On 13 April, the town of Kautokeino, in the north of Norway, hosted the Liet International song contest 2017. Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen, an 18 year old Sámi singer, clinched the musicians’ award as well as the jury award, after outstanding performances from all 8 of the finalists who represented not only the Sami language, but also Breton, Frisian, Luxemburgish, Gaelic, Udmurt, Surinamese and Bashkir. Mr Sixto Molina, Head of the Secretariat of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, presented the winner with the jury prize.

The Liet International song festival for regional and minority languages is a Frisian initiative and was organised for the first time in the capital of Friesland, Ljouwert/Leeuwarden, in the Netherlands in 2002. Since 2006, the festival travels around Europe and since 2008 does so under the patronage of the Council of Europe. It was invented and developed to give modern bands who sing in a minority language a stage.

(Photo credit: Johan Mathis Gaup)