ASTIN Conference
November 10–11, 2026, Helsinki, Finland
Department of Digital Humanities, University of Helsinki
ASTIN – Arbetsgruppen för språkteknologi i Norden
Clarion Hotel Helsinki (address: Tyynenmerenkatu 2, Helsinki)
In the light of the present security situation in Europe, the need for digital autonomy has become significantly more pronounced. Recent Nordic initiatives in language technology and artificial intelligence thus become all the more important and must be highlighted and continued. We must also ensure that the new solutions enabled by these technologies, are available in all languages in the Nordic region.
There is great potential for Nordic cooperation, across borders as well as across languages. To exploit this potential, we need to gather our resources and strengthen joint efforts in developing language technology for the Nordic languages.
For majority languages, this may involve joining forces to create large language models for the Nordic languages. For minority languages that often lack the data needed to train such models, we must consider developing language technology by alternative methods, typically in the absence of strong commercial incentives.
This conference addresses the challenges and opportunities that the technological development brings to the Nordic language community. It brings together key players from research and development and from language policies, including politicians, the Nordic language banks, language committees, language technology companies, public authorities, media representatives and language communities.
The programme is organised around four themes:
The conference is organized by the University of Helsinki and ASTIN (the Working Group for Language Technology in the Nordic Region). It aims to include all Nordic languages and language communities in the ongoing efforts in language technology in the Nordic countries. The presentations will be held in Scandinavian languages and English. English interpretation will be available for presentations delivered in Scandinavian languages.
Registration is open: Register here (Please read the updates below. Technical difficulties may still occur when accessing the registration form.)
Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. We have 100 seats available. Lunch and refreshments during coffee breaks are included.
Update (23 October 2026): Some users are currently experiencing technical difficulties when accessing the registration form. If the form does not open or function correctly, please contact wilhelmina.dyster (at) helsinki.fi and let us know which event(s) you would like to register for. We will register you manually.
Update (13 October 2026): Registration will close at 11:59 (Helsinki time) on Monday, 26 October, or earlier if all available places are filled. A waiting list will be opened if the event becomes fully booked.
|
16:30 – 17:30 |
Poster session (in the Foyer 1, near the room Christina) |
|
17:30 – 19:00 |
University of Helsinki Reception |
|
08:30 – 09:00 |
Registration |
|
09:00 – 12:00 |
Session 1: Small languages and large models |
|
Keynote: Architecting Sovereign Norwegian AI |
|
|
Coffee Break |
|
|
Qualitative evaluation of ASR frameworks for North Sámi using knowledge-based tools |
|
|
ASR for Northern Sámi: building speech foundation models for an underrepresented language |
|
|
Using LLMs to improve rules-based technologies, and other side quests |
|
|
12:00 – 13:00 |
Lunch |
|
13:00 – 16:00 |
Session 2: Data, data, data |
|
Keynote: The Data We Have and the Data We Can Use: Cultural Heritage in the Age of AI |
|
|
The Weight of Scarce Data: Perspectives from the Faroe Islands |
|
|
Coffee Break |
|
|
National library data and LLMs in Finland – experiences and current situation |
|
|
Iceland and AI sovereignty |
|
|
The Language Bank of Finland in European Research and Digital Infrastructures |
|
08:30 – 09:00 |
Registration |
|
09:00 – 12:00 |
Session 3: The user perspective: from model to use |
|
Keynote: The Evolution of Evaluation |
|
|
Coffee Break |
|
|
A Great Model Is Only the Beginning |
|
|
Big data – What Works and What Doesn’t |
|
|
From Anecdotes to Knowledge on AI Language Quality |
|
|
12:00 – 13:00 |
Lunch |
|
13:00 – 16:00 |
Session 4: Nordic collaboration and strategic autonomy |
|
New Nordics AI Network and the Nordic LLM Network – Presenting a new collaboration framework for Nordic LLM Builders |
|
|
AI sovereignty, multilinguality, cultural fit, instruction training, and evaluation or How To Create Sustainable Language Resources |
|
|
What language resources would we need to create language models for all languages in the Nordics? Requirements and expectations from the technology developers |
|
|
Practical exercise for language model creation |
The conference is organized by the University of Helsinki and ASTIN (the Working Group for Language Technology in the Nordic Region). It aims to include all Nordic languages and language communities in the ongoing efforts in language technology in the Nordic countries. The presentations will be held in Scandinavian languages and English. English interpretation will be available for presentations delivered in Scandinavian languages.
Krister Lindén (krister.linden(at)helsinki.fi)
Wilhelmina Dyster (wilhelmina.dyster(at)helsinki.fi)
Kristine Eide (Kristine.Eide(at)sprakradet.no)
Steinþór Steingrímsson (steinthor.steingrimsson(at)arnastofnun.is)
Charlotta af Hällström-Reijonen (charlotta.afhallstrom-reijonen(at)sprakinstitutet.fi)
Sjur Nørstebø Moshagen (sjur.n.moshagen(at)uit.no)
Rickard Domeij (rickard.domeij(at)isof.se)
Tino Didriksen (tino@oqaasileriffik.gl)
Last modified on 2026-10-24