Year of creation: 1979
Domain(s):

- oral traditions and expressions
- social practices, rituals and festive events
- knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe
- traditional craftsmanship

Safeguarding measures:

- identification, documentation, research (including inventory-making)
- preservation, protection
- promotion, enhancement
- transmission, (non-)formal education

Main countries where active:

Norway

Objectives:
The Norwegian Coastal Federation (Forbundet KYSTEN) is an organisation dedicated to the preservation of Norwegian coastal and maritime cultural heritage. Refering to the mission statement from the bylaws in the organisation the main objectives is: Promoting preservation of the general use of traditional vessels, buildings, facilities and the coastal environment in general, conducting informational activities to boost understanding of the value of human and cultural traditions for Norway’s coastal history, maintaining and developing traditions in industry and craftsmanship, seamanship and ways of life, and raising the professional standard of maintenance and safety in the use of vessels and facilities.
The motto of the Norwegian Coastal Federation (Forbundet KYSTEN) is “preservation through use”. This means that the focus on the safeguarding programs and activities is the intangible elements of the coastal and maritime cultural heritage
The federation Forbundet KYSTEN was founded in 1979. At the end of 2014, the Association have about
10 000 members througout Norway and 126 local branches along the whole coast of Norway.
Forbundet KYSTEN is the main voluntary organisation in Norway within the field of preservation of coastal and maritime cultural heritage.
The head quarter of the federation is located in Oslo wich give us the possibility to make close contact with politicians at a national level as well as promoting actions and program in collaboration with institutions like the Ministry of culture, associations for adult education, cultural and educational programs for museums, traditional craft associations and educational institutions.
The main activities is carried out by our local branches and is based on voluntary work wich is the foundation for almost all the work and activties. The local branches objectives is to preserve local maritime and coastal cultural heritage. They aim to create social network and communities around local maritime heritage. The local organisations work on local and regional assignments in accordance with the Federation’s statutory objectives. The local branches themselves determine their areas of focus, providing this is in accordance with the federation’s mission statement.
Activities:
The Norwegian Coastal Federation (Forbundet KYSTEN) is made up of 126 local branches that are based all along the Norwegian coast. Its activities are primarily concerned with local traditions and cultural heritage.
There are two classes of membership in our organisation: full members and youth members (up to 26 years of age). Most full members are individuals, but our list of full members also includes museums, schools and other associations. Approximately 90 per cent of our membership is accounted for by members of our 126 local branches, which are spread out along the entire coast of Norway. The remaining 10 per cent are direct members of the central federation. The total number of members is 10012. Both the number of local branches and the total membership have increased steadily year-on-year since the federation was established in 1979.
The Norwegian Coastal Federation (Forbundet KYSTEN) is a democratic membership organisation. The national congress is the executive body, consisting of delegates from all of the local branches. The national congress elects the national executive. Each of the local branches can send one delegate to the national congress. Decisions are also made at the national congress regarding strategy, action plans and budgets.
Our Magazine ”KYSTEN” (”The Coast”) is published with 5 copies per year and goes automatically to all members as well as to a large number of museums, schools, craft producers and others.
The local branches are responsible for most of our activities. These are wide and varied in nature, though with an emphasis on maintaining, transferring and developing knowledge and skills within the fields of coastal culture and maritime intangible cultural heritage. Here are some examples: preservation and use of historical boats (from small rowing and sailing boats to historically significant sailing ships and steamers); documentation and recording of both tangible cultural monuments and procedural knowledge about maritime cultural heritage; the practice and passing on of traditional handicrafts and skills such as boatbuilding, sail making, rope making and rope work and textile traditions; antiquarian (both practical and theoretical) knowledge about the restoration, maintenance and construction of vessels and buildings (such as lighthouse stations, harbour buildings, boathouses and historically significant shipyards and boatyards); traditional seamanship and navigation; sailing; rowing; knowledge about coastal waterways and landmarks; songs and musical traditions from the coast; rituals and social gatherings (e.g. when launching and landing boats); the oral storytelling tradition along the coast (both collection and presentation); care and maintenance of old steam-powered engineering; practical knowledge about the operation of larger vessels; rigging of sailing ships; food traditions at sea, etc.
