LIVIND project
The Finnish Heritage Agency's LIVIND project gained visible results in the work on intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development in 2021-2024. The project included partners from nine countries in Northern Europe, self-governing regions of the North, and Sámi areas.
Living heritage holds many possibilities to sustainable and ethical practices that support the livelihoods and wellbeing of communities. The project "LIVIND – Creative and living cultural heritage as a resource for the Northern Dimension region" supported living heritage in Northern Europe by collecting good practices and strengthening cooperation between different actors in nine countries across the Northern Dimension region.
The project was mainly funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (so-called IBA funds) and partially by the Northern Dimension Partnership for Culture (NDCP) and the Finnish Heritage Agency.
Geographically, the project covered nine countries from the Northern Dimension area, which included the Nordic autonomous regions and the Saami area. Read more about our project partners here.
The project was based on the many years of extensive international cooperation for intangible cultural heritage. Countries participating the project have ratified the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage that obligates to recognise and safeguard heritage through community-based ways. Further cornerstones of the project included the Faro Convention underlining the value of heritage for society and the UN Agenda 2030 on sustainable development.
The project made use of diverse web-based tools that support fluent exchange and increased co-development work. Webinars, virtual workshops and platforms were be used to collect and share ideas between the diverse actors including public bodies and NGOs from the different countries and areas. The project also involved research activities.
The project included a research component, the results of which deepen the understanding of sustainability work in living heritage. There is currently little research connecting these fields, thus a comprehensive research paper titled “Living Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development: Research Papers and The Policy Recommendations of The LIVIND Project” was produced, along with policy recommendations that outline the conditions for realizing intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development work. The research component was carried out by the University of Tartu and the Latvian Academy of Culture, both of which host a UNESCO Chair in intangible cultural heritage research.
More information
- Extensive website on living heritage and sustainability LIVIND.fi
- View the project webinars here.
- Get to now our 20 pilot projects here.
- See the research results of LIVIND here.
Contact
Leena Marsio, Senior adviser, leena.marsio(at)museovirasto.fi, tel. +358 295 336 017
