Konferencje i seminaria na UG

The Challenge of Mobility in the Baltic Sea Region

PROGRAM

Call for Papers

Mobility is rapidly becoming one of the most characteristic features of contemporary European societies. This process is especially visible in the Baltic Sea Region, where broadly understood mobility has always been one of the key factors in the area´s development, from yesterday´s Hanseatic merchant seafarers, through the Baltic refugees in the 1940s, to today´s youth and student exchanges. The region has a long history of population movements and transfers, of re-designed national borders and of cross-border migration. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Baltic Sea area has emerged as one of the most dynamic in Europe, and is often seen as a model case of "New Regionalism", where the interests of businesses, civil society and simply the inhabitants of the region are the main force behind the regional integration efforts. The region boasts an impressive number of cross-border co-operation networks, councils, forums and centres, which promote the exchange of information and facilitate contacts. Multiplying flight routes and ferry lines connecting the region´s countries, increasingly intense trade relations, development of inter-regional tourism and cultural exchanges testify all to an increasing willingness of the region´s inhabitants to explore, and "connect to" the neighbouring societies

Mobility has however many different dimensions. The Baltic Sea Region is an extremely diverse one; here, the European Union meets its immediate neighbours, a wealthy Scandinavia meets struggling ex-Soviet economies, long-established democracies meet developing ones, secularised Protestantism meets fervorous Catholicism and Orthodoxy, and post-modernity meets traditionalists, modernisers and nation-builders. These and other dividing lines and/or meeting points which go through the region create their own patterns of mobility; there is transfer of know-how, but also of drugs, of aid funds, but also of trafficked women and children, of international civil servants, but also of economic migrants. Mobility of persons and of capital creates "pockets" and "corridors" of wealth, but it can also lead to brain-drain, to rural exodus or to outbursts of xenophobia. Mobility of ideas enriches the cultures, but it also generates clashes of competing and contradictory values, provoking worried reactions on the part of those who see their lifestyles as threatened by the contact with "others".

The conference The Challenge of Mobility in the Baltic Sea Region aims to explore the political, economic, cultural and spatial aspects of broadly understood mobility in our region, from a sociological, historical and geographical perspective. Rather than measuring "degrees" of mobility, the conference panels and workshops will seek to examine both the positive and the negative effects of mobility on various spheres of social life in the Baltic Sea Region. The cross-border patterns of cultural influence, the changing perceptions of community, the psychological aspects of voluntary and involuntary displacement and the political discourse(s) on migration are among the topics that will be raised by the conference speakers. What makes people move? How do they experience the new environment? How is their absence perceived at home? These are some of the questions which will hopefully also take the discussion beyond the narrow context of the Baltic Sea Region, to a more universal human level.

The organizers

The conference is a joint endeavour of the international research projects The Baltic Sea Area Studies: Northern Dimension of Europe (BaltSeaNet), The Baltic Sea School Berlin, and of the recently established Alfried-Krupp-Wissenschaftskolleg in Greifswald. These institutions, which form a large network of universities around the Baltic Sea, provide an academic environment for a number of Ph.D. candidates from different countries of the Baltic Sea area whose research topics are related to the transformation processes taking place in the region. The conference is also an event of the project The Baltic Sea Region 2010, carried out in the framework of the special research and training programme "Improving Human Research Potential and the Socio-Economic Knowledge Base", High-level Scientific Conferences (HLSC) Series of the European Community.

The event will take place in the Polish city of Gdansk on October 23-26, 2003. The number of participants is expected to reach 30-50 persons, coming from the universities of the network as well as from outside institutions. The participants will be able to choose between four thematic workshops, each exploring a different aspect of the main theme of the conference, mobility in the Baltic Sea Region.

