Oulu Löyly

✱ Pronounced /ˈou̯lu ˈløy̯ly/ – or you can combine the English "Ouh-loo lo-ewl-lew" and make it smooth and snappy!

AvoinGLAM and partners are hosting an open culture think & do fest in Oulu, Finland in 8–10 June 2026 as part of the Oulu2026 – European Capital of Culture program. We invite advocates of open culture, policy makers, technologists and creative thinkers from near and far to address Heritage at Risk. The event takes place in the newly renovated Oulu Central Library Saari and hosts a day-long open culture fair (open for the public) and a 2-day think & do workshop.

Heritage at Risk

Amidst economic distress, climate catastrophe, conflict and oblivion, small and under-resourced communities struggle to safeguard and keep alive their heritage. Oulu Löyly invites you to explore digital strategies for vulnerable cultural heritage together with a mix of experts from these perspectives.

Culture is everyone’s right – Culture as a global public good.

Whose heritage, whose conditions? – Sovereign governance of open digital heritage.

Equipping the cultural commons – Accessible platforms and interoperable heritage.

Reasons to join

By joining Oulu Löyly, you will:

Collaborate with professionals and stakeholders from Northern Europe and beyond in crafting digital survival strategies for heritage at risk.

Draft concrete action plans and recommendations to guide policies and practice.

Network and learn from others’ experiences and insights, gaining knowledge you can apply in your own work or community.

Open Culture Fair

8 June 2026, Laituri, Central Library Saari

Kaarlenväylä 3, 90100 Oulu

Share your superpower or talk about your project with peers and the public in the public part of the event. It is an opportunity to advocate for policies and practices, showcase projects and programs, and run mini workshops introducing your line of work.

Talks

8 June 2026, Pakkala Hall, Central Library Saari

Kaarlenväylä 3, 90100 Oulu

The streamed sessions bring participant insights into focus, running in parallel with the Open Culture Fair in the adjacent Pakkala Hall.

Keynote talks

Mikael Hiltunen
Brigitte Vézina
Matti Hakamäki

Hosted by Jan Ainali and Sanna Marttila.

Panel discussion

Daniel Antal
Deepesha Burse
Tove Ørsted

Moderated by Connor Benedict.

Think & do

9–10 June 2026, Laituri, Central Library Saari

Kaarlenväylä 3, 90100 Oulu

Craft actionable digital survival strategies together with the most courageous thinkers & doers for under-resourced community archives, endangered languages or heritage under threat in the digital era.

Streamed events

8 and 10 June, 2026 online

The talks on Monday and the presentations on Wednesday are streamed online.

Podcast

See and hear what our participants and community think about heritage at risk and what to do about it!

Oulu Sauna Festival

8 June, 2026, Tuira Beach

The participants are invited to join the Oulu Sauna Festival, where more than 10 temporary saunas take over the Tuira beach. If you arrive early, you can join the Saunasampo Seminar at the Central Library Saari on Saturday 6 June, 2026.

We are inviting

Wikimedians and open knowledge advocates working on GLAM initiatives, campaigns, and community heritage
Custodians and activists of digital community heritage and language revitalization
Cultural heritage professionals wanting to learn and adopt equitable practices for community heritage
Developers and cultural heritage projects using Wikimedia projects
Experts on European Cultural Heritage Cloud & related initiatives
Digital Humanities projects dealing with linked open data for cultural heritage
Open source developers and technologists exploring digital sovereignty
Legal experts focusing on open sharing
Educators, researchers and activists in areas intersecting culture, digital, and sustainability
Policy makers in culture and digital society
Professionals from different fields involved in preparedness activities for culture
NGO and IGO representatives in the fields of culture and digital society
Humanitarian workers and volunteers
Journalists
Futurists

Oulu Löyly is organized by AvoinGLAM and Open Knowledge Finland in partnership with Creative Commons, Wikimedia Finland, Wikimedia Eesti‎, Wikimedia Sverige and Wikitongues and supported by Wikimedia Foundation and Nordic Council of Ministers.