LISTED ON THE UNESCO REGISTER
The Land of Legends listed on the UNESCO Register
In 2018, The Land of Legends was included in UNESCO’s Register of Good Safeguarding Practices. We were then the 20th place in the world to be included in this very fine register and the first that Sweden nominated to this convention.
In connection with the nomination, a film was made about The Land of Legends’ work, you can watch it here!
For more information read about the nomination by the Swedish government and the inclusion by UNESCO read the following press releases:
Alice Bah Kuhnke, Kultur- och demokratiminister (2014-2019) välkomnar beslutet
29 November 2018
The Land of Legends’ extensive work with fairy tales and oral storytelling is an excellent example of how an organisation can promote, disseminate and develop the intangible cultural heritage. It is gratifying that UNESCO is recognising the work of The Land of Legends in this way. The Land of Legends is a true source of inspiration for other actors working with intangible cultural heritage, both in Sweden and internationally.
The Land of Legends nominated to the UNESCO Register
28 June 2017
For the first time, the Swedish government has nominated an effort to safeguard intangible cultural heritage to UNESCO’s Register of Good Practices.
For the first time, the Government of Sweden has nominated a work to safeguard intangible cultural heritage to UNESCO’s Register of Good Safeguarding Practices. Within the UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, there is a register in which UNESCO seeks to highlight places where successful efforts have been made to safeguard intangible cultural heritage. There are currently 17 such places in the world, of which only one is in the Nordic countries (Norway).
The Swedish government has now chosen to nominate The Land of Legends to this register. For almost 30 years, the non-profit association Storytelling Network Kronoberg has been running The Land of Legends, whose work aims to safeguard and revitalise the oral storytelling tradition, mainly in the three municipalities of Ljungby, Alvesta and Älmhult in Småland. The Land of Legends’ activities in brief include: – Ljungby Storytelling Festival, the oldest annual storytelling festival in the Nordic countries – The Storytelling Museum in Ljungby with extensive educational activities – Marked storytelling sites in the The Land of Legends municipalities.
-“We are very pleased with the nomination and that the government has appreciated our many years of work to highlight oral storytelling as an important part of our intangible cultural heritage,” says Per Gustavsson, one of the founders of The Storytelling Network Kronoberg.
THE LAND OF LEGENDS ON THE UNESCO REGISTER!
29 November 2018
Today we have received the gratifying news that The Land of Legends has been included in UNESCO’s register of good practices for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, in our case, the oral storytelling tradition. This at the current UNESCO Committee meeting taking place in Mauritius.
The Register is governed by the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Land of Legends is the first Swedish nomination under the Convention and is the 20th example in the world to be on this register.
In addition to accepting The Land of Legends to the register, it was also pointed out that the application itself, was exemplary, a good example of how applications should be written.
The register, which highlights exemplars from around the world, shows a breadth in both geography and content. It includes, for example, fabric manufacturing from Uzbekistan, Fandango from Brazil as well as boatbuilding traditions from Norway – and now also oral storytelling from Sweden. For some other representatives on the register, oral storytelling is present as part of the current project, but our wholehearted focus on oral storytelling adds a new and important element to the register.
-“When we started in the early 1980s to bring the storytelling tradition around Ljungby to life, I did not believe in my wildest imagination that we would one day set an example for the whole world of how the oral storytelling tradition and its fairy tales and legends can be safeguarded and developed. I still find it hard to comprehend how big it really is. I would like to thank all those who have been involved and have worked with great ingenuity, commitment and patience. I would also like to thank the municipalities, the region, the county council, the state and all the others who have supported us over the years. It is a great trust that UNESCO has placed in us, but I am convinced that we can live up to expectations, because we have committed members and an unusually competent and inspired staff,” says Per Gustavsson, founder and chairman of the association Storytelling Network Kronoberg, which runs The Land of Legends.
Meg Nömgård, The Land of Legends’ head of operations, on site in Mauritius, says it’s great fun!
-“We have received so much positive feedback here, many countries come to us and want to know how we work. We have received several requests for study visits and future international cooperation. We look forward to sharing our approach and learning from others. We are constantly developing our activities and increased work with UNESCO will be very rewarding for us, but also for everyone (individuals and organisations) who contribute in one way or another to The Land of Legends. We look forward to welcoming the world to The Land of Legends!
The Swedish UNESCO Prize of the Year to Meg Nömgård
17 March 2016
Meg Nömgård, Director of the Land of Legends, has been awarded the 2016 Swedish UNESCO Prize.
The award aims to highlight an individual or organisation that has made a particular contribution in UNESCO-related fields over the past year and is recognised for having made an outstanding contribution. This year’s recipient of the Swedish UNESCO Prize is Meg Nömgård, Director of The Land of Legends, The Storytelling Network Kronoberg.
Meg works hard to promote the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and she has also been active in cooperation with the Institute for Languages and Folklore, which has been mandated by the government to work on the Convention.
-“I am extremely honoured to receive this fine award. I share this award with all those who for 27 years have done invaluable work within the association Storytelling Network Kronoberg to promote the fairy tale village and oral storytelling in a purposeful way, as part of our intangible cultural heritage. It feels like a fine recognition for our joint work. I am also grateful for the support and interest I have received from the Swedish UNESCO Council, the Institute for Language and Folklore, the Kronoberg Region, Ljungby Municipality and the County Administrative Board of Kronoberg County in my work on the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Today, The Land of Legends is a local, regional, national and international player in the field. This award gives new energy for further work where our goal is to continue to spread the message of the Convention and our knowledge”, says Meg Nömgård.
For more information on the appointment:
For more info about us on the UNESCO register:
https://ich.unesco.org/en/lists?text=&country[]=00207&multinational=3&display1=inscriptionID#tabs