Conference Workshops:

Workshop 1: Interplay of Cultures and Ideas in Baltic Sea Area:

Minds on the Move

Workshop responsible: Catherine Gicquel catherine.gicquel@rz.hu-berlin.de / Vytautas Petronisv.petronis@hmf.vdu.lt

Along with foreign domination, wars as well as peaceful co-operation and successful exchanges, cultures and ideas in the broadest sense of the word used to move in, around and out of the Baltic Sea area throughout history. However, this region has never been a cultural or intellectual centre of Europe, so queens and kings, and later nation states have followed foreign cultural and scientific life, have adopted new ideas, systems and norms, they had seen in France, Italy or Great Britain (like Queen Kristina Wasa, inviting Descartes to mobilise northern intellectuals). Various interplays of cultures and ideas have been more specific for the Baltic Sea Area, one abutting country spreading its influence over the others - pattern, which could have been brought by force or chosen freely e.g. during processes of peaceful transformations (see, the actual ´import´ of Scandinavian legal norms to the Baltic States).

This workshop will be aiming at analysing the mobility of cultures and ideas around the Baltic Sea Area, its forms, fields and roles, by raising particular examples. Important aspect of the topic may be the resistance against the cross-cultural and intellectual trade - the rigidity of mind - as well as a comparison between dreams/expectations and reality. Moreover, we want to ask in which way these cultural and intellectual migrations were and are common either for Europe or specifically for the Baltic Sea Region, exploring more precisely the cultural and intellectual uniqueness of Mare Balticum.

From traditions to arts, from alchemy to modern sciences, from tribal laws to democracy - the range of topics is immense, and one of the main requirements could be the identification of BSR as an extrovert rather than introvert cultural and intellectual construction.

Workshop 2: Spatial Mobility and Community

Workshop responsible: Hendriette Kliemann hendriette.kliemann@rz.hu-berlin.de

This workshop focuses on the effects of spatial mobility. Spatial mobility, the possibility of individuals or groups to move around in the Baltic Sea region, whether it is in their own place of residence or in the region as such, does not only imply positive aspects such as individual freedom or the chance for cultural exchange, but also negative consequences like environmental problems or rural exodus. The aim is to focus on the two sides of spatial mobility from a historical and contemporary viewpoint.

What is the relation between individual and collective mobility and what is the prize for individual freedom? What does an increasing mobility mean for the region? How does the need for mobility influence spatial planning like town planning? Migration turns one´s eyes towards people leaving one place for another. What happens with the place that´s being left and how is the situation in the new place? Are there losers and winners and does this kind of mobility lead to a situation of stability or instability, integration or disintegration in both places?

Travelling and tourism offer the opportunity for contacts and cultural exchange within the region and the chance to get to know each other. But who really has this chance and what happens if tourism increases too much and causes environmental problems? To be mobile in space means also to be confronted with borders and frontiers. What are the consequences of ´open borders´ for the region? What is the impact of mobility on the perception of space and the mental mapping of a region like the Baltic Sea area? How has mobility influenced, shaped and affected the perception of space and the spatial constructs in the region? What impact do borders have on the perception of a region like the Baltic Sea region and which role does the Baltic Sea as the geographical core of the region play in this context?

Workshop 3: The Baltic Sea Region and/versus "Others": Mobility and the Emergence of New Interaction Patterns

Workshop responsible: Anna Parfjonova annaparfjonova@hotmail.com

The geo-political location of the Baltic Sea Region on the bounds of two giant political blocs - the European Union and the Russian Federation is the most significant determinant of the development of this area, especially in terms of emerging regional identity. One should bear in mind that a significant part of the region has moved from one "superpower" to another - from representing a member of the former Soviet Union (as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) or being a part of the Soviet bloc (as Poland), to the European Union, what has strongly influenced distribution of forces within the area.

Similarly to national identities, regional identities presume delimitation vis-á-vis "Others" and similarities within a collective. Political scientists distinguish several levels of regional identity marked by different degrees of homogeneity: a). the region as a geographical unit; b). the region as an actor on the international scene; c). the region as a civil society; d). the region as an organised co-operation; e). the region as a social system.

