Selection procedure

FINNO-UGRIC CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2026: SELECTION PROCEDURE

In accordance with Statutes of the Finno-Ugric Capitals of Culture programme, URALIC Centre NGO and Sukukansojen Ystävät ry – as co-organizers of Finno-Ugric Capitals of Culture programme - hereby specify the procedure and timeline for selecting the Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture 2026.

1. Eligible candidates

All countries and regions with significant Finno-Ugric populations (both traditional territories of Finno-Ugric peoples and locations with significant Finno-Ugric diasporas), except from Estonia, are eligible to apply for the title of Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture 2026.

Special theme: Widening Finno-Ugric horizons

This year, organizers of the Finno-Ugric Capitals of Culture programme especially welcome applications from countries and regions that have not traditionally actively participated in international Finno-Ugric cooperation and movement. In particular, we welcome applications from locations that do not have indigenous Finno-Ugric populations, but where Finno-Ugric peoples and their descendants form a significant part of the population, local identity and culture. The idea behind this is to widen the understanding of what the so-called Finno-Ugric world constitutes and to bring in new countries, regions, perspectives and ideas into the Finno-Ugric movement, thus making it more diverse and exciting for everybody involved.

Selection Jury 

The selection of the Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture 2026 will be made by a five-member international and independent jury, which will be selected by June 1, 2025.

Timeline

Selection of Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture 2026 will take place according to the following timeline:

• March 24, 2025: Official announcement of the competition. Application materials are published and downloadable on Finno-Ugric Capitals of Culture website
• March 24 – May 31, 2025. Communication and PR. Preparation of applications. 
• May 31, 2025: Final deadline for submission of applications to the Secretariat of Finno-Ugric Capitals of Culture. Applications must be sent only electronically (in PDF format) to capitals@uralic.org . 
• June 1 -8, 2025: Evaluation of applications by the Selection Jury
• June 9, 2025: Announcement of finalists (max 3) of the competition
• June 20, 2025: Presentations of up to 3 finalists to be held as part of an online meeting (ZOOM).
• June 21, 2025: Public announcement of the winner of the title „Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture 2026” on the day of Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere

1. Rules of Selection

Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture 2025 will be selected by the Jury based on two (2) rounds of selection. In both rounds, no formal selection criteria are applied; jury members are encouraged to use their own personal judgement about the quality of applications. However, members of the Jury are asked to take into account the general selection criteria listed under Article 4.3. of the Statutes.  The two rounds will be conducted as follows:

1. In Round 1, jury members independently rank all applications from 1 to N (N=number of eligible applications) where „1“ refers to the most competitive and „N“ to the least competitive application.  Based on that, Programme Bureau calculates arithmetic averages of the rankings of all applications. Three applications with the highest average ranks are selected for Round 2.  However, Selection Jury can decide to extend the number of applications selected to Round 2 to more than three.
2. In Round 2, selected applicants (up to three) will be invited to prepare presentations  to be delivered in person at a special online event on June 20, 2026.  Thereafter, jury will privately convene and select the winner. Results of the competition will be publicly announced on June 21, 2025. 

1. Secretariat

The Secretariat of the Finno-Ugric Capitals of Culture is headed by URALIC Centre (Estonia) and Sukukansojen Ystävät ry (Finland).

Contact information: Tel. +372 513 2992 capitals@uralic.org