The most important goal of the Folk Music development project and its parallel project was to create a joint centreof expertise of folk music, cultural heritage and travel in Kainuu and White Sea Karelia, as well as establish a folkmusic activity unit in Kainuu that serves Finland as a whole as well as beyond. Th e project wanted to take advantageof the results of the previous projects by the Juminkeko Foundation and their subsequent know-how, continuing thedocumentation and revival of runic singing, with the emphasis on the revival and presentation of folk music tradition,which would also emphasise the aspect of cultural tourism. Creating a centre of expertise was a means of supporting thetourism strategy of Kainuu that is based on the Kalevala theme, and supporting the sustainability of the runic villages ofWhite Sea Karelia. Th e unique culture of White Sea Karelia is in a state of fast-pace change, risking losing its culturalroots. Th e traditional ways of living no longer guarantee the population a suffi cient income, and new jobs are neededto replace them. Th e aim was to include local tourist companies and businesses in the joint centre of expertise and tosupport them, but it also included launching new local business activities based on the joint centre of expertise referred to. Achievements: The project was operated in very close cooperation with the Folk Music development project in support of culturaltourism. Even though the Tacis project focused on activities in Russia, and the Interreg project respectively inFinland, the results of the two projects are largely mutual and cannot be completely separated.The projects helped to organise cooperation between Finnish and Karelian actors, particularly the Research Instituteof the Karelian Language, Literature and History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Petrozavodsk State MusicAcademy and the Kalevala School of Music and, on the Finnish side, the department of folk music of the SibeliusAcademy and the Kuhmo Music Institute. The projects increased the know-how among those working with andresearching culture and those involved in cultural tourism. The projects coordinated, among other things, culturalexcursions, seminars and cultural events.The Tacis project, on its part, collected folk music recordings, which were digitised and transferred to the archives ofthe Juminkeko Foundation, to be later added to the recording search programme of the Juminkeko Foundation forpublishing on the Internet. The research musicians working on the project also performed in several different eventsand taught regularly in Russian Karelia. A related summer camp for children was also organised. The SommeloFolk Music Festival was organised both in Finland and in Kalevala. Altogether, there were 1500 participants inthe concerts in Russia. A special cultural Sommelo excursion to White Sea Karelia was organised jointly with anentrepreneur. As initiated by the project, a concert by Sinfonietta Lentua, consisting of both Finnish and Russian(the Republic of Karelia) musicians (half and half ), was also organised in Kalevala.Cultural tourism to the villages of White Sea Karelia was boosted by the project. Moreover, the inhabitants self-esteemand the sustainability of the villages increased. A continuation has been applied for with regard to the Tacis project.