The UL Livonian Institute visits colleagues in the nordic countries

In June 2019, UL Livonian Institute director Valts Ernštreits visited the institute’s colleagues in the Nordic countries – activists, keepers, and researchers of Sámi and Kven culture – acquainting them with recent developments in the maintenance and development of research and preservation of Livonian cultural heritage, while learning about their experience in maintaining and developing their own cultural heritage as well as speaking about shared hopes for the future.

During this two-week trip, most of which was spent north of the Arctic Circle, Ernštreits visited the Kven Institute (Kainun Institutti/Kvensk Institutet), which works with the maintenance and development of the language and culture of the Kvens, a minority nation of Norway, who are descended from the Finns.

The problems of Livonian and Kven language and culture preservation as well as the possibility of UL Livonian Institute researchers coming to the Kven Institute for more in-depth research and experience sharing were discussed with the director of the institute, Hilde Skanke, and the head of the language education programme, Anna-Kaisa Räisänen. During the visit, future Kven language teachers were acquainted with recent activities in Livonian language and culture research, maintenance, and education as part of a separate event. And, incidentally, representatives of the Kven community will already be visiting the Livonians this year at the annual Livonian Festival in August.

Read more and see more photos here (livones.net, 27.07.2019)