About the Europeana Initiative Ambassadors Programme
In line with the ambitions of the Europeana Initiative 2030 strategy and complementing activities such as the Country Groups, the Ambassadors Programme marks an important step toward strengthening our network and the foundations of the Europeana Initiative and the data space for cultural heritage at national levels. Furthermore, it aims at increasing our impact at national levels and at deepening our collaboration with the cultural heritage sector in the countries that we partner with. We hope the pilot in Finland inspires similar engagement in other countries in the future.
Our Ambassadors Programme in Finland brings together a carefully selected group of leaders and high-profile digital culture champions who are ready to amplify the work and relevance of Europeana and the data space at the highest levels of institutions, policy and decision-making.
The programme will benefit the data space, the wider sector and the Finnish heritage ecosystem by:
Creating a blueprint for high-level advocacy for digital culture that can be replicated in other Member States.
Sharing valuable cultural and political insights from the Finnish cultural heritage sector into the Europeana Initiative and the other way round.
Opening doors for new collaborations, innovation, and funding opportunities for Finnish institutions and experts.
Providing the high-level reach and advocacy needed to secure support within Finnish and European policy environments, institutions and networks, and advancing the mission and goals of the data space and Europeana Initiative.
From l-r; Jussi Nuorteva, Former Director General, National Archives of Finland, Kimmo Tuominen, National Librarian, Professor, National Library of Finland, Petra Havu, CEO of Finnish Museums Association (Group), Chairperson of the Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO), Susanna Ånäs, Executive Director, Open Knowledge Finland, Juha Henriksson, Director, Music Archive Finland
Our ambassadors are highly respected figures who embody the values, expertise, influence, vision, and passion required to elevate the data space and advance Europeana Initiative’s mission. We are delighted to welcome:
Petra Havu, CEO of the Finnish Museums Association (Group)— developing rapidly during Petra's tenure — Chairperson of the Finnish Museum Card company FMA Creations Oy and Chairperson of the Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO).
Petra says, ‘I am honoured to serve as an ambassador for Europeana, as its mission resonates strongly with the values and objectives I promote in my own work.’
‘This ambassadorship also complements my other roles and responsibilities at NEMO and the Finnish Museums Association, creating synergies that strengthen coordination and strategic alignment across organisations. By fostering collaboration and promoting shared goals, we can enhance the collective impact of our efforts and contribute to a more connected, visible, and sustainable European cultural heritage landscape.’
‘The common European data space for cultural heritage offers major benefits to Finland and EU Member States by strengthening digital access, collaboration, and innovation across the heritage sector. For cultural institutions, it provides a shared European infrastructure to showcase collections globally, ensure long-term digital preservation, and connect with partners across borders. By promoting common standards and interoperability, the data space makes it easier to share and reuse high-quality cultural data for research, education, creative industries, and digital storytelling.’
‘In Finland, the data space enhances the European visibility of national heritage and opens opportunities to develop new digital services and projects that celebrate and sustain cultural heritage in the digital age.’
Kimmo Tuominen, National Librarian, Professor, National Library of Finland, former Chief Librarian of the Helsinki University Library, former Director of the Jyväskylä University Library and former Service Director of the Library of the Finnish Parliament. In addition, Kimmo holds several other national and international positions of trust.
Kimmo says, ‘I’m excited to be a Europeana ambassador because cultural heritage data should be openly available for everyone to learn from, reuse, and build upon. Openness is central to our work at the National Library of Finland - Finland’s Europeana aggregator. Through our services, we see how open standards, interoperability, digitising, and quality metadata create public value. I want to advocate for Europeana as the place where openness becomes sustainable. The data space for cultural heritage makes openness operational by providing a unified infrastructure, ensuring data are FAIR—findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable—reducing fragmentation and enabling cross-border discovery and reuse. This, in turn, fuels innovation, strengthens inclusion, and builds resilience. The data space transforms openness into a shared European asset, accelerating learning, research, and innovation.’
Jussi Nuorteva, formerly National Archivist of Finland for 20 years Professor and academic positions at the Academy of Finland, University of Helsinki and National Library; Secretary General of Research Council for Culture and Society at Academy of Finland and Finnish Literature Society; Chairperson of EU-funded Alliance for Permanent Access; Chairperson of Foundation for Finnish Institute in the Middle East and Delegation of the Finnish Institute in Rome; member and Vice-Chair of the UNESCO's Committee for Protection of Cultural Property in Armed Conflict and Vice-Chairperson of Finnish National Commission for UNESCO; Vice-Chairperson of International Advisory Committee of UNESCO’s Memory of World Programme. Currently Chairperson of Finnish National Memory of the World Committee and a member of Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. Appointed by the President of Finland to Chancellor of National Orders of White Rose of Finland and Lion of Finland 2017–2024, and honoured with orders and medals from several countries.
Jussi says, ‘I am grateful for being appointed as a Europeana Ambassador. Europeana’s aim to make the crown jewels of the European countries available to everyone in high-quality digital form is an admirable goal to which the European Commission and the member states have devoted much effort.’
‘Since the launch of Europeana, the availability and quality of digital materials has improved, although the number of users is not as high as we had hoped. We need to address this - through technical solutions, and increasing interest through a more diverse digital offer - from heraldry to historical national costumes, to name some examples. I am thrilled to work towards building a Europeana that truly attracts a large number of interested users and strengthens the visibility of European culture.’
Susanna Ånäs, Executive Director at Open Knowledge Finland, a leading advocate of open culture.
Susanna says, ‘In AvoinGLAM Working Group at Open Knowledge Finland, we work with GLAM, advocating for open access to cultural heritage. Traditionally, GLAM stands for Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums. However, in our activities, we wish to reinterpret it as Global Languages, Art, and Memory, which allows us to focus on heritage in a broader context.’
‘The ambassador position offers a chance to be part of the discussion about resilience in digital cultural heritage preservation in Finland, Europe and internationally, taking this broader scope into account.’
‘The common European data space for cultural heritage brings new possibilities to balance sovereignty and openness for digital heritage materials. I would like to see opportunities for communities to share their heritage while being in control, and for creators to be attributed and compensated for their work while sharing openly.’
‘Coming from a background in Open Knowledge, Wikimedia and Creative Commons, I wish to foreground an inclusive and interoperable global vision, both for cultural heritage and for the principle of open sharing.’
Juha Henriksson, Director of Music Archive Finland, Partnership Manager & Ambassador for Time Machine Organisation, Associate Professor in Ethnomusicology at the University of Helsinki, Chair of the Advisory Board of Finnish Private Archives, and Member of the Europeana Network Association Management Board.
‘I think the Europeana Ambassador pilot in Finland is a unique opportunity to advocate for Europeana and the data space for cultural heritage, and to foster collaboration with other cultural heritage initiatives and networks. I feel truly privileged to work as a team with such amazing high-level people. I believe that together we can achieve something truly special!’
‘Europeana and the data space for cultural heritage are irreplaceable in times like these, when culture and cultural heritage are under threat and false truths fill the world. I want to strongly support Europeana in its vision to democratise access to cultural heritage data. The data space is offering a reliable and inclusive source of cultural heritage, on which all our Finnish and European values are built.’
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We are confident that this Finnish pilot will be inspiring and impactful, paving the way for similar initiatives across Europe and driving forward the collective vision for a rich and accessible common European data space for cultural heritage.