The international festival of arts and culture "Barents Spectacle" is taking place from 17 to 21 February 2021.
On February 19, 2021, within the framework of the festival, the head of Murmansl city Administration Evgeny Nikora, took part in the panel discussion "Transborder Cafe", which was held simultaneously in Kirkenes and Murmansk. Russian participants of the online meeting gathered at the Center for Contemporary Art (Sophia Perovskaya St., 21 A).
Topics for discussion were topical issues: how did the pandemic affect the socio-economic situation in Murmansk, business development and cultural life; what areas require support, what needs to be changed; what are the prospects for further cooperation in the Barents Region in the context of a pandemic and closed borders.
The meeting also discussed issues related to the outflow of the population from the northern regions, as well as ways to solve this problem (creating new jobs, educational centers, improving the quality of life of the population of the northern regions as a whole).
Head of Murmansk city Administration Evgeny Nikora within the framework of the discussion, the issue of implementation of projects in the territory of priority socio-economic development "Capital of the Arctic" and in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation was identified. Thanks to the adoption of a package of laws, the Russian Arctic is becoming the largest economic zone in Russia and the world with a single set of tax and administrative preferences.
“We see how much the world has changed, how acutely the situation with the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection has affected us, because of which the Barents Spectacle is being held in an unusual format today,” noted Evgeny Nikora. – The initiative to hold such events deserves respect and support at the highest level. The city of Murmansk also continues to develop inter-municipal cooperation, including with foreign countries, even in conditions of restrictive measures and closed borders. In particular, the organization of online meetings and forums is carried out with sister cities.
All discussions will be shown live on the festival website. Detailed information about the shows and the program can be found on the Barents Spectacle website https://www.barentsspektakel.no/ru/programme/