Many of these activities are organised as courses in partnership with our own study association (Studieforbundet kultur og tradisjon), in compliance with the regulations and guidelines contained in the Norwegian Act on adult education. This also means that the courses are prepared in accordance with the methods and practice of Nordic adult-education tradition, which emphasises non-formal education, participant-led and democratic access to learning. Our courses emphasise the procedural transfer of action-borne knowledge as their central method. According to the strategy we have adopted, the main objective of the study association is that “it should be possible for everyone living in Norway to become familiar with and learn about cultural expressions and folk traditions in a constructive and secure environment of fellowship”.
The organisation has six employees at central level: five who make up the administrative office, based in Oslo, plus the editor of our periodical, KYSTEN. These employees possess specific technical knowledge relating to their areas of responsibility, including history, ethnology, anthropology, journalism and communication. However, the most important technical expertise is found at local level. In many coastal communities, our local branches are the only remaining groups that possess and are passing on knowledge and skills within the field of intangible maritime cultural heritage.
The local branches arrange regular trips, expeditions, gatherings and festivals in partnership with the municipalities and other local organisations working to preserve cultural heritage.
The central organisation of the Norwegian Coastal Federation arranges regional and national courses, conferences and specialist gatherings, often in partnership with regional and national cultural authorities, experts and craftspeople.
The Federation’s national convention, organised as a maritime festival, takes place annually over four days in July. This event gathers together traditional boats and ships from all along the Norwegian coast, as well as visiting vessels from other countries. At the convention, there are technical lectures and seminars, and practitioners of traditional maritime handicrafts meet to exchange information and hold workshops.
Cooperation:
The local branches bring together members and active specialists who possess important knowledge and skills relating to local maritime intangible cultural heritage. The activities can be described as learning in local practising communities, with the local tradition bearers and practitioners of traditional handicrafts playing an important role in the transfer of knowledge. Almost all of the local branches include key local tradition bearers and practitioners of traditional handicrafts. Many of the tradition bearers represent traditional knowledge that has been passed down through many generations. In the case of some of the specialised fields, such as boatbuilding, this traditional knowledge may go back as far as 300 or even 500 years.
Many of our local branches work together with local coastal and maritime museums around the coast, with members taking an active part in work to preserve their boat collections and buildings. We have developed a collaboration model under which our members take care of the practical knowledge relating to these cultural monuments, with an emphasis on sailing, rowing, active use, communication and knowledge transfer. We now have an opportunity to further develop this collaboration model, as the Norwegian Ministry of Culture has recently given the museums administrative responsibility for the intangible aspects of cultural heritage within their fields.
Last year, the Norwegian Coastal Federation and UiT, The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, took the initiative to develop the “Centre for Outstanding Boatbuilding”. For almost 20 years, the University has employed a traditional boatbuilder, who has worked to pass on traditional knowledge about boats from northern Norway. Now the intention is to set up a centre with national responsibility for transferring traditional knowledge relating to the most important local and regional boat types in Norway. The centre has created affiliations with traditional boatbuilders within the various boatbuilding traditions, and emphasis will be placed on the practice of traditional boatbuilding, as well as the documentation and recording of local handicraft techniques. The University acknowledges the high level of expertise and the complex knowledge represented by traditional boatbuilding.

