HANCOCK, Mich. (WLUC) – A video message from the President of the Republic of Estonia, Alar Karis, was played to attendees of the 2nd Finno-Ugric Open Forum in Hancock Thursday.
The event served as the kickoff of the second day of the Juhannus Summer Solstice celebration. This year’s celebration is especially important to the area’s Finnish community due to the city’s Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture designation. It is the first time a North American city has held this honor.
“Dear friends, I would like to praise the Finnish community of Hancock,” Karis said. “I know how challenging it is to stay in touch with the identity of your ancestors. To stay in command of a language… I vividly recall the stories from exiled societies of Estonia, how much additional effort it takes to get the children to speak Estonian, know Estonian core literature and history.”
Karis’ message continued, calling for Finno-Ugric peoples to stand together. He also touched on his visit to the Chicago Estonian House last year, where he observed the close interactions between the area’s Estonian and Finnish communities.
“That’s how it should be,” Karis added. “The more we stand together, the stronger and more resilient we are.”
The forum included panels on various Finno-Ugric topics, including one focusing on the state of the Finno-Ugric world. One of the forum’s panelists, Alexandra Kellner, is a Finnish-English translator in the Finnish prime minister’s office. She was asked to describe the current state of the Finno-Ugric people in Russia.
“Understandably, the war has had a massive impact,” Kellner said. “The focus in society is maybe not so much on preserving culture… People are dying. There are people, especially people from rural communities where most Finno-Ugric peoples live, who are affected by the war.”
However, Kellner says that the situation is not all negative.
“There’s a lot of daring young people that are active on social media,” Kellner added. “Thankfully, we have the technology that we have, and it unites us even if our borders are closed… I hope that the situation will get better.”
The Juhannus cultural celebration will continue throughout the weekend. Events include additional panels, live music, dancing, and sauna activities.
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