Beth Daley
Editorial Adviser , Europeana Foundation
Finland is under the spotlight this year as it plays host to the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Today, we look at how Finnish cultural heritage institutions are opening up new heritage experiences for their audiences by getting involved in the Europeana Europe at Work season.
Europeana is part of an event in Finland next week under its Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Along with cultural heritage institutions and policymakers, we will discuss the topic of multilingualism - how we can make digital cultural heritage more accessible and useful in any language. Look out for reflections on this event later this month.
So, how much Finnish material is there? Over one million items in Europeana Collections come from a total of 11 Finnish institutions, and more than half of them are openly licensed. The biggest contributor at over 500,000 items is the National Library of Finland. Soon, the Finnish people will be able to add to that count as they are invited to share their own working life stories through three Europe at Work collection days.
Making cultural heritage accessible to all of us, and representative of all of us, is a driving factor behind Europeana’s participatory campaigns. We want people all over Europe (and beyond) to contribute their own stories - in their own languages - either online or at collection days held in museums, libraries and other cultural institutions.
Europe at Work - our current participatory campaign - shares the story of Europe through our working lives in the past and the present. Events are taking place across Europe from now until the end of the year. Three of those are happening in Finland over the next few weeks.
30 October 2019 - Fiskars Museum. This local museum is collaborating with the National Library of Finland and Europeana on a collection day that marks the 70th anniversary of the Fiskars Museum. The museum is housed in Fiskars former ironworks - established in 1649 - and preserves and shares ironworks culture from the 17th century to the present day. The general public are invited to share stories of work and working lives - past and present - in Fiskars, in particular at the Fiskars ironworks. See the Facebook event here.
28 November - Museum of Technology, Helsinki. This museum’s collections represent the story of Finland from its time as an agrarian society to it becoming a leading developer and producer of high tech to a global market. The theme of the collection day is professions and the cultural heritage of technology. The museum is inviting people who work as IT specialists, surveyors and graphic industry professionals. Kirsi Ojala, Director of Collections at the Museum of Technology, will open the event with a talk and there will also be a discussion on how to record your own career and share your memories.
28 November - Museums of Varkaus. The Varkaus Museum and Varkaus Art Museum present both history and art with a special focus on industrial community, industrial history and environments. The collection day there will focus on the memories of people who work or worked with the automotive industry.
Europe at Work collection events continue until the end of the year. Please join us in promoting them to your own networks and encouraging people to share their stories with us.
