2024 is the Cultural Diversity Year. The new theme year, initiated by the Ministry of Culture and led by the Integration Foundation, will begin with events in all counties, culminating in the announcement of the year on January 13, 2024 in Tallinn. Everyone is welcome to attend the events.
Minister of Culture Heidy Purga invites people to reflect this year on what it is that makes up the richness and diversity of our Estonian culture.
’In the coming year, I invite people to reflect on the essence of Estonia's cultural diversity. Living at the crossroads of cultures throughout history, we have encountered a wealth of influences in customs and traditions, language and culture, and have created from it our own recognizable, albeit difficult-to-articulate, space of values. To move forward successfully together, it is important to realise what makes our world richer and more diverse and to strive to understand what keeps us together,’ said Minister of Culture Heidy Purga.
The Cultural Diversity Year will begin with events that bring communities and nations together in every county this week. The events will culminate on January 13, 2024 with a festive collaboration at the Tallinn College of Music and Ballet, where the Minister of Culture will announce a new theme year and the team of the Be Active Year will hand over the corresponding title to the leaders of the Cultural Diversity Year.
According to Dmitry Moskovtsev, the head of the Integration Foundation, which is leading the theme year, this provides a daily opportunity to find common ground.
‘Cultural diversity is everything that unites us: from experiences and food to creativity and the future. Above all, if we look around us at everyday life, for example, we can find commonalities in national dishes, notice the abundance of cultures in our music and study the story of our family. Cooperation is equally welcome, for example, we can meet more often, share our common joys and sorrows more openly and do more together,’ said Dmitry Moskovtsev.
The opening events of the Cultural Diversity Year are being organised in cooperation with the Competence Center for Physical Activity, which led the Be Active Year, the Estonian Folk Culture Centre, which unites Estonian cultural societies, and the Estonian Union of National Minorities, which historically brings together national minority groups. Support is provided by the Ministry of Culture, the Cultural Endowment and local authorities.
Detailed information about the Cultural Diversity Year and participation in its opening events can be found on the theme year website www.kultuuririkkus.ee and Facebook page www.facebook.com/kultuuririkkuseaasta.
First event of The Cultural Diversity Year in Haapsalu (Vendo Jugapuu).
