A new card deck for living heritage has been published!
What is living intangible cultural heritage in today's Finland? What kind of traditional examples do we have in connection with crafts, nature or music? And what traditions do many minorities in Finland have? The picture card deck of living heritage leads a wide range of learners to dive into intangible heritage.
The Finnish Heritage Agency, in cooperation with the Association of Cultural Heritage Education in Finland, holds up together a website for educators and trainers, which is already being used in various parts of Finland. Opi.aineetonkulttuuriperinto.fi website contains a wide range of materials for use in teaching of different ages.
The card deck consists of fifty images of intangible cultural heritage. There are is mushroom picking, sauna bathing or boatbuilding. The renewed cards also strongly reflect the traditions of diverse cultures from Ukraine to Mexico and from Syria to India. The cards are collected from the photos of UNESCO, the Finnish Heritage Agency, Helinä Rautavaara Museum and Culture Hub Interkult. There are also pictures of the National Inventory of Living Heritage.
The cards can be downloaded and printed for free from the Finnish Heritage Agency’s Opi.aineetonkulttuuriperinto.fi website. Cards are an easy and uncomplicated way to approach living heritage that is familiar or new to you. Cards have been tested with upper secondary school students, teachers, hobby groups and elderly people. Cards also serve as an introduction to well-being at work -day, as cultural heritage increases knowingly well-being according to studies.
The series has been published as part of the theme year of Living Heritage 2023. It is the theme of the European Heritage Days. At the same time, it celebrates the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO 2003 Convention and Finland’s ten-year-old path as a state party to the Convention.
Download the cards here
Here's how to use the card deck of Living Heritage:
Print and cut the cards and spread them out on a table. Everyone chooses a card that interests them, it could be familiar or just out of curiosity. The person introduces the tradition and their thoughts around it to the person next to, a small group or the whole group. For example, the introduction could be about why you chose this tradition, what do you know about it, why do you find it interesting, whom you maybe learned it from or to whon have you transmitted this heritage.
New cards take better into account the diversity of cultural heritage in Finland. They are a good tool for, for example, a preparatory class or culturally diverse class of general education, so that cards can also be used to reflect on what is known in advance about their cultural heritage and that of others.
We'll be happy to tell you more!
Leena Marsio, leena.marsio@museovirasto.fi
Ira Vihreälehto, ira.vihrealehto@kulttuuriperintokasvatus.fi