The project led by dr hab. Kazimierz Musiał, prof. UG "Young People Network for Balticness 2.0."(YoPeNET) has received a grant of EUR 65 000 from the Council of Baltic Sea States programme. The project aims to organise summer schools, during which secondary school pupils, students and doctoral students will develop podcasts and films on identity for their peers. 

Two summer schools will be held as part of the project. One in Gdańsk, the other in the German city of Greifswald. The organisers want to give young people an academic understanding of identity construction. Among the proposed topics to be discussed are cultural heritage, migration and gender studies. The project will run for two years from November 2022 to October 2024. 

According to the organisers, during the summer school, students will also create podcasts and films on identity construction aimed at 15 to 30-year-olds. These educational materials will be disseminated on the YoPeNET website and social media. Such activities are intended to engage the younger generation in a conversation about Balticness, or transregional identity.

Up to seven institutions from Poland, Denmark, Estonia, Sweden and Germany are involved in the initiative. The project partners want to strengthen the sense of community among the inhabitants of the Baltic regions through education. - 'While the elderly functioned amidst old divisions and class differences, the young should be able to create their own identity patterns,' - reads the application for YoPeNET 2.0 funding.

This is already the second phase of the project. The previous edition of YoPeNET ran from 2020 to 2022. The project manager on behalf of the University of Gdańsk is dr hab. Kazimierz Musiał, prof. UG from the Institute of Scandinavian Studies. You can read more about the initiative on the website.