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Irina DOBRYNINA
Director, National Library of the Republic of Karelia
(Petrozavodsk, Russian Federation)
Creating Content in Minority Languages:
Enhancing Users’ Capacity
Linguistic and cultural diversity as a part of the world’s heritage is commonly
known to be as crucial for mankind as biodiversity is for nature. UNESCO
documents also highlight the importance of diversity, emphasizing the
respect for linguistic and cultural diversity as one of the core principles of
the modern society development.
Over the last decade issues of support for national languages and cultures,
maintenance of local traditions and preservation of the region’s individuality
have been of great topicality and importance for the Republic of Karelia –
a unique cross-border region with indigenous national culture. It is mainly
explained by the increasing globalization processes, rapid development of
technologies and communication, intensification of migration flows, and the
interconnection and interdependency of cultures.
The Government of the republic recognizes culture as an essential resource
for developing the territory and encourages the region’s cultural identity. The
importance of facilitating the preservation, maintenance and interpretation of
the tangible and intangible historical and cultural heritage and its integration
in the social and economic development is enshrined in the Concept of Socio-
Economical Development of the Republic of Karelia for the period until 2016.
In the course of the state national policy implementation in the republic
special consideration is given to the sustainable ethno-cultural development
of indigenous peoples. It is the key aim of the programme under development
on “Preserving the Unity of Karelian Peoples and Ethnic Communities for
the Period 2012–2016” (“Karjala is Our Home”). The programme follows
up two previous programmes – “State Support for Karelian, Vepsian and
Finnish Languages in the Republic of Karelia for the period 2006–2010”
and “Harmonizing National and Religious Relations and Developing Civil
Consent in the Republic of Karelia for the period 2007–2011” (“Karelia, the
Territory of Consent”).
Today we are witnessing Karelia’s development as a multinational republic,
inhabited by more than 100 nationalities, aspiring to preserve their mother
tongues and their unique cultures. The indigenous peoples of the republic are
Karelians, Vepsians and Russians. Karelian nation is divided into three groups:
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