On June 18, the 2nd Finno-Ugric Open Forum was successfully held in Hancock (Michigan), as part of the Juhannus Summer Solstice week – main events of Hancock’s Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture 2026 year. The Forum in Hancock continued the tradition that began in Narva (Estonia) which held the Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture title in 2025.
The main objective of the Forum is to openly discuss important and urgent issues facing Finno-Ugric peoples and the Finno-Ugric movement today. Given its location in North America, the special theme of this year’s Forum was “Building Transatlantic Bridges”. Among else, the Forum sought answers for the following questions:
– What can Finno-Ugric cooperation offer to the Finnish American community?
– How can Finno-Ugric communities and diasporas in North America participate in international Finno-Ugric cooperation?
– What can Finno-Ugric peoples and diasporas in Europe learn from Finnish America?
The Forum was opened by James Kurtti (Copper Country Finns & Friends, Honorary Consul of Finland in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula), followed by Chris Salani (Hancock High Schools – venue of the Forum), Oliver Loode (URALIC Centre – Estonia) and Tommy Flanagan (Finlandia Foundation National). Participants of the Forum were also greeted via video by Alar Karis, President of the Republic of Estonia.
Leena-Kaisa Mikkola, Ambassador of Finland to the United States, delivered the Keynote Speech of the Forum.
The first panel, entitled “State of the Finno-Ugric World”, was moderated by Oliver Loode (Estonia), with Vitaly Romashkin (Erzya / USA), Alexandra Kellner (Finland), Anti Lillak (Estonia), Rune Bjerkli (Kven / Norway) and Bogáta Timár (Estonia/Hungary) as panelists.
The second panel: “Tradition, Internet, and Identity: Who Owns Finno-Ugric Culture in the Digital Age?” was moderated by Atte Huhtala (Finland), with Britt-Kathleen Mere (Estonia), Gage “Touko” Keränen (USA), Mirjami Sipilä (Finland), Artem Medvedev (Udmurtia / USA) and Petter-Anne Hutchings (USA) as panelists.
The last panel “Transatlantic dimension of Finno-Ugric cooperation” was moderated by Aleksi Palokangas (Finland), who was joined by James Kurtti (USA), Thomas Flanagan (USA), Oliver Loode (Estonia) and Nate Kilponen-Fix (USA).
The 2nd Finno-Ugric Open Forum was organized by URALIC Centre (Estonia), in partnership with Sukukansojen ystävät ry (Finland), Hõimulõimed NGO (Estonia), Copper Country Finns & Friends and Hancock High Schools. The Forum was made possible thanks to a grant from Finlandia Foundation National (FFN). We are also grateful to the Estonian American National Council (EANC) for its support.
Below is the link to the Youtube Livestream of the Forum. In time we will publish shorter clips of key speeches and statements from the Forum.
