Other events in Baltic States

Pan-Finno-Ugric Day, which is one of the most important yearly cultural events of the Finno-Ugric peoples, will be celebrated on Saturday, October 17 in Tallinn, informs LETA/BNS.

In a message sent to the culture ministers of the kindred nations, Estonian Minister of Culture Tonis Lukas emphasized the importance of the Finno-Ugric languages and cultures in the European cultural space.

"The Pan-Finno-Ugric Day is the most prominent symbol of cultural cooperation between the three Finno-Ugric countries of Estonia, Finland and Hungary. It highlights the unique nature of the Finno-Ugric languages and the importance of Finno-Ugric culture in Europe’s rich cultural space. And it also points out the importance and value of the cultures of small nations in the wide world," the Estonian minister said in his message to Finnish Minister of Science and Culture Annika Saarikko and Hungarian Minister of Human Resources Miklos Kasler.

Lukas also invited his Finnish and Hungarian colleagues to the 8th World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples that will take place in Estonia next year. The event will take place at the Estonian National Museum in Tartu on June 16-18, 2021. The theme of the congress will be "Cultural Landscapes -- Language and Mind".

This year, the events that are centered around Saturday’s Finno-Ugric Day are dedicated to the Year of Digital Culture, and therefore, many events will be available via webcasts. The main events of the Finno-Ugric Day will be conferences at the Estonian National Library and Narva College starting on Friday, October 16, where, among other things, issues related to the teaching of the languages of kindred peoples will be discussed along with the possibilities of utilizing modern technology to achieve this.

The main concerts of the Finno-Ugric Days will take place at the Estonian National Museum on Saturday, October 17, and at the theatre center Vaba Lava on Sunday, October 18. There will also be an additional program of concerts, exhibitions, poetry evenings, radio and TV shows, and films. A number of thematic films and programs will also be broadcast on Estonian public broadcaster's Jupiter web portal and webcasts and other events will be available on the Fenno-Ugria NGO website.

Based on a decision of the 4th Finno-Ugric Cultural Congress in 1931, Finno-Ugric Days are held annually throughout the Finno-Ugric world on the third weekend of October. Since 2011, Finno-Ugric Day has been a day of national importance in Estonia. The Fenno-Ugria NGO is the main organizer of the Finno-Ugric Days in Estonia.