Press Release

Successful North Sea Festival

About 350 young people from several countries around the North Sea have just been taking part in the North Sea Commission's (NSC) North Sea Festival, which took place in Kristiansand, Norway, from 4-8 September 2002. The event was organised jointly between the North Sea Commission, Vest-Agder fylkeskommune and UKM, Norway.

Besides getting new friends from around the North Sea and having fun together, the youngsters have taken part in several workshops, which have included painting, filmmaking, singing, dancing and much more. Several concerts and shows were also arranged, in which they showed off their many talents. All genres were represented at the shows ranging from line dancing, rock, rap, classical, folk music and so on. In addition, there was also an art exhibition and the showing of several films, some of which were made during the days in Kristiansand.

President of the North Sea Commission, Bent Hansen, expressed his satisfaction with the event. "It is wonderful that young people can have this opportunity to work together with young people from the other North Sea countries. One of the fundamental aims of the North Sea Commission is the exchange of experiences and the learning from each other. In our daily work we normally work within areas such as environment, transport, fisheries, business development etc, so I am very pleased that the NSC has made it possible for some young people to discover the advantages of working across national boundaries and to establish some international contacts through the arts."

Background Information The North Sea Commission is an organisation of regional authorities around the North Sea. The NSC has 67 member regions in all North Sea countries. The practical work of the NSC is carried out in thematic groups, with the following themes: Business development, Transport & Communication, Culture & Tourism, Education & research, Environment and Fisheries.

The NSC secretariat is placed in Viborg, Denmark.

Further information Further information can be obtained from the Karen Greve Somerset at the NSC Secretariat on telephone +45 87 27 18 48 or on www.northsea.org