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This obituary (https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.70047) honours the memory of Kristin Kuutma (1959–2025), whose work left a lasting imprint on anthropology, ethnology, and critical heritage studies. Written following her death in May 2025 and published in Anthropology Today (Vol. 42, No. 1, February 2026), its appearance reflects the journal’s editorial schedule rather than the moment of its conception.

Kristin Kuutma’s scholarship reshaped debates on collaborative ethnography, heritage governance, and the politics of representation. Her work consistently challenged technocratic and instrumental approaches, insisting instead on reflexivity, attention to power, and the ethical stakes of scholarly and institutional practice. Situated at the intersection of anthropology and ethnology, her contributions also played a formative role in the development of critical approaches to intangible heritage.

This obituary is offered as a gesture of respect and appreciation for a colleague whose intellectual clarity, critical engagement, and institutional work continue to inform conversations across these fields. It stands as a recognition of her enduring influence and of the scholarly paths she helped open.

P.S. The obituary is accessible on ResearchGate and Academia.edu for readers without journal access.

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Rosa Johnson( PhD) University of Namibia

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Rosa Johnson( PhD) University of Namibia

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It’s indeed with great sadness that I write this message of condolences to a incredible unselfish human being that never ever hesitated to help anybody especially driving forward Cultural Heritage matters. We are all deeply saddened and after our first meeting a few years ago within 10 minutes Prof immediately offered her help and expertise. Myself and colleague Dr Kennedy Kariseb still spoke to Prof earlier in the year and although she was not feeling well she was still sharing her knowledge and experiences and encouraging us not to give up.

We can only learn from her beautiful heart and soul and take her passion and knowledge further for generations to come in the sincere interest of our beautiful country Namibia. To her family and on behalf of the University of Namibia specifically the Vice Chancellor Prof Kenneth Matengu’s office, thanks for sharing her with us and Prof will always have a special place in our hearts and academic corridors . May her soul rest in eternal peace.

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Dear colleague would be greatly missed. I remember when just starting to work on the implementation of the 2003 Convention in Croatia how she gave me some invaluable advice, which I not only followed as an expert, but it changed my whole perception on this international instrument and encouraged ethical and ever careful approach to ICH holders and communities. We can comfort ourselves by valuable publications she has left us with and carry on her legacy in our future work.

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Just heard about Kristin's death - very sad to hear that. She'll be greatly missed by many in the international critical heritage community. Thoughts are with her family and colleagues, and wishing all the best for the Memorial event.

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I share your sadness at the untimely death of Kristin Kuutma. Her warmth will remain in my memory and in ours. My sincere condolences go out to their family and close friends.

I am glad that we had the opportunity to welcome Kristin to Heidelberg University exactly two years ago for a series of lectures on intangible heritage. The video with her lecture is available online on YouTube (please feel free to skip my introduction, which I gave in barely mediocre English). Thomas Schmitt, Heidelberg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZwKmV2ZnYA&list=PLuRaSnb3n4kS-icJELODx85a6Yl1VN5mb&index=6

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I was saddened to learn of Kristin's passing and want to express my deepest condolences to her family.

I got to know Kristin over several years working with her until May 2024 on the University of Helsinki Faculty of Arts Scientific Advisory Board. This was a unique experience for a small international group of scholars to interact with the administration, staff, and students of the Faculty and to provide feedback and advice on their strategic and operational plans for research and teaching. I appreciated Kristin's clear-eyed analysis and discussion of the materials provided, plus her role in the face-to-face interviews we had in Finland, and in the writing up of our annual reports. She was an impressive scholar and administrator, as well as a genuinely nice and humane person. She will be missed. RIP.

Peter K. Austin, Emeritus Professor in Field Linguistics, SOAS, University of London

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https://www.riseupproject.eu/remembering-professor-kristin-kuutma/

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Although I knew for some time that Kristin had been ill, it came as a great shock to learn of her recent death. Working with her, initially on the SIEF board, and later on some heritage projects, was always a joy, and being able to contribute to her fantastic winter school in Tartu was a great privilege. Her vision and spirit will be sorely missed.

