The opening webinar started the series of events in the LIVIND project. With case examples from around the Northern Dimension region, we learned about how living heritage and sustainability are linked together. In the workshops participants chose a theme of sustainability that interested them and shared experiences with colleagues. 

Living heritage offers many possibilities to livelihoods, but could we broaden our understanding of living heritage as an ecosystem that feeds local economies?

How could practitioners better navigate the changing markets and opt for sustainable solutions, also with attention to heritage-sensitive marketing? What mechanisms would support community actors in mitigating risks and maximizing benefit from living heritage engagement with the market?

The event was organised as part of the European Heritage Days whose theme in 2022 is Sustainable Heritage!

Climate change and associated environmental risks have direct and indirect effects on living cultural heritage. The practice of living heritage can also contribute to climate action and it can play a role in ensuring ecological sustainability.

In the LIVIND webinar Living heritage and ecological sustainability - Understanding the issues and seeking local solutions you will have the opportunity to learn more about the topic and share your views. The webinar features expert speakers and examples of the work of heritage associations, museums, and national parks in different countries across the Northern Dimension region.

The event is part of the European Heritage Days whose theme in 2022 is Sustainable Heritage.

For intangible cultural heritage to flourish and live on over generations, it is vital that different people can experience and participate in living heritage practice. This in turn helps to strengthen inter-generational bonds and social cohesion.

Watch our webinar Living heritage and social sustainability – well-being and inter-generational dialogue, recorded on 19th September 2022 to hear more and share your vision and experience! The event brought together researcher viewpoints and practical field experience from different LIVIND partner countries.

Living heritage builds on the continuity of cultural values that are entailed in the living practices. While some values are indeed supportive to sustainability, others can be seen as contradictory to it. What would this mean for the safeguarding of living heritage?

In the last one in our series of LIVIND webinars on living heritage and sustainable development we present a keynote on the rights-based approach and showcase examples of established cultural heritage work in Denmark and of sustaining living heritage in today’s Ukraine. We will also learn about how local action by cities and local governments can contribute to strengthening the role of culture for sustainable development.

Various practical examples show that intangible, living cultural heritage connects with the efforts for sustainable development. Examples range from, for example, traditional knowledge on self-sufficiency and growing one’s own foodstuff, to practices that contribute to building and maintaining mutual trust in local communities. The UN Agenda 2030 and its 17 SDGs touch each one of us striving for a habitable planet also in the future. However, the everyday patterns of action are not always that easy to match with the goals for sustainability.

In this webinar, we take a deeper look into sustainable development in the context of living heritage. We will hear viewpoints from the everyday of living heritage safeguarding work with analytical takes on monitoring and indicators and also critical discussion on the roles of culture and cultural heritage in the Agenda 2030 and beyond. For our speakers’ panel discussion, you are welcomed to present questions and share through virtual tools your own viewpoints and experiences.

This webinar was co-organized by the LIVIND project (Finnish Heritage Agency) and the UNESCO Chair on Intangible Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development, CY Cergy Paris Université.

After the LIVIND Webinars held in 2022, we organised workshops on different topics. Here you find recordings and other materials orginating from the workshops.

The contribution of cultural activities for people’s well-being has been studied well and results are convincing. Going to concerts or to theatre as a participant or self-expressive practices through e.g. singing in a choir, dancing, or joining drama method workshops can generate diverse positive effects on both physical and mental health. Many elements of living heritage are close to practices that have been studied for their advantages, and various traditions are in essence about improving people’s health and well-being.

In this workshop we focused on the connections between living heritage and well-being. We started from asking to which extent the possibilities of living heritage for well-being have been recognized in studies on increasing well-being, and what more should be done. We delivered short case examples on how practices of living heritage contribute to health and well-being and, finally, welcomed you to interact and discuss this theme with others!

Do you have questions about the project? Drop us a line and we happily tell more! Also, if you know another interesting project, an initiative, or a website about living cultural heritage and sustainability, please, let us know!