URALIC Centre was established in 2017 in Estonia by Oliver Loode — activist of the international Finno-Ugric movement, former member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) and the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM).
The initial mission of URALIC Centre was focused on the preservation and promotion of indigenous Uralic (i.e. Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic) peoples and languages. Since its inception, URALIC Centre has coordinated the programme of Finno-Ugric Capitals of Culture, which has become one of the most sustainable and impactful initiatives of the international Finno-Ugric civic movement. In 2018–2019, URALIC Centre was the Estonian partner of the SANA 2019 project aimed at supporting Finno-Ugric language activists in Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Finland. URALIC was also instrumental in establishing the Cooperation Council of Estonia's Indigenous Languages in 2019.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 profoundly changed the mission and activities of URALIC Centre. On the one hand, it was no more possible to directly cooperate with kindred Finno-Ugric peoples in Russia. But more importantly, Russia's aggression against Ukraine revealed a hard truth: not only is the present Russian Federation an existential threat to its neighbours such as Ukraine, but also to its own indigenous peoples. As a result, URALIC Centre joined forces with decolonial movements such as the Erzya national movement, Free Nations League (FNL) and Free Nations Forum of Post-Russia, with a view to working towards the full decolonisation of the Russian Federation and the eventual collapse of the Russian colonial empire.
At the same time, URALIC Centre has deepened its involvement in Ukraine, working with its indigenous peoples – Crimean Tatars, Krymchaks and Karaites – and ethnic minorities, including Hungarians of Trans-Carpathia, the Roma and others. Going forward, URALIC Centre aims to support Ukraine's indigenous and ethnic minority organisations with capacity-building, in line with Ukraine's EU integration objectives.
While URALIC Centre has its roots in Estonia and the international Finno-Ugric civic movement, we are open for partnerships with indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities worldwide.
Our philosophy is simple: we want to work towards a world where belonging to an indigenous people or ethnic minority is a source of pride and prosperity rather than a cause for discrimination or marginalisation.
Our strengths, which are grounded on decades of activism and international expert work – including at the United Nations, Council of Europe and the European Union – are in the fields of human rights, economic development and intangible cultural heritage.
Our working method is to partner with indigenous peoples' and ethnic minority organisations to support them in realising their self-determined objectives, and to empower them on both collective and individual levels.
If you are an organisation or individual activist representing an indigenous people or ethnic minority who is looking for such a partner, please get in touch with us to explore how we can work together.
