Even after yesterday's official close of European Heritage Days 2017 in Finland, the spirit of the festival continues to pulse through the country!

Today, Helsinki will welcome over 30 European Heritage Days national coordinators, guest speakers and participants for a two-day workshop on the contribution of European Heritage Days to Sustainable Development in Europe.

Titled Heritage and Sustainable Development: The Road to Success, the workshop will inspire conversations about challenges and opportunities in this area at a local, national and European level. The aim is to create an open space for discussions about the current trends in European countries, as well as about the ways in which European Heritage Days can contribute to the Sustainable Development Agenda in future. 

The programme includes a series of insightful presentations which will be delivered by European Heritage Days communities that utilise their everyday heritage in an innovative way and work on achieving the sustainable development goals. They will present their case studies and discuss the necessary framework for sharing the lessons learned with other communities across Europe. 

On the second day of the workshop, participants will have an opportunity to visit World Heritage Site Suomenlinna and find out more about the history of this heritage gem.

A special tour through the site is organised by Ehrensvärd society, which has been working to inform the public about Suomenlinna fortress and its history since 1921. On this day, several presentations will discuss sustainable development strategies of the local communities, including: 

  • World Heritage Site Suomenlinna, the sustainable tourism strategy, Milla Öystilä, the Governing Body of Suomenlinna
  • The Society’s Commitment to Sustainable Development, Sanni Inovaara, the General Secretariat on Sustainable Development
  • Cultural Environment Strategy 2014-2020 and Cultural Environment Commitments, Tuija Mikkonen, the Ministry of the Environment
  • EHDs Event as a Cultural Environment Commitment, Petra Vairimaa, Masala Community Association
  • Adopt a Monument, Kreetta Lesell, Pirkanmaa Provincial Museum


The workshop is organised by Finland’s Ministry of the Environment in collaboration with Finish Local Heritage Federation and the Governing Body of Suomenlinna. Its exciting programme will put this year’s European Heritage Days theme into a wider perspective, while also acting as an incubator of ideas for the work to be done within the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, as well as the implementation of the European Cultural Heritage Strategy for the 21st Century.