Year of creation: 1896
Domain(s):

- oral traditions and expressions
- performing arts
- traditional craftsmanship

Safeguarding measures:

- identification, documentation, research (including inventory-making)
- preservation, protection
- promotion, enhancement
- transmission, (non-)formal education
- revitalization

Main countries where active:

Norway

Objectives:
The Norwegian Youth Association’s objective says that “Through popular cultural activities, Noregs Ungdomslag (NU) shall create engagement and thriving local environments.” In this, there is a fundamental understanding that we shall do cultural work in local communities all over Norway. This work is done through local and regional courses, publications, competitions, gatherings and meetings.
Activities:
Our organization consists of 19 regional and 328 local branches, with a combined number of 13.384 members (31.desember 2019). Our local branches run activities for children, young adults and adults. Activities vary, but the main purpose of all local branches is to create safe and including spaces and cultural activities in their communities. Many local branches maintain and refurbish community houses owned by themselves.
Cooperation:
The Norwegian Youth Association consists of 328 local and regional branches spread across the entire country. The number of members in our sub-organizations vary from 5 to 700. We continuously cooperate with our local and regional branches to provide educational activities, courses, events, membership services and informational work.

Year of creation: 1946
Domain(s):

- social practices, rituals and festive events
- knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe
- traditional craftsmanship

Safeguarding measures:

- identification, documentation, research (including inventory-making)
- preservation, protection
- promotion, enhancement
- transmission, (non-)formal education
- revitalization

Main countries where active:

Mozambique, Norway

Objectives:
The objective of the Norwegian Society of Rural Women is to bring together women who recognize the importance of active rural communities and the primary industries. The Norwegian Society of Rural Women is a non-governmental organization with the objective of safeguarding women's and rural populations' cultural, social and economic interests and contributing to equality, democracy and Christian cultural heritage.
Food and food culture is the main area of expertise, and the NGO aim is to safeguard traditional Norwegian food and food culture heritage. The local produce that people have traditionally been able to access have formed the basis for the Norwegian food culture. Access to, and knowledge about local raw ingredients and seasonal food is important to safeguard the food culture.
It is especially important that tacit knowledge is transmitted through practical work in order for it to survive. Traditional food is food which is based on old artisanal traditions with techniques, customs and methods for storage. Artisanal traditions that have been passed down through generations. In Norway, the knowledge about traditional food has often been passed down from mother to daughter, but in line with other changes in society, this is hardly the case anymore. There are currently fewer people growing their own food, an increase in the consumption of ready-made food and less time for cooking in the busy daily life, while the different generations no longer live in the same house and the knowledge is therefore not necessarily passed down any longer.
The members of the organization work to safeguard food competence and food culture by way of courses and training. They also work to ensure that the school system, day-care centres, museums, farms, chefs and the media take responsibility and an interest in Norwegian food culture.

Activities:
The Norwegian Society of Rural Women has 13,500 members and 450 local groups throughout the country. The organization's activities of performing the practical craft of traditional food largely take place in the local groups. Cooking classes is one of the main activities, both the classes that are held internally and the classes open for others who may be interested. In order to reach children and youth, the organization's local societies also hold cooking classes in both day-care centres and at schools. Through approximately 900 classes and activities annually related to food tradition, old techniques and methods are passed down and the histories conveyed.
The organization's county and local societies have for several years worked purposefully to document and collect local recipes, techniques and histories. This has resulted in approximately 120 cook books.
One of the organization's current activities to impart knowledge and generate interest in Norwegian traditional food is the establishment of a national website with recipes and films displaying old techniques and methods for preservation and preparation of food. The website (www.norsktradisjonsmat.no), will be launched before the summer of 2017 and will contain more than 400 recipes for traditional food, which the local groups in the Norwegian Society of Rural Women have submitted. The website is especially targeting youth and young adults. In connection with the launch of the new website the organization will also collect more traditional recipes from the entire country, through a competition among the local groups.
The organization also works purposefully on measures to engage the local groups through various actions and projects.
The Norwegian Society of Rural Women each year raises awareness about the use of one or several Norwegian food ingredients. In recent years, the organization has focused on oats, root vegetables, fruits and this year on useful wild plants. The use of edible plants in cooking is a knowledge in danger of disappearing and the objective of this action is for more people to become aware of the history, diversity and use of useful plants from the Norwegian nature. Last year more than 100 excursions and outdoor classes in "wild, edible plants" where arranged by our local groups.
One of the organization’s food projects is "Aksjon sunn matglede" ("Operation Healthy Enjoyment of Food"). During the project period 2013-2014, 250 cooking classes were held for children and adults jointly, with the objective of contributing to healthy food habits, increasing the enjoyment of food and enhancing practical knowledge about local food production and cooking among children and adults. With several generations present in the same classes, the practical transmission of tacit knowledge about traditional food was safeguarded. During the project period, the local societies received financial support to hold the cooking classes. The project is currently continued in the organization on a voluntary basis.
The Norwegian Society of Rural Women believes that the local food traditions contribute to shaping the identity of both the local communities and their inhabitants. The members of the organization believe that it is important to safeguard not only for historical purposes, but also to further development, food innovation and new food products. They also see examples currently where knowledge of local produce and the old techniques are crucial for flavour and for local resources actually being used.

