New Nordic-Baltic Heritage Preparedness Programme

The Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine has made clear the urgent need to safeguard our shared cultural heritage. The Ukrainian defence struggle has further highlighted the vital role of culture in strengthening national cohesion and resilience.

“Our defence preparedness must include a robust cultural-heritage preparedness capability. During conflict, cultural heritage may be targeted deliberately to weaken an opponent psychologically or harmed indirectly through the violent logic that accompanies war. This new programme will bring together leading experts from the Nordic and Baltic regions to exchange ideas, share experiences, and learn from one another. Our aim is to enhance crisis preparedness across the cultural sector,” said Gunvor Kronman, CEO, Hanaholmen.

Inspired by the Swedish–Finnish crisis-preparedness programme, the Hanaholmen Initiative, the new cultural-heritage programme Hanaholmen Heritage – Nordic–Baltic Cooperation for Cultural Heritage and Preparedness builds on this foundation. Launched in 2021, the training programme brings together crisis-preparedness experts from all sectors in Finland and Sweden to share expertise and to strengthen cooperation between the two countries before and during civil crises.

“The cultural-heritage programme will be structured according to the same principles as the Hanaholmen Initiative. The programme will feature a training component for senior-level experts and a high-level forum to review the observations and recommendations emerging from the training phase. We will also learn from crisis-affected regions and collaborate with UNESCO, drawing on its considerable knowledge and experience in the cultural-heritage field,” said Kronman.

Funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers for Culture, the programme will be implemented by Hanaholmen. The training is planned for 11–13 May 2026, and the high-level forum will be held on 28 May 2026.

“Each Nordic and Baltic country and autonomous territory is eligible to nominate two representatives and one alternate for the training programme,” said Kronman.

The cultural-heritage programme’s reference group is composed of 11 members. Among them are: Eric Fugeläng, Acting Deputy Director-General, the Swedish National Heritage Board, Vaiva Lankelienė, Advisor, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, Kristi Raik, Director, International Centre for Defence and Security in Estonia, Ulla Salmela, Director, Department of Finnish Heritage Agency, Herleif Hammer, Director, Faroe Islands National Museum, Palle Maurice Jepsen, Head of Section, Danish Ministry of Culture, Gunvor Kronman, CEO, Hanaholmen, Viveka Löndahl, Director of Section Culture, Government of Åland, Linus Owman, Project Leader, The Nordic Council of Ministers, and Gitte Wille, Director, Nordic Culture Point.

For more information, please contact Hanaholmen’s Project Manager Mikael Hiltunen: mikael.hiltunen(at)hanaholmen.fi, tel. +358 40 620 60 06