Scandinavia's indigenous peoples – culture and identity

The Department of Scandinavian Languages and Literatures of ELTE-BTK held an international conference entitled "The Sámi and the Inuit" between 27 and 29 September 2023. The aim of the event was to introduce the participants to the culture of the indigenous peoples of Scandinavia, the Sámi and the Greenlandic Inuit, and to bring together Scandinavian guest speakers (Lill-Ann Körber, Kirsten Thisted, Mari Helander, Lill Tove Fredriksen, Anne Lise Johnsen-Swart, Kirster Stoor, Mats Jonsson) and to provide insights into areas of humanities research closely related to the role of these ethnic groups in the political, literary and social public sphere through lectures by the department's faculty. The conference was held over three days and included presentations in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. Film screenings, a reception at the Norwegian Embassy and cultural events closed the professional programme.

The closing event on Friday brought together the current ambassadors of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (Erik Vilstrup Lorentzen, Trine Skymoen and Diana Madunic) to discuss key issues of the Sámi and Inuit societies in Scandinavia. In the coming months, the members of the faculty and student translators' workshop on the theme of the conference will finalise an anthology of folk tales and stories from the Sámi and Greenlandic peoples, to be published in Hungarian by Polar Publishing.

The project was supported by the Coordinating Committee for Nordic Studies Abroad (SNU).

Takk for en vellykket konferanse!