UNESCO Capacity Building Course in Finland

The Finnish Heritage Agency organized a training workshop from 20 to 23 March in Helsinki by in cooperation with UNESCO. It raised a lot interest among heritage communities in Finland. 40 representatives of local communities, minorities, non-governmental organizations and government offices were selected to take part in the four-day workshop. It was part of the UNESCO Capacity Building workshop that cover over 70 countries world wide. Facilitators for the workshop were UNESCO accdredited trainers Rieks Smeets and Harriet Deacon.

The Finnish Wiki-Inventory for Living heritage, which was launched in 2016 received a lot of attention among communities in the country: in only two years, it gathered over 130 living heritage elements from 180 communities in five languages. While inventorying and awareness-raising about safeguarding of living heritage are already well underway in Finland, there is a strong need for strengthening capacities in safeguarding methodologies. The workshop will therefore equip participants with the knowledge and skills needed for the development of effective safeguarding plans for living heritage.

Contact: Leena Marsio, Finnish Heritage Agency, leena.marsio(at)museovirasto.fi