On Saturday 17 October 2026, representatives of four music and culture education environments from Rana in Norway, Lycksele and Storuman in Sweden, and Kuhmo in Finland met in Mo i Rana for a dedicated strategy meeting connected to the NordSync Forum programme and Nordic Youth Music Initiative – Helgeland 2026.
The meeting followed the presentation of NordSync Atlas earlier the same day and gave teachers, school leaders and project representatives time to discuss how the new initiative can develop into practical cooperation between the three countries. The Forum programme was designed specifically to create space for discussions about joint productions, youth projects, digital cooperation, new meeting places and the further development of Atlas for the period 2026–2028. Oppdatert Timeplan NYMI i Helge…
Shared challenges – and shared ambitions
The conversation confirmed that the four communities face many of the same questions: how to recruit and retain young participants, how to create attractive cultural opportunities in regions with long geographical distances, how to connect local teaching environments with professional artistic life, and how international cooperation can become part of everyday cultural activity rather than remain limited to individual projects.
At the same time, the meeting made clear how much common ground already exists. All four environments share an ambition to build a more open, sustainable and active cultural exchange between Norway, Sweden and Finland, with young people, teachers and local cultural organisations at the centre.
This is precisely the direction behind NordSync Atlas: a framework for strengthening youth participation, recruitment, competence development and new cross-border cultural opportunities, while connecting kulturskoler, voluntary organisations and professional artists more closely. NordSync: Blå Vegen – kultursa…
Strengthening the east–west axis
A recurring theme in the discussions was the importance of strengthening cultural connections east–west across the Nordic and Barents region.
Historically, many cultural and institutional connections in the north have been stronger along the north–south axis within each individual country. NordSync wants to complement these established structures by making it easier for neighbouring communities in Norway, Sweden and Finland to cooperate directly.
The Blå Vegen / E12 axis has therefore become an important geographical and conceptual framework for NordSync’s work. The wider 2026–2027 programme specifically identifies stronger east–west cooperation between Nordland, Västerbotten, Norrbotten and Kainuu as a priority. NordSync: Blå Vegen – kultursa…
From strategy to practical projects
The meeting was not only about long-term ambitions. A significant part of the discussion focused on concrete projects and practical models for cooperation in 2027 and 2028.
Among the initiatives discussed was the planned Nordic Youth Music Initiative 2027 in Kuhmo, Finland, where the cooperation established during this year’s gathering can continue in a new Nordic host community.
The participants also reflected on the results of Nordisk Suite, performed in Mo i Rana the previous day as one of the artistic highlights of Nordic Youth Music Initiative – Helgeland 2026. The production offered a very practical example of what this kind of cooperation can achieve: young musicians, teachers, professional artists and organisations from several countries working towards one shared artistic result.
For NordSync, this is an important principle behind Atlas. Meetings and networks are valuable, but their real purpose is to make new activity possible.
The Mo i Rana meeting therefore marks another step towards a more permanent network between music and culture education environments in Norway, Sweden and Finland – one where ideas can move more easily across borders, where experiences can be shared, and where young people can increasingly experience the Nordic region as one connected cultural space.