The workshop aims to discover, who are "Others" for the Baltic Sea Region as an entity. Are they the same "Others" for separate countries of the Baltic Sea Region? How does the opposition between "Others" and the Baltic Sea Region look like in a globalised Europe and the world in total? In other words, questions related to division of powers in the Baltic Sea Region must be highlighted. What orientation is likely to be prevailing - opposition between the European Union and the Russian Federation or regional co-operation and identifying oneself as a new political entity on a regional level? Which role does the Northern Dimension play in that process (if any)? How do political transformations influence the economic and social development?

The workshop will try to consider lessons learned from the past, to analyse the current situation and to define emerging new models of international interaction in the Baltic Sea Region.

Workshop 4: The Mobility of Business in the Baltic Sea Region

Workshop responsible: Kristine Medne, kmedne@yahoo.com

During the past years the substantial changes have taken place in the external and internal parameters within which the Baltic Sea Region economies have functioned. The expanding cross - border co-operation, increased mobility of capital and growing trade flows are among the most important external developments that affect the region´s economies and enhance economic interdependence between them. They contribute also to the movement towards further economic and regional integration.

The aim of this workshop is to analyse mobility within the contemporary Baltic Sea Region economies as a complex and dynamic process, of which the regional and economic integration can be regarded as the most important and challenging side. What directions might this process take and what will be its impacts on the region? Will it neutralise or consolidate the cleavages in the area? Are we facing a prosperous or a peripheral region, sustainable development or a slowdown? How does the changing business environment, growing competition, resource allocation etc. influence the development of the Baltic Sea Region? Who will benefit, and from what, when it comes to this development?

The substantial economic and social differences still characterise the Baltic Sea Region, and the free operations of market economies tends to result in the concentrations of economic activity in certain areas to the relative detriment of others. What kind of so called "regional problems" will we face? In this context, it is not least important to examine such issues as recent economic developments and policies in the region, and the influence of European integration on the regional economy. How far will the integration among the region´s countries reach? What will be the costs and benefits of the integration process?

Conference participation

Participation in the conference is open to young researchers (master students, PhD candidates, post-doctoral students and other scientists) from various fields of social sciences, humanities and economics.

Participation fees

The participation fee is 100 Euro. It can be reduced or cancelled under special application. Participation fee will be reimbursed for participants, who are eligible for total reimbursement by the organisers (see below).

Abstract submission

Young researchers interested in presenting a paper at the conference are welcome to send a proposal to Ms. Anna Parfjonova, anna.parfjonova@student.hu-berlin.de. The abstract, not exceeding the length limit of 250-350 words, should be sent as an attachment in MS-Word or RTF format, with the last name of the author as file name. The proposal should include, apart from a synopsis of the paper, an updated CV with the following information: date of birth, nationality, affiliation and contact details of the author. Those candidates whose papers have been accepted will be notified no later than August 15, 2003, and asked to submit the final version of their papers no later than October 1, 2003.

The abstract submission´s deadline is July 1, 2003.

Reimbursement

To be eligible for total reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs, as well as participation fee, a young researcher must meet the following requirements:

O be up to 35 years of age (the age limit can be extended, if participant can provide an evidence of compulsory military or civil service and child care - please ask for the details).

O be a national of EU member states or accession countries (participants from other countries - please ask for the details).

As the number of reimbursed participants is limited, strong preference will be given to those presenting papers. Young researchers who will not present their papers can be accepted and reimbursed as discussants, provided that the number of applicants with the paper did not exceed the number planned in the budget.

Participants, who do not meet requirements of age and/or nationality, will have to raise their own funds for travel, subsistence, and participation fees.

The registration deadline for participants is October 1, 2003.In order to register, those who do not present a paper but would like to participate in the conference anyway should send an e-mail to Ms. Anna Parfjonova, anna.parfjonova@student.hu-berlin.destating their affiliation and the relevance of the conference participation to their own research. Please include an updated CV with information on the date of birth and nationality.

Information

For further information please visit the conference website http://www.baltic-sea-seminars.org, or contact Mr. Victor Makarov at makarov@navigator.lv .