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We first met many years ago at an AFS conference, perhaps in 1998 in Portland or in Memphis the following year, and again at a SIEF congress, perhaps in Marseille, where heritage began to take center stage in some discussions. She hosted so many intellectually stimulating endeavors - workshops for Ph.D. students, the winter school, as well as SIEF 2013 where she introduced every plenary speaker herself, delivering hommage to a most diverse assembly of distinguished speakers, and with that gesture expressed her esteem as well as her joy that she had gotten all these individuals to come and shape with her this beautiful congress.

The same year we both served as outside examiners of a dissertation in one of the Nordic countries and we took an hour together on the margins of that SIEF congress to figure out what on earth we could possibly say about this work - and I remember how relieved we both were that the other felt much the same.

Occasionally there would be a remark about all that was on her plate and how it was difficult at times to combine the professional and private roles that were of equal importance to her. Her excitement about ICH's ever unfolding possibilities and her clear vision of how she could contribute generated energy where others, perhaps, would have opted for shorter workdays.

In graduate school in Bloomington where a number of students from Ghana were in my cohort, we learned to mourn a mighty individual with the phrase "a great tree has fallen"; in Kristin's case, we know that she has planted many seeds to carry forward inquiry, not just in the field of heritage but branching into many corners of cultural scholarship.

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On behalf of the CRIES project, I extend our heartfelt condolences on the passing of Professor Kristin Kuutma.

Kristin was instrumental in shaping our collaborative inquiry into collective singing as intangible cultural heritage in the Nordic region. Her scholarly work on tradition, identity, and heritage governance leaves a lasting legacy — not only in academic discourse, but in the institutional and international frameworks she helped bring into being.

Equally, we remember her for the generosity and integrity she brought to scholarly exchange. Kristin listened with care, spoke with precision, and upheld a spirit of dialogue that invited others to think more deeply and widely.

Her absence is keenly felt. We honour her memory by continuing the work she helped initiate — with the same intellectual commitment and cultural insight that defined her own.

Katrine Baunvig
On behalf of the CRIES project

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The first thing one saw in Kristin was her boundless energy as a builder, both of institutions and in her own innovative scholarship, but my fondest memories of her are of two liminal moments. Years ago, in an Irish pub in Tartu at the end of a taxing conference, she suddenly burst out with a rueful, very funny monologue on the legacy of Lutheranism in both her own relentless self-discipline and the national determination to be the good student of Europe, no matter how heavy the cost of austerity. Another was at a conference in Athens, at a half-finished museum just beginning to push beyond the economic crisis (and soon to be hit by the pandemic). After two days of reports of how local heritage operations across Greece had been managing to make bricks without straw for the last several years, Kristin delivered beautiful concluding comments around the metaphor of the massive, battered, still green olive tree under which we had been taking our coffee. It had somehow  survived the noise and bus exhaust of the the touristic heart of Athens, and the museum courtyard had been constructed around it, even as some of its branches were propped up with metal stakes or chained to the wall.

It’s rare to find that humane ironic consciousness in company with so much determination and efficacy – we suffer today from their separation. In Kristin they were fused, and her legacy should be a long one.

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Iäd puhkamist armas Kristin. Sio kirjatüed jääväd meiti suatma ning ond abiks paeludõlõ kultuurioidajatõlõ tänä ning uõmõ. Sie ajatu tarkus, mis siost maha jäi, ond jõndamatu varandus Esti rahvalõ ning terve muajõlmalõ. Sio päränd eläb.

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Mälestame head kolleegi Kristinit ja tunneme kaasa lähedastele.