Cooperation:
The Norwegian Society of Rural Women places great trust in its members, who contribute to administering the food culture heritage. Their interest in and contribution to focusing on local raw ingredients and craft traditions are crucial for its maintenance. Seeing the joy and usefulness of food culture heritage encourages maintenance and active use. Each local community, farm and family have their own traditions.
Intangible cultural heritage can best be safeguarded if as many people as possible are familiar with it and practice it. The NGO has extensive experience cooperating with other organizations, businesses and groups.
The Norwegian Society of Rural Women cooperates with other organizations and professional environments for the Norwegian porridge-cooking championship. The competition's objective is to raise awareness about porridge-cooking based on Norwegian grains. To market the event, articles were written about porridge as traditional food and the historical significance porridge has had throughout the ages, as a festive meal and in daily life. To maintain the traditions and experiment with new flavours are equally important.
The Norwegian Society of Rural Women closely cooperates with the Norwegian Agrarian Association and the Norwegian Rural Youth. These organizations both work to maintain local production of food throughout the country. The NGO hosts many events jointly, and have mutual board representation centrally, locally and at the county level. The organizations thereby help each other and raise their issues in the respective organizations.
The Norwegian Society of Rural Women’s local societies also cooperate with various societies and associations in their local communities, including historical societies. This is a way of putting food culture into a broader perspective, locally. The food heritage is also about food traditions in connection with celebrations, holidays, eras, identity and the local culture.
The Norwegian Society of Rural Women is a women’s organization which also works for other issues and with other NGOs. An example of this is the Norwegian Folk Art and Craft Association. Both organizations are interested in craft traditions such as bunad sewing, knitting and sewing. The societies cooperate with others regarding local exhibitions, courses and meeting spaces to create things together.

Year of creation: 1910
Domain(s):

- traditional craftsmanship

Safeguarding measures:

- identification, documentation, research (including inventory-making)
- promotion, enhancement
- transmission, (non-)formal education
- revitalization

Main countries where active:

Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Spain

Objectives:
The Norwegian Folk art and Craft Association aims to preserve,maintain, develope and strengthen Norwegian folk art and traditional craft. We do this trough educational activities,publications and public activites such as exhibitions, contests etc.
For more than hundred years the organisation has been the main voluntary organisation in Norway which has inspired activities within the field of mantaining knowledge connected to traditional craft production.Our consultants working all over Norway, in every county, have for more than 50 years been the expertice on local craft tecniques and local knowledge about groups of producers and practitioners. Our consulens are working in a tight relation to our voluntary groups and also local and regional authorities.The headquarter of the organisation is placed in Oslo which make it possible to achieve contact with sentral politicians and through this promote actions in order to strenghten the focus on the importance of preserving and mantaining traditional craft as a knowledge and practical experience in ecucational programs, cultural programs for museums and as an inspiration and resourse in crafmanship production of today
The solid foundation underlying the work of our organisation is based on the voluntary work contributions within the local and regional membership devisions. These comunities contribute to the sthrengthening of social network, enabling the exchange mantainance and of handicraft skills within a large spectre of areas. The organisation is Norways largest organizer of adult training in folk art and handicraft. We offer about 3000 courses every year and aproxemately 15.000 people attend to our local and regional courses.
Activities:
Our organisation has three membership groups, single members which are 24.000 located in 377 local groups, 140 craft producers in smal private enterprices ,and 35 craft shops located all around the country.we also have a membership cathegory called "Young Crafters", at the moment they are 1700 indivdual members and the cathegory is increasing. We are a democratic organisation with a national board which are elected by the organisation on our General Assembly every second year. Our members pay an annual membership fee, this includes our magzine and various membership benefits. We have a very stabile and slowly increasing number of members.
The organisation has 28 employies of this are the Body of consultans counting 18 highly skilled proffessional experts on folk art and craft practitioners.Each and one of the is the link between their regional groups and activity and the sentral administration in Oslo.In addition to this we have three Advisory Committees within the field of woven handicraft, National costumes and Wooden Hancicraft.The administrative part of the staff consist of the editor and journalist in our magazine, technical and bookeeping resourses, ecucational adviser and Adminitrative Director.
Our publication, the magazine Norsk Husflid( Horwegian craft) goes automatically to all 24.0000 members,and to external subskribers.It is published with 5 copies per year.and has been published for more than 40 years.
Our main activity is to mantain and develope the knowledge about and the skill within taditional craft.We offer and stimulate to activities all over Norway for adults and youngsters. We have a division called "Young Craft" wich organize workshops, training courses, contests etc for children and youngsters to introduce them to traditional craft and the joy of making themselves.Through activity for craftsproducers we stimulate to both mantain old and traditional techniques and to innovate products in order to make awarenessof our craft herritage among people of today.
Once a year, on the first Saturday in 'September we arrange a nationwide "Day of Crafts" ( Husflidsdagen). On this day there are hundreds of local exhibitions, markets, "open house-day", a huge variation of arrangements where traditional craft and craftmanship are promoted.
Cooperation:
The organisation consist of 377 local and regional groups, the size of this may vary from 20 to 3000 members. We are in a constant cooperation with our groups through local projects, educational activity, contests,registrations for inventory lists, markets,public relation activityes. Our magazine, our facebook and homepage are our main communication channels with our members, in addtition to our regional consultants. In Norway we have a solid and regular cooperation with relevant NGOs such as the Centre for Intangible Heritage/Norwegian Craft Development at Lillehammer and the Norwegian Institute of bunads and folk costumes at Fagernes and especially in the summerperiode with many open air museums all over Norway.
On international level we are for about 75 years cooperating within the Nordic countries in a network "Nordic craft federation".Two times per year there are adminitrative meetings, every third year there are a Nordic craft conferrence where all members and local groups are invited.Every summer a family camp takes place with a lot of workshops, this is on rotation within the Nordic countries.Every second year a Nordic symposium for weaving is organized. All these activities aim to promote and mantain knowledge and pratcice in traditional crafts. All activities are kept on a non profit basis.
The Norwegian Folk art and Craft association is member of the European Folk Art and Craft Federation.The Federation has 10 national craft organisations (NGOs) as members.We have during the last 30 years been an active partner in several international projects and we have been involved in cooperation with one ore more of the other member countries in exchange of exhibitions, participating on international craft fairs and workshops with craftspersons from Norway etc.
We did also initiate an international project with craftsmen from the Northern African countries, this project was supported by the Norwegian Unesco Commision.

Year of creation: 1985
Domain(s):

- oral traditions and expressions
- social practices, rituals and festive events
- knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe
- traditional craftsmanship

Safeguarding measures:

- identification, documentation, research (including inventory-making)
- preservation, protection
- promotion, enhancement
- transmission, (non-)formal education
- revitalization

Main countries where active:

Denmark, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Year of creation: 1988
Domain(s):

- knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe
- traditional craftsmanship

Safeguarding measures:

- identification, documentation, research (including inventory-making)
- preservation, protection
- transmission, (non-)formal education
- revitalization

Main countries where active:

Czechia, Denmark, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Objectives:
To protect, preserve, pass on and develop crafts as skills and knowledge, as expression and as a profession. NHUs aims to maintain and strenghthen crafts that are concidered to be rare and worthy of protection.
Activities:
1- Register of Craftsmen:
Since 1987 the NHU has been responsible fDr a national Register of craftsmen/women. Today the register of Norwegian Craftsmen/women is searchable on the web. It provides craftsmen and craftswomen with an excellent marketing channel and gives documentation of their activities/skills. The register secures historical important information about craftsmen/women.
2- Projects Concerning the transfer and documentation of crafts skills and knowledge:
Through a large number of projects we ensure that tradistional crafts are passed on. A particular emphasis is given to protecting crafts skills and knowledge which are in danger of dissapearing. NHU has developed a spesific competence building model to pass on actionborne knowledge. The model is based on the traditional master/apprentice relationship, where a master is responsible for training an apprentice. In the work we also have a person who is responsible for documentation to ensure that the craft skills
are documented for the future. NHU is also resopnsible for a number of projects outside Norway.
3- Secreteriat for rare and protected Crafts:
The main task of the secretariat for rare and Protected Crafts is to maintain, strenghthen and pass on crafts which lead to an apprenticeship sertificat. Finding enterprises which can provide teaching can be particularly challenging for crafts with few or old practiconers.
4- Craft scholarships:
NHU organize a tree years scholarsip scheme for craftsmen. The scholarship provides a possibility for in-depth training for professionals above the crafts and apprentice certificate level.
Cooperation:
One of the main tasks of NHU is cooperation and identifying practiconers of commmunities, groups and intangible heritage practiconers within a wide variety of endangered crafts. NHU has a policy of taking both male and female traditions into consideration and is at present looking into the possibility of identifying and strengthen crafts within traditional ethnic minorities. Through the whole history of NHU working with local communities and practiconers from the whole country has been the policy. Thus projects have been focused on both the coastal culture, the farming culture and the urban culture. Projects have been focused on activities connected with traditional activities in the nature (both inland and coastal) and a wide range of traditional handicraft.

