First webinar of the LIVIND project led by the Finnish Heritage Agency © UNESCO

The Finnish Heritage Agency is launching a project titled “LIVIND – Creative and living cultural heritage as a resource for the Northern Dimension region”. The project successfully brings together ten countries from Northern Europe that have ratified the 2003 Convention: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The Russian Federation, the Nordic autonomous regions (the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland and the autonomous region of the Åland Islands) and the Saami area are also part of this project.

The project should strengthen cooperation between these countries and regions, especially in the field of intangible cultural heritage. It focuses on developing practical ways in which living cultural heritage can support sustainable development as well as on recognizing and creating good practices where living heritage benefits local services, such as education, travel and tourism.

Webinars and virtual workshops will provide an opportunity to share ideas between the diverse actors including public bodies and NGOs from the different countries and areas. These activities aim at encouraging further research to support the further development of policies and discourses around living heritage. The resources elaborated throughout the project, alongside with case studies and hands-on experiences, will be made available on a virtual platform.

UNESCO is looking forward to seeing the concrete outputs of this project, which will continue until May 2023.