Kirjandus- ja teatriteaduse osakond

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Dear Kristin

We go back more than two decades, to that folklore conference where we both noticed we were (the only ones) using words like reflexivity, constructivism and safeguarding intangible heritage and understood we had to talk. We never stopped the conversation since, in (the margins and evenings of) many UNESCO meetings all over the world and in conferences. You were the one who said yes, go for it when I was doubting if it was worth it to invest more time in and eventually move to academia to pursue our passion for scholarship, books and articles, intangible heritage and safeguarding. We cultivated the potential of extra networks, next to lines between members of states parties delegations in UNESCO meetings, via academic UNESCO chairs and ICHNGO-networks: entangled lines are the way to go. I will miss our lunches, diners and long e-mails. Thank you for your work and service to our field and passions.

I miss you. Marc

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Jää jumalaga, kulla Kristin! Sinu tehtu jääb ja seda oli ikka väga palju. Mäletan nüüd tänutundes.

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Kristin – ilmselt just Sinu nimele võib kirjutada minu äratundmise iseendas antropoloogina. See oli vist tekstuaalsete representatsioonide õppeaine etnoloogia magistrantuuris. Mäletan, et iga kursuse raames loetud artikkel viis mind väikse sammu võrra lähemale arusaamisele, millega üldse antropoloogia tegeleb. Kursuse lõpus kirjutatud esseest sai aga tekst, millele vaatan tagasi kui oma isiklikule erialasele manifestile, kus mõtestasin enda jaoks esimest korda lahti antropoloogina tegutsemise eetilised alused, selle sotsiaalse vastutuse.

Nüüd viisteist aastat hiljem kui sellest erialast ongi saanud mu põhitöö – prillid ja müts, mida ei saa juba ammu enam pärast tööpäeva lõppu peast võtta –, vaatan tänutundes tagasi Sinu poole, oma esimesele olulisele mentorile sellel elumuutval teekonnal.

Kibeda kahjutundega jään kahetsema, et viimaste kuude jooksul korduvalt peast läbi käinud mõte Sind lõunale kutsuda, jäigi vaid väljendamata mõtteks, mida kiiretel päevadel aina edasi lükata, teadmises, et küll tulevad rahulikumad ajad, küll me kohtume siis, kui Sul tervis parem, mis nüüd mina... Sellest ja teistest paljudest pidamata jäänud vestlustest on mul tõesti-tõesti kahju!

Soovin rahulikku kohale jõudmist. Sinust jäädakse kindlasti puudust tundma. OM

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I'm sorry to hear of her passing. I remember her as a memorable women, always attentively listening. May she rest in Peace and never be forgotten. A sure miss for our NGO comunity.

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Ära suri suuri kuuski

maha langes laia tamme

kadus käharpeaga kaske

Jättis oksad oigamaie

lehed laiad leinamaie

Kallis Kristin, saadan laulud ja kandlehääled Sulle pilvepiirile, vikerkaare taha...

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Alati sõbraliku ja tasakaalukana, kuid samas oma seisukohtade eest seisjana jääb Kristin meelde. Ta oli innukaks eestvedajaks doktorikooli üritustele ning andis hoogu ja tuge doktoriõppe arendamisele. Jään mäletama ja puudust tundma!

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I was so sorry to hear that our valued colleague and collaborator Kristin is no longer with us. It was an honour and a pleasure to work with her. She was passionate about her work, especially maintaining the folklore, knowledge and language of the Seto people. She shared her expertise and wisdom gladly. And as well as being a rigorous researcher, she was a kind person. I will miss her.

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Dear Kirstin, I am so very devastated to hear that you are gone. You will be very sorely missed by me and so many. My deepest respect to you as both person and academic. My sincere condolences to your family.

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Un hommage à Kristin Kuutma

Kristin, ton nom rappelle, éclat d'une étoile,

Dans l'univers du patrimoine, ton âme s'envolait.

Anthropologue éminente, à l'UNESCO, ton aura,

La Convention de 2003, ton œuvre, jamais ne s'éteindra.

