On April 8, Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture 2019 will be announced in the Seto village Obinitsa (Estonia). This year, three Finno-Ugric settlements are competing for this title: Komi-Permyak village Arkhangelskoye, Mari village Shorunzha and Hungarian town Zirc.

Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture 2019 will be selected in two stages: on Saturday, April 7, live presentations of the three candidates will be held in the Seto Studio-Gallery at 15-17, to be followed by the announcement of the winner and a press conferece on Sunday, April 8, at 12-13.

Finno-Ugric Capitals of Culture is a joint initiative of the Youth Association of Finno-Ugric Peoples (MAFUN) and URALIC Centre for Indigenous Peoples (MTÜ Põlisrahvaste Arengu Keskus) which was established in 2013. The programme aims to raise awareness of Uralic peoples and languages, strengthen Finno-Ugric identity and stimulate local development in the Finno-Ugric world. To date, the title of Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture has been awarded to five villages or cities: Udmurtian village of Bygy (2014), Seto village of Obinitsa (2015), Hungarian village Iszkaszentgyörgy and City of Veszprém (2016) and Karelian village of Vuokkiniemi (2017). 

In all cases, the title of Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture has helped raise the profile of the title-holder both domestically and internationally, including via cultural tourism. Perhaps even more importantly, being a Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture has strengthened local communities and provided them with new opportunities for development. The programme has been warmly received both in the Finno-Ugric world and beyond, and has been described as a good example of the promotion of indigenous peoples’ cultural rights by Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  

The Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture 2019 will be selected by an independent jury consisting of Nina Belyaeva (Bygy village, Udmurtia), Elena Pliuiko (Vuokkiniemi village, Karelia), Kauksi Ülle (Obinitsa village, Setomaa) Marija Launonena (Friends of Finno-Ugric Peoples, Finland) and Käbi Suvi (MAFUN/Fenno-Ugria Youth).

The competition of Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture 2019 is supported by Estonia’s Kindred Peoples’ Programme and is part of the Estonia 100 programme (#EV100) as well as the 2nd Forum of Finno-Ugric Villages.  

More information:

Tel. +372 513 2992, oliver.loode@uralic.org
Oliver Loode
URALIC Centre for Indigenous Peoples / MTÜ Põlisrahvaste Arengu Keskus
WWW.URALIC.ORG