Sámi heritage collection from University of Turku included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register

The audio collection of Sámi heritage from the University of Turku has been selected for inclusion in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. According to a statement from the university, the Talvadas/Dálvadas collection, part of a research project on Sámi folklore, comprises culturally significant documentary and literary heritage from the 1960s and 1970s. Researchers continued fieldwork into the 1990s and 2000s.

The collection includes approximately 1,200 hours of interview material, with about half being in Sámi. Additionally, it features around 500 photographs, 900 slides, and five hours of moving images. “This underscores the importance of properly archiving research materials for ongoing use. Through the interviews conducted nearly 60 years ago, one can visit a world that no longer exists. Without archiving, this would not be possible,” noted Anne Heimo, Professor of Folkloristics at the University of Turku, in the statement.

The Sámi community supports the collection’s nomination. The matter has been discussed with Pirita Näkkäläjärvi, Chair of the Sámi Parliament, and Marko Joutsen from the University of Oulu’s Giellágas Institute, both of whom advocate for the collection’s inclusion in the Memory of the World national registry. To ensure broader consultation, the application was also reviewed by the Sámi Parliament’s cultural committee, which endorsed it during a meeting in May.

UNESCO’s Memory of the World program aims to protect documentary and literary cultural heritage. According to the statement, there are now a total of 25 archival and library collections in Finland’s national registry.