Karelian Cultural Enterprise (Interreg)

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The project endeavoured to create conditions for survival for the culturally significant Russian Karelian countryside and the Finnish villages of White Sea Karelia through business activities and cultural tourism, as based on their cultural heritage. The aim was to create a model for the revival work of the villages, which could also work more extensively in the wooden architectural area of Northwest Russia. During the project, a company employing local residents in Paanajärvi and Haikola was to be founded. Because of the increasing tourism in Karelia, the implementation of the principles of sustainable development was also one of the goals. Material about the villages of Paanajärvi and Haikola was to be transferred from Finnish to local archives. In Finland, the purpose was to conclude the restoration work of the Hietajärvi Heritage House so that it could function as a cultural centre for tourists, to arouse the interest of travel companies to use cultural heritage in their operations and also to create a network between the parties who create programme content based on the cultural heritage of White Sea Karelia and organise trips to cultural destinations. The cultural tourism of the villages in White Sea Karelia was also to be advanced with international publications of high artistic and scientific quality (multimedia programmes and a documentary).

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