ASTIN Conference

Language Technologies and AI in the Nordic Countries 2026

November 10–11, 2026, Helsinki, Finland

Organizers

Department of Digital Humanities, University of Helsinki
ASTIN – Arbetsgruppen för språkteknologi i Norden

Location

Clarion Hotel Helsinki (address: Tyynenmerenkatu 2, Helsinki)

Introduction

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:

Small languages and large models
Is it possible to develop large-scale language models for small languages? If not, what alternatives exist?
Data, data, data
How do we find data? And what legal tangles need to be solved for us to use them?
The user perspective: from model to use
Reliability and quality: How do language models affect society and language use? How can they be evaluated and tested? How can we address the implementation gap?
Nordic collaboration and strategic autonomy
How should we collaborate in the Nordic region to develop safe language models for our languages and ensure national and regional sovereignty?

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.

Registration

Registration is open: Register here
Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. We have 100 seats available. Lunch and refreshments during coffee breaks are included.
Update (13 October 2026): Registration will close on Friday, 23 October, or earlier if all available places are filled. A waiting list will be opened if the event becomes fully booked.

Preliminary Programme

ASTIN Conference: Language Technologies and AI in the Nordic Countries 2026

Pre-Conference – Monday, November 9, 2026

Location: University of Helsinki Main Building (Unioninkatu 34, room: Christina)

16:30 – 17:30	Poster session (in the Foyer 1, near the room Christina)
17:30 – 19:00	University of Helsinki Reception

Conference Day 1 – Tuesday, November 10, 2026

Abstracts
Location: Clarion Hotel Helsinki (Tyynenmerenkatu 2)

08:30 – 09:00	Registration
09:00 – 12:00	Session 1: Small languages and large models
	Keynote: Javier de la Rosa, The National Library of Norway
	Coffee Break
	Katri Hiovain-Asikainen, UiT The Arctic University of Norway
	Yaroslav Getman, Aalto University
	Using LLMs to improve rules-based technologies, and other side quests Brendan Molloy, Necessary Innovations AB
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 Christopher Natzén, The National Library of Sweden
	The Weight of Scarce Data: Perspectives from the Faroe Islands Iben Nyholm Debess, University of the Faroe Islands
	Coffee Break
	National library data and LLMs in Finland – experiences and current situation Johanna Lilja, The National Library of Finland
	Krister Lindén, University of Helsinki

Conference Day 2 – Wednesday, November 11, 2026

Abstracts
Location: Clarion Hotel Helsinki (Tyynenmerenkatu 2)

08:30 – 09:00	Registration
09:00 – 12:00	Session 3: The user perspective: from model to use
	Keynote: Dan Smart, EuroEval, syv.ai
	Coffee Break
	A Great Model Is Only the Beginning Tiina Lindh-Knuutila, Lingsoft
	Tino Didriksen, Oqaasileriffik (The Language Secretariat of Greenland)
	From Anecdotes to Knowledge on AI Language Quality Matias Jentoft, The Language Council of Norway
12:00 – 13:00	Lunch
13:00 – 16:00	Session 4: Nordic collaboration and strategic autonomy
	Jussi Karlgren, AMD Silo AI

Contact the organizers

University of Helsinki

Krister Lindén (krister.linden(at)helsinki.fi)
Wilhelmina Dyster (wilhelmina.dyster(at)helsinki.fi)

ASTIN

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 2026-10-13