Intangible Cultural Heritage

The Finnish Folk Music Institute was the first Finnish organization to be accredited as an advisory organization for the Unesco convention of intangible cultural heritage in 2018.

The Unesco convention of intangible cultural heritage was approved in 2003. There are 178 countries committed to the convention. In the Unesco convention, intangible cultural heritage stands for "practices, descriptions, expressions, knowledge, skills [–] which the communities [–] acknowledge as part of their cultural heritage." Intangible cultural heritage may be e.g. oral tradition, performing art, social life practices, rituals and festivities or knowledge, skills and traits concerning nature and the universe.

The Finnish Folk Music Institute works for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and fulfilling the goals of the Unesco convention both domestically and internationally in cooperation with other organizations, traditional communities and the Finnish Heritage Agency and other authorities.

Our capacity building program for intangible cultural heritage aims at e.g. encouraging non-governmental organizations to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, gathering, innovating and spreading good safeguarding practices, improving the field's research methods and creating co-operation between communities and research organizations as well as expanding international networks.

In Finland we work in e.g. the field of folk music and folk dance. We're involved in the application process for listing Kaustinen fiddle playing in the Unesco list of intangible cultural heritage. We also network with organizations safeguarding intangible cultural heritage outside our own field offering our expertise for use and exhibiting phenomena of cultural heritage via e.g. seminars and other events produced for the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival.

Internationally we work actively e.g. the Nordic and Baltic network on Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Unesco accredited organizations' collaboration organization ICH NGO Forum participating in e.g. seminars, working groups, educations, expert commissions and joined projects.