Finnish Heritage Agency to lead an international living heritage project in Northern Europe

The two-year LIVIND – “Creative and living cultural heritage as a resource for the Northern Dimension region” project strengthens the role of intangible cultural heritage in local communities as the source of sustainable development, well-being, and livelihoods. The project includes ten countries from Northern Europe. A project this comprehensive in the field of living heritage is the first of its kind in Northern Europe. Funded mainly by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, the project is led by the Finnish Heritage Agency.

“The different skills and traditional practices encompassed in living cultural heritage contain a variety of elements that can be used to respond to challenges of today and the future, such as climate change and its side effects. Some of the solutions that are sustainable for the environment, communities and economy can be found close by, in our own inherited knowledge and skills,” says the new Project Coordinator Elisa Kraatari from the Finnish Heritage Agency.

The project will strengthen cooperation between these countries and regions, especially in the field of intangible cultural heritage. The project focuses on searching for practical ways in which living cultural heritage supports sustainable development as well as on recognising and creating good practices to use living heritage to benefit local services, such as education, travel and tourism. The LIVIND project is largely funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland with a grant from the funds for the strengthening of cooperation in the Baltic Sea, Barents Sea and the Arctic regions, and it will continue until May 2023.

“Living cultural heritage is a rich and diverse resource that can be put to even better use in the promotion of cooperation between the northern regions,” says Senior Adviser Leena Marsio from the Finnish Heritage Agency.

The project is based on the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Faro Convention of the Council of Europe, and the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Geographically, the project will pursue the objectives of the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture Strategy 2021–2024 by strengthening the networks and cross-border cooperation in the region.

The first LIVIND webinar will be held on 29 November 2021 and more will follow.

“The project will bring together various actors in North Europe in virtual workshops, webinars and web-based co-development platforms. With the help of these tools, we can collect good practices and exchange experiences in the wide Northern Dimension region,” Marsio continues.

In addition to the networking between different participants in the LIVIND project and the different experiments, information related to the theme will be collated in relevant places, such as the virtual platform. The project is supported by research experts, which facilitates work on deepening cooperation in living heritage projects in the future as well.

Read more from the LIVIND project pages.

Elisa Kraatari, project coordinator, elisa.kraatari@museovirasto.fi

Leena Marsio, Senior Advisor, leena.marsio@museovirasto.fi