Domain(s):

- knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe
- traditional craftsmanship

Safeguarding measures:

- identification, documentation, research (including inventory-making)
- preservation, protection
- transmission, (non-)formal education
- revitalization

Main countries where active:

Norway

Objectives:
Norwegian Institute of bunad and folk costume (NBF) is working to guard and promote the manufacturing and use of bunads (revitalized, regional costumes), as an expression of cultural identity and as a unique cultural heritage. Furthermore: A) NBF works to document the traditional folk costume through fieldwork, and to preserve the knowledge about these customs in terms of production, use and cultural context. B) All information and knowledge derived from fieldwork and interviews is to be made publically available, both at the institute itself and online. C) NBF shall work to research the history of the traditional folk costume, both theoretically and practically. Also, NBF works to research the revitalization of the traditional costumes, as seen in the extensive use of bunads throughout the 1900's. D) The institute aims to be a source of information and assistance to bunad-craftsmen, students and researchers in the field. NBF is frequently working to offer a variety of university classes, practical courses and informal training upon request. NBF works to promote the knowledge and use of bunad in a modern context.
The objectives for which NBF was founded are still very much valid today; to serve as a facilitator, nationally and regionally, to document existing material and to give advice and guiding based on research. The Institute has in recent years worked together with other NGOs to promote the use and knowledge of traditional costumes and bunads, for example by arranging the annual Bunad-Conference in August. Furthermore, the institute has since 2008 been heading a national network of textile museums. Here, the objective has been to increase the practical and theoretical knowledge of museum workers about textiles and costumes.

Activities:
From fieldwork during many years, an extensive, national archive has been established. As of 2017 it contains approx. 75 000 registrations of clothes, privately owned. These fieldtrips have a duration of five days, and there are about five or six such weeks through the year. Each fieldtrip is organised in close cooperation with local forces. Local associations prepare the fieldwork and talk to people that might have stored old clothes in their homes, usually farmers’ families. The owners bring their collections to a local venue, where the institute is ready to register the clothes. Usually the owners have their collections registered the same day. In some cases, it is necessary to return for fieldtrips in the same area several years. Each private owner signs an agreement to registration. Each item is photographed, and a description is produced detailing the fabric, colour, technique and cut. Any additional information from the owner is vital, so that knowledge about the garments and their history is preserved. Knowledge about how different parts of clothing has been worn together, their symbolic meaning, and information about the context in which they have been used, is important information. NBF often gives advice on how to preserve and take care of the old garments in private homes.
The archive is supplemented by photos, sketches, patterns and notes about material related to costume traditions from different districts. Additional sources include illustrations from artists, probate material, letters and other items that describe the old costume traditions. The archives at the NBF also include samples of fabrics, information on textiles, and detailed descriptions of sewing technique. The archives are publicly available.
Based on fieldwork, interviews and other studies, the institute gives both practical and theoretical classes on the subject. Craftsmen may be given advice and practical guidance, and even training according to their specific needs. The institute engages in local and regional safeguarding programmes, and contributes with their knowledge of traditional crafts and cultural history.
As a national institution, NBF plays an important role as a mediator and a counsellor to the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education.
Specific safeguarding activities include:
- NBF work with other NGO's to provide six weeks of practical training annually for young craftsmen and-women.
- NBF offers a week long training course for museum-employees every year, concerning cultural history and the phenomenon of traditional dress and the revitalization of bunad.
- NBF work together with University of Trondheim on six courses in the phenomenon of traditional dress and the revitalization of bunad, as part of their ethnology-progamme.
- NBF hosts the annual conference of bunad called "Fagdagane", every year in august, with four other NGO's. Last years conference had 140 participants, and aims to raise awareness and knowledge of traditional costumes and bunads.

