The second edition of the FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation stresses the innovative potential of festivals in the Baltic and in the Black Sea regions. It spotlights the Vilnius Festival that has been an important trendsetter of “social and cultural trends in cultural life in Lithuania” in the Baltic countries throughout its 13-year-long history, as Ruta Pruseviciene, Executive Director Vilnius Festival, says in an interview for the FestFlash. The Baltic Sea Festival is an example of how a festival can act as a platform for sustainable development. In the keynote speech of the 2009 EFA Conference, Michael Tydén, Festival Manager of the Baltic Sea Festival, elaborates on a festival’s ability to raise awareness on societal issues. Further highlights: The 2009 EFA conference on “Artistic Trends in Festivals”, the second FestLabCeremony held in Vilnius - European Capital of Culture and the second European Atelier that prepared young festival managers for creative work. The FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation follows the mission of the FestLab for Creativity and Innovation, an initiative of the European Festivals Association (EFA) launched at the occasion of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. The FestLab is established to spotlight the excellence of festivals in the creative and societal process and to give incentives to successfully fulfill the festivals’ core mission which still is the artistic one. EFA invites all arts festivals to sign up to the initiative “FestLab for Creativity and Innovation” and commit to its objective. Read the Open Call here. Download the FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation No 2/June 2009 here. Keep an eye on the FestFlash that is distributed widely – it is also featured on the EFA FestLab website! To receive the FestFlash by e-mail, write to Juliane@efa-aef.eu . Related documents: • FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation No 3/July 2009: "Audiences meet artists: Summer Festivals invite to explore emerging artists and new works" • FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation No 2/June 2009: "Baltic and Black Sea regions go innovative" • FestFlash on Creativity and Innovation No 1/April 2009: "Launch of an innovative and creative initiative: the EFA FestLab"