De Tartu à Paris, ta voix, si claire et profonde,

A modelé les contours d'un héritage sans bornes.

Le Forum des ONG, tu l'as porté, sans trêve,

Pour que les peuples, acteurs, ne soient jamais des rêves.

Tu rappelais l'éthique, les pouvoirs en lumière,

Le patrimoine n'est neutre, il vit dans la prière

Des communautés, leurs voix, leurs récits infinis,

Pour qu'enfin la justice en ces lieux soit bâtie.

Pour la société civile, ton ardent plaidoyer,

Les ONG, pas seulement des observateurs, mais des piliers.

Tu nous exhortais à l'unité, à penser, à agir,

Pour que la sauvegarde soit un acte sans mentir.

Ta présence sereine, tes mots, d'un poids immense,

Éclairaient les débats, sans aucune offense.

Critique constructive, pour faire avancer la cause,

Ta sagesse profonde, une source, une osmose.

Même le corps fatigué, ton esprit veillait encore,

Lisant rapports, suivant les débats, sans le moindre remords.

Ton dévouement sans faille, un phare, une guidance,

Dans le cœur du Forum, ta lumière, une danse.

Ta perte est un grand deuil, pour nous tous, ici-bas,

Mais ton héritage vit, dans chacun de nos pas.

Tes écrits, tes idées, ton regard perspicace,

Guideront nos chemins, avec grâce et audace.

Et que ce Forum, maison commune, en ton honneur,

Soit toujours un havre, loin de toute rancœur.

Que la paix y demeure, le pardon et l'entente,

La compréhension mutuelle, une force éclatante.

Pour Kristin, notre guide, notre amie, notre sœur,

Que l'amour et la sagesse imprègnent chaque cœur.

Ton esprit nous inspire, pour un monde plus juste,

Où le patrimoine immatériel, jamais ne sera fruste.

Bachirou Njoya

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Dear Kristin

You will be in our hearts for ever. Since the very beginning of the journey of the ICH Convention, you were there. You made substantial contributions to the development and implementation of this normative international instrument. I keep kind memories of you calm interventions and deep reflections either within the ICH Intergovernmental Committee sessions or during expert meetings. Your leadership within the Subsidiary Body are well known by those who were there before the Evaluation Body. We were honored to have you onboard during the preparation and publication of the volume on "Intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development"(Routledge 2024). I was honored to act as a referee when you were preparing your Unesco Chair. We will miss you but your presence will be always with us. Your star is shining in our sky.

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I am deeply saddened to hear of Kristin’s passing. What a resourceful person to the ICH community. Passing our sincere condolences to her family during this difficult time. May her soul rest in power

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I have not met Kristin Kuutma personally, but the echoes of her work have reached as far as Italy. In the words of ICH NGO Forum colleagues, her great passion and professionalism shines through. Condolences to the family.

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Dear Kristin

You have been part of our lives for many years, with your wisdom, words, suggestions and your critical consciousness. You have participated and given strength with your vigilant presence in so many meetings of the ICH NGO Forum, deeply believing in the value of this space of thought and action, for our common future.

A space built by people like you, who have certainly changed our lives.

As Jorijn writes so well, you are part of those people whose words and presence are engraved in the soul.

I always remember a decisive conversation, at the end of the Researchers' Forum in Paris, in 2012. In which you warned me of the difficulties I would encounter, in a field of powers and conflicts.

I will always be grateful to you for having followed us, illuminating the way. I would have liked to know you better and continue the dialogue started that day.

But we will always feel you close.

Your voice keep singing, in our ICH community shared wisdom.

