The European Heritage Days’ theme in Finland is Explore Nature Together. The country’s centennial is a fantastic time to celebrate our relationship with nature – for many, Finnish nature is a source of inspiration and a place to relax, and it can even provide building material for our identities.

Many event organisers have already begun utilising the theme Explore Nature Together, and the events registered include elements such as landscape and nature as inspiration for art, environmental art, natural monuments, national parks, national urban parks and nature-related businesses. Almost all nature destinations are part of the cultural environment that shows the human influence, one way or another. Finns are also encouraged to celebrate their urban nature, summer cottage culture and Finnish wood architecture.

Finnish nature will receive its own flag day – this will mark the beginning of the European Heritage Days

In Finland, European Heritage Days 2017 are organised in cooperation with the Nature Days project, thanks to this year’s theme. The two organisations are working together to develop the programme and distribute information, as the events’ timeframes have also been tied together.

Finland is the first nation in the world to give nature its own flag day. This year, the Finnish Nature Day on 26th August will also mark the opening of the European Heritage Days’ main period, which will last for over two weeks until 10th September.

Around 200 events are organised in Finland annually. The nature theme, new partners and the centennial have attracted an exceptionally high number of new event organisers, and it would seem that the number of events this year will be breaking the previous record.

The European Heritage Days will also be celebrated privately – by eating together

This year, European Heritage Days in Finland is also working in close cooperation with the Let’s Eat Together project. The European Heritage Days’ events will revolve around themes such as urban agriculture and wild vegetables. 

In addition to the public events, people in Finland are also encouraged to celebrate the European Heritage Days on their own. The Facebook event Syödään yhdessä kaiken maailman maisemissa (“let’s eat together around the world”) functions as part of the cooperation and invites people to celebrate the Heritage Days by sharing a meal or a picnic in their backyards or a nearby park. We will open a discussion on social media on the significance of the cultural environment and eating together. 

You can also follow the European heritage Days celebration in Finland on Facebook www.facebook.com/EHDFinland and on Twitter @HeritageDaysFI.

In Finland, European Heritage Days will carry out the UN’s Action Plan for Sustainable Development

In Finland, the UN’s Action Plan for Sustainable Development is carried out through Society's Commitment. The Commitment is a public pledge to work for the environment, and the same pledge can be made for the cultural environment as well. Concrete indicators will be used to monitor how these pledges are realised. Anyone can make this pledge for any type of cultural environment work: joint voluntary work, communication campaigns or an event they have organised. Several cultural environment pledges have already been made for the European Heritage Days’ events.

You can find out more about the pledges at commitment2050.fi.