Description
What do sauna, folk dance, rag rug weaving, and wild food foraging have in common? They are all part of an intangible cultural heritage, present in everyday living and celebrations of the people in Finland.
Living heritage includes things such as feasts, crafts, dance and music, oral traditions, and living traditions related to food or nature. It touches us all in everyday life and celebration, work, and hobbies.
A creative and sustainable approach toward living heritage helps to strengthen the cultural competence of young people and acts as the source of sustainable development, well-being, and livelihoods.
This course offers an overview of cultural heritage education and its goals, in the light of the Finnish cultural context.
We will share the creative and participatory approaches and practical examples of cultural heritage education in Finland. Through experiential learning, you will also discover how sustainability is interwoven into the living heritage in Finland.
The course includes several study visits to help you gain first-hand experience of Finnish culture, values, lifestyles, and mindset, e.g. Sisu, appreciation of silence, trust, wellbeing, and autonomy.
Finnish culture and lifestyle have strong relations with nature, visits to an island or forests with guided activities will help you gain insights into nature as a Finnish living heritage.
During the course, you also will try out the tools and exercises that are adaptable for working with various age groups, such as children and young people.
Through these activities, not only will you learn about Finnish culture, but the ultimate goal is to help you get inspired to create your cultural heritage pedagogical projects.
By the end of the course, you will gain a concrete understanding and practical examples of cultural heritage education and how it supports the sustainability of society and the well-being of individuals.
You will take away a toolbox of easily adaptable exercises and practices for different age groups. You will be capable of making use of the Finnish inspirations to create your pedagogical projects on cultural heritage education.
What is included
Learning outcomes
The course will help the participants to:
- Learn about what cultural heritage education is and how it is done through real-life examples in Finland with a creative and sustainable approach;
- Discover how living heritage can support sustainable development;
- Practice methods for cultural heritage education and exercises that can be applied to various age groups;
- Experience and explore Finnish culture, values, and mindset, e.g. Finnish nature, Sisu (resilience), appreciation of silence, well-being, trust, and autonomy;
- Share, discuss, and work together with international participants to learn from each other’s cultural heritage;
- Get inspiration for creating cultural heritage pedagogical projects.
Tentative schedule
Day 1 – Course introduction
- Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
- Icebreaker activities;
- Presentations of the participants’ schools.
Cultural heritage education and sustainability
- What is cultural heritage education?;
- How does cultural heritage education support sustainability?
Day 2 – Methods and exercises for cultural heritage education in Finland
- Real-life examples of creative and living cultural heritage in Finland, e.g., the participatory approach of Wiki-inventory for Living Heritage and the living heritage circles;
- Create and practice using the Spinner of Living Heritage;
- Present-Past-Future Walk.
Day 3 – Living the heritage: Finnish way of living
- A visit to various local places in Helsinki (e.g. Helsinki City Museum, market hall, public library, seaside, island, etc. depending on the season and weather);
- Experience the Finnish living heritage: culinary, handicrafts, pastime activities;
- Reflective discussion on ways of living the heritage.
Day 4 – Sustainability: Finnish nature heritage
- A nature trip to Lammasaari, Viikki, or Nuuksio National Park;
- Experience the Finnish way of connection to nature;
- Reflective discussion on sustainability and cultural heritage education;
- Enjoy a Finnish sauna (Optional: not included in the course price).
Day 5 – Create your own projects
- Cultural heritage roundtable discussion;
- Create your own cultural heritage pedagogical project;
- Share your project ideas and give feedback to each other.
Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities
- Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
- Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
- Excursion and other external cultural activities.