Thank you Kristin

We will miss you

Valentina

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In memoriam: Professor Kristin Kuutma

https://ich.unesco.org/en/news/in-memoriam-professor-kristin-kuutma-13551

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European Network of Focal Points for the 2003 Convention

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European Network of Focal Points for the 2003 Convention

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In Memory of Kristin Kuutma

https://enfp-ich.eu/in-memory-of-kristin-kuutma

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Eva Vetter, Stefanie Cajka and Katharina Strasser (RISE UP team of the University of Vienna)

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Eva Vetter, Stefanie Cajka and Katharina Strasser (RISE UP team of the University of Vienna)

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We were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Kristin. Over the past two years, we had the privilege of working alongside her in the RISE UP project, and it was truly an honor. She was not only an inspiring researcher but also a highly appreciated colleague. The way she shared her knowledge and experiences made a lasting impression on us. We feel very grateful to have learned from her and to have experienced her joyful presence and warmth firsthand.

Kristin will be greatly missed, but her influence will remain with all of us who had the chance to work with her.

Our heartfelt condolences go out to her family, friends, and all who had the joy of knowing her.

Eva, Steffi and Katharina

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Dear Kristin,

This news are difficult to believe.

Strong, kind, strict, wise, funny and caring Kristin, I feel so lucky for the time we have shared and having learned from your wisdom.

I remember dearly the last dinner in Cornwall where you explained how you enjoyed the adventures and joy folk music brought you. I will never forget your precious advice, which I would like to share with anyone who needs to hear it:

"Do not burn yourself out working. Chances will come, you just need to be ready to catch them when they appear. Everything will be fine."

My deepest condolences to your family, colleagues and loved ones in this difficult time. You definitely are, and will be, very missed.

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It was a true pleasure having worked with Kristin on RISE UP for over two years. During that time, we have come to know her as an incredibly kind, wise and inspiring person. She will truly be missed, and I am sure we will all treasure the wisdom she has shared with us and the impact she had on the project, as well as her colleagues, for a long time to come.

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Kristin kandis suurt koormust algatades tegevusi, mis meie elu paremaks tegid – tippkeskus, doktorikool, UNESCO õppetool. Nende struktuuride ja inimsuhete koordineerimine ei saanud olla kerge. Samas jäi ta alati sõbralikuks, tasakaalukaks, suutis märgata ja toetada inimesi enda ümber. Aitäh, et olid, Kristin!

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Aitäh avatuse, rõõmsa naeratuse, terase avara silmavaate ja kogu tehtud töö eest!

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Working with you on the RISE UP Project in these past few years has shown me the gem that you are: kind, amiable, and soft-spoken. The wisdom you personified will continue to inspire many for years to come. Kristin will be sorely missed!

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Dear Kristin,

You were always there.
Since my very first steps in the life of the UNESCO ICH Convention, I heard your voice.
And when you spoke, people were listening, carefully.

Visiting you for an early workshop in Talinn on participation in ICH some fifteen years ago.

Reading you.

Listening to you during the first Researchers forum meeting in Paris in 2012, just before the General Assembly that year.

While you explained that … “The construction and identification of cultural heritage is always an act of politics and power, it depends on who defines cultural heritage and who has the control to conceptualize its stewardship”   …   I had one of these moments of ‘enlightenment’ that mark our personal trajectories.

You were an eye-opener.

And while learning to know you both as a firmly and sharply critical expert and researcher, I also got to appreciate you as a committed travel companion in the making of the 2003 UNESCO Convention, and a strong lady who devotes her life's journey to this field of work where her heart is.

You were ever present when the NGO networks gathered, to come and listen and talk,
to join.

Later, when feeling ill and your body not following your mind anymore and everywhere,
you were still following everything and continued striving, beyond yourself…

Until time wasn’t yours anymore.

There was so much more to see, to read, to write, to learn, to share…

But your voice keeps singing in our ICH community’s shared wisdom.

We will miss you, sincerely.
In loving memory,

Thank you for travelling together <3

Jorijn

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So few people knew how much Kristin and her family were struggling with this awful illness. Kristin never complained and just continued doing her work. We will miss this bright and amazing woman!

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Let me share the mourning with Kristin' family and friends, and with our scientific community.