General information

The World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples is a representation forum, which is independent of governments and political parties and its activities are based on the Declaration of Fundamental Principles, Aims and Objectives of Cooperation of Finno-Ugric Peoples of the World. 

The aims of the World Congress are to develop and protect national consciousness, cultures and languages of the Finno-Ugric peoples, promote cooperation between the Finno-Ugric peoples, discuss topical issues, find solutions to them and exercise the self-determination right of all the Finno-Ugric peoples in accordance with international norms and principles.

The visuals

In connection with the postponement of the VIII World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples, the logotype and the visuals of the congress have gone through the biggest change. The central patterns of the new visual theme – chosen by the author of the logotype, Estonian artist Peeter Laurits – are bark beetle galleries and petroglyphs from a cliff near the White Sea area.

“For me these are like a metaphor of the handwriting of nature. I believe these details speak a familiar story to all of us and they are also connected by the maroon, red colour,” Laurits explained.

The Main theme

“Cultural landscapes – language and mind”

The main theme of the Congress

The topic of the Congress in Tartu is “Cultural Landscapes – Mind and Language “, in its sections the discussions will cover the issues of language preservation and transfer, bilingualism as well as the climate change impact on the daily life of Finno-Ugric peoples and cultural innovation issues.  An important topic will be the use of traditional and new media channels and the application of modern language technologies for spreading information among the Finno-Ugric peoples. Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian and Russian Presidents and state officials are expected to participate.

23 different Finno-Ugric nations

Estonia expects representatives of 23 different Finno-Ugric nations to the VIII World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples. Altogether, about 500 people will participate in the congress, including 250 delegates, as well as observers, guests and journalists. The presidents of Finland, Hungary, Russia and Estonia have been invited to the opening ceremony of the congress.

The participants of the Congress will be delegations from different parliaments and ministries of culture, education and of foreign affairs from a variety of Finno-Ugric countries, and others.

“The Estonian National Museum is a first-rate venue for organising such a high-profile gathering of Finno-Ugric peoples with its permanent exhibition on Finno-Ugric cultures, which also offers an opportunity for the participants to experience our common heritage,” acknowledged Tõnu Seilenthal, the Estonian representative of the Consultative Committee of Finno-Ugric peoples, an organising body of the Finno-Ugric World Congress, inviting everyone to Estonia in 2021.

Cultural Programme

Beside the official Congress programme, various cultural events related to the Congress topic will take place in Tartu. All those interested are welcome to these events.

The Representative Forum

According to its Statute, the World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples is the representative forum of Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic peoples, which is independent of governments and political parties and whose activities are based on the Declaration of Fundamental Principles, Aims and Objectives of Cooperation of Finno-Ugric Peoples of the World.

Through its executive arm – the Consultative Committee of Finno-Ugric Peoples – the Congress has been represented in the working groups on indigenous peoples at the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

The objectives of the Congress are to develop and protect the national identity, cultures and languages of Finno-Ugric peoples, to promote cooperation between Finno-Ugric peoples, to discuss topical issues and identify solutions, and to realise the right of Finno-Ugric peoples to self-determination in accordance with international norms and principles.

Previous Congresses

VII World Congress of the Finno-Ugric Peoples took place from the 15^th to 17^th of June 2016 in the Sibelius Hall in Lahti, Finland. The main theme of the Congress was “The Finno-Ugric peoples – towards sustainable development”.

The first World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples was organised in 1992 in Syktyvkar, a part of the Komi Republic in Russia. II World Congress took place in 1996 in Budapest, Hungary, III World Congress occurred in 2000 in Helsinki, IV World Congress in 2004 in Tallinn and V World Congress in 2008 in Khanty-Mansyisk in Russia. The Congress occurs every four years in a different Finno-Ugric country.

The organiser of VIII World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples is Estonian NGO Fenno-Ugria. Fenno-Ugria is an umbrella organisation dedicated to cooperating with Estonians’ kindred peoples – the Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic peoples. Fenno-Ugria was established in 1927 and re-established in 1991.