Matti Hakamäki, director of the Finnish Folk Music Institute, has been appointed chair of the ICH NGO Forum's board for 2026. The ICH NGO Forum is an umbrella organization for civil society organizations accredited under UNESCO's Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, with 264 member organizations from 81 countries. The task of the accredited organizations is to ensure that the voices of civil society and grassroots practitioners of traditions are heard in the implementation and development of the UNESCO Convention.
The ICH NGO Forum met this week in Delhi, India, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee.
Hakamäki has been a member of the ICH NGO Forum's board since 2022. The Finnish Folk Music Institute was the first organization from Finland to be accredited as an expert organization in 2018. Another accredited Finnish organization is Taitoliitto (The Finnish Crafts Organization Taito).