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.

UNESCO's Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage was adopted in 2003. A total of 185 countries are party to the Convention. In the UNESCO Convention, intangible cultural heritage refers to "practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills [...] that communities [...] recognize as part of their cultural heritage." Intangible cultural heritage can include, for example, oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals and festive events, or knowledge, skills and practices concerning nature and the universe.

We work to promote the protection of intangible cultural heritage and to implement the objectives of the UNESCO Convention both domestically and internationally in cooperation with other organizations, heritage communities, the Finnish Heritage Agency, and other authorities. Our intangible cultural heritage expertise program aims to engage civil society organizations in the protection of intangible cultural heritage, the compilation of good protection practices, innovation and dissemination, developing research in the field, creating cooperation, and taking cultural sustainability into account as a key part of sustainable development goals.

Our Kaustinen ICH Academy program consists of visits by researchers and students, as well as a series of lectures and seminars in connection with the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival.

In Finland, we are active in the living heritage circle of folk music and folk dance, the national expert group on intangible cultural heritage, and the Finnish Intangible Cultural Heritage Association. At the Living Heritage Point of the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, different areas of intangible cultural heritage are presented through interviews, performances, and demonstrations.

Internationally, we are active in, among other things, the ICH NGO Forum, an umbrella organization for UNESCO-accredited organizations, the UNESCO Convention Facilitators Network, and the Nordic and Baltic network on Intangible Cultural Heritage.