices of the Northern Europe and Russia for the development of a cyclical economy will be discussed. Panel discussions are organised in cooperation with Environmental Rights Center Bellona.
11 September. Festival day “Nordic Lifestyle” at the “Lines” creative space which will present the Nordic countries’ experiences in responsible consumption, design and fashion, zero food waste, as well as local eco-projects that are inspired by northern neighbours.
11 September ‒ 10 October. “Lines” creative space will host the exhibitions “Nordic Lifestyle. Recycle & Trash to Fashion”, dedicated to product design from recycled materials, sustainable fashion and responsible consumption from Nordic famous designers and brands; “Nordic Sustainable Cities” (produced by Nordic Innovation); as well as national environmental exhibitions: Environmental posters from Lahti, Green capital of Europe 2021 (Finland), “Together to the Green Future” (Denmark), “Green technologies from Oslo” (Norway) and “Sustain Able Voices” – Young Swedish Design (Sweden).
15 September. The guests of the festival will be presented to the Finnish exhibition project “Zero Waste Bistro: a temporary restaurant”, which concepts are waste-free production and the principles of a circular economy. The presentation will be held online using the Zoom platform.
18 September. “Clean Games”, the Baltic Sea Cup, competition for cleaning and sorting waste in the city in which guests can take part side by side with representatives of the consulates and cultural institutions of the Nordic countries.
25 September. The exhibition “Nature in the City. Inhuman heterotopies.” At the presentation of the project, its creators will tell how people can coexist harmoniously with non-human agents, that is, animals, plants, birds and minerals that inhabit the urban space. The exhibition is organised in cooperation with the Museum of history of St. Petersburg.
1 October. A screening of a film “70/30” (Denmark) about climate activists, which will continue with a discussion on the topic “Who are they – climate activists?”
2 October. The festival program includes two literary events at once: a meeting with the author of the book “Unbearable Garbage”, Anna Titova, as well as a presentation of children’s literature about nature and climate and a conversation with parents about how to teach children to take care of the environment.
3 October. A panel discussion “Popular myths about climate change”, which will focus on the most common questions about climate change. Also on this day, there will be a discussion with active Russian and Nordic parents, who will share their experience of sustainable living with children.
6 ‒ 10 October. “Aurora” cinema will host the Nordic film festival, which will present the best feature films from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, as well as a selection of environmental documentaries from the Nordic countries. This part is organised in cooperation with international festival of “green” documentary films ECOCUP.
Contacts:
Andrey Anisimov, [email protected] (Danish Cultural Institute in St. Petersburg);
Julia Puhilas, [email protected] (Finnish Consulate General in St. Petersburg)