Cooperation:
The purpose of establishing the Norwegian Institute of Bunad and Folk Costume (NBF) in 1947, was always twofold; to document and gather information from bearers of the traditional folk costumes, and to give advice and training to craftsmen producing bunad according to the tradition. This dual purpose has since then resulted in a continuing dialog between different groups or individuals and the institute.
The institute has from the beginning worked to establish public archives of registered clothing, photos and many other sources in addition to a collection of modern day bunads. That is why NBF travels around the country, to do fieldwork, to interview bearers and to visit places of traditional, small-scale production. The institute is therefore an important source for bearers, researchers and others to find materials and information concerning bunad and folk costumes.
In other words; the NBF has since the beginning been entirely depended on a good and respectful dialog and cooperation with knowledgeable individuals and communities. This relationship has been, and still is, inter-dependable. Usually the initiative to do fieldwork comes from these local groups, with a request to NBF for assistance. In such cases, a very fruitful cooperation begins, where NBF brings experience and equipment necessary for fieldwork. The community brings together bearers and people with collections of clothes and knowledge of the tradition. The owners will be given information about the institute and its work, then, the owner can decide whether the registration of each piece of clothing is to be public or classified. When the registration is over, the clothes are returned to its owner with information about storage and preservation. If the owners themselves are bearers of the tradition, or are very knowledgeable, they are interviewed and encouraged to share their knowledge further.
In addition to documentation work, research and training, NBF also hosts or participates in several seminars, courses or conferences every year. The services that NBF offers, big or small, may be open for anyone, or made especially suited for certain groups. For example, NBF has developed courses specifically aimed at bunad-craftsmen and -women, at museum-workers, at fashion-students or university-students.

Year of creation: 1973
Budget: U.S.$1143700
Domain(s):

- oral traditions and expressions
- performing arts
- social practices, rituals and festive events
- Knowledge about musical instruments, Giving expert advice to the public sector. Distributing grants to activity in the field

Safeguarding measures:

- identification, documentation, research (including inventory-making)
- preservation, protection
- promotion, enhancement
- transmission, (non-)formal education
- revitalization

Main countries where active:

Norway

Objectives:
Main aim: to promote, safeguard and secure transmission of Norwegian traditional music and traditional dance as expressions of cultural identity and carriers of unique qualities.

Objectives: To serve ail Iines of work in our field, to coordinate efforts and to improve output from available resources.

To offer representative expertise for public administration and ensure know-how among policymakers and administrators.

To document research folk music and folk dance and give on result from the work.

To promote enhanced knowledge about and understanding for folk music and folk dance and work for improved quality, participation and interest.
Activities:
The foundation (Rtf) is doing fieldwork, documenting traditional dance and music in cooperation with people in local communities. It has set up a web page which is meant to become an inventory of ICH in our field. It conducts research and publishes results.

Collected material is protected by being stored in the Rff archives and preserved through being made available and taught. It is promoted through teaching, and projects of various kinds including both participatory and staging activities.

Local projects for young people and specialised university courses are important measures for securing transmission and revitalisation. Rff supports organisations which are active in revitalisation, and has also its own projects.

The Expert Council and the Centre has followed discussions on safeguarding of folklore, later Intangible cultural heritage right since they were established in the early 1970's, particularly within the framework of UNESCO. The Director has been called upon several times to take part in UNESCO's work in different ways. The Norwegian folk music scene has also been concerned with the problems of copyright issues. The question has been discussed in conferences and meetings and with national organisations that collect
copyright money.
Cooperation:
The resource centre is conducting documentation, quite often at the request of local communities where traditional dance and music are practiced. Local practitioners then come to our institution to analyse and learn from collected material under guidance of our expert staff. Afterwards they can transmit the dances and music in the local community, consulting the old practitioners if they are still available. This practice is used
when local dance and music is known only by old people who do not practice any longer, so that young people have problems learning directly from them, it is particularly usual for traditional dance.