Ethnofair on Town Hall Square expected to prove most popular among tourists
Are you an innovative integrator? Nominate yourself for a prize!
People of different nationalities, tell us what your favourite place in Estonia is!
Are you a high school student? Do you want to share your thoughts on the Republic of Estonia?
How to be a YouTuber, produce a television series and other media skills that are set to be taught in nine schools
President Kaljulaid: All nationalities living in Estonia should feel proud of themselves
Trainer sought for recipients of international protection
Ethnofair on Town Hall Square expected to prove most popular among tourists
From 10:00-18:00 on 23 & 24 September the Alliance of Nationalities of Estonia will be holding an ethnofair on Town Hall Square, including a special concert. The event will mark National Minorities Day in Estonia, which the alliance’s director Timur Seifullen says is the event that its members look forward to most each year.
Taking to the stage for the concert will be singing groups from societies belonging to the alliance, while the ethnofair will offer traditional food and drinks and handicraft items for sale.
Town Hall Square was selected as the venue for the event because of the number of tourists it attracts. “The event will reflect the lives that minorities lead in Estonia and the opportunities that are open to them here, so for that reason it’s mostly aimed at a foreign audience,” Seifullen explained. “People who live here know that national minorities do pretty well for themselves in Estonia.”
Those performing on stage and manning the stalls will be of all ages. “There’ll definitely be younger people taking part as well,” Seifullen confirmed. “We’re really happy that foreign students are getting involved.”
Of course, many of those taking part in the fair and concert will be donning their national costumes for the occasion. Seifullen says that many bystanders will have no idea just how much effort goes into making the costumes. He gives the Mordvans as an example, who lacked the jewellery that would otherwise normally accompany their national clothing. “They didn’t really have any choice but to make it themselves!” Seifullen explained. “We asked Kärt Summatavet, a professional jewellery artist, to give them a bit of guidance on what to do and voila – they made them!” And the Mordvans are just one example of how enterprising many representatives of these national minorities are.
National Minorities Day
- National Minorities Day is marked on 24 September, the anniversary of the first Estonian National Minorities Forum in 1988.
- The Alliance of Nationalities of Estonia was established so that national minorities could work together to support the process of the restoration of independence in the country.
- Once this was achieved, the alliance’s aim became to represent the interests of national minorities in Estonia and to preserve, develop and showcase their cultures.
Jõhvi Cultural Centre to be filled with national minority culture
National Minorities Day will be marked at Jõhvi Concert Hall on 24 September with the 14th national minority cultural festival ‘National Cultures Creative Pot’.
Programme
11:30 Official opening
11:30-18:00 Exhibitions, displays, masterclasses, ‘My amazing Ida-Viru County’ children’s exhibition, ‘Ukraine through the eyes of children’ exhibition & NPO Türkiispärl exhibition of dolls and textile toys
12:00-14:30 Conference: ‘Connections between generations ensure the continuation of traditions’
12:30 Awarding of prizes in the ‘My amazing Ida-Viru County’ children’s competition
13:00-14:00 Literary get-togethers
14:30-15:30 Concert: Lõõtsavägilased
16:00 Gala concert featuring national minority cultural association collectives, a guest collective from Poland and the Ukrainian national dance group Czeremosz
17:45 Festival ends
The festival is being organised by the national culture round table operating under the Ida-Viru County Governor and Jõhvi Municipal Government. It is being supported by the Integration Foundation, the Ministry of Culture, the Estonian Cultural Capital and the Ida-Viru County Integration Centre. Everyone is welcome!
Estonian Nationalities Days 2017 at the Russian Cultural Centre
13 September at 18:00 | Small Hall
Masterclass with artist Bato Dugarzhapov (Russia). Admission with prior registration, tel 5836 3613, Tatjana Semenjuk
16 September | Personal exhibition of Bato Dugarzhapov (Russia) at Keila-Joa Manor
19 September at 17:15 | Conference Hall | “The history of Tallinn’s Sailors Home” lecture by Tatjana Tšervova. The lecture will be given in Russian. Free admission
21 September at 11:00 | Conference Hall | “The art of representatives of Estonia’s national minorities” lecture by Valeri Laur. The lecture will be given in Russian. Free admission
22 September at 18:00 | Large Hall | ‘Under one sky’ gala concert of national minority collectives.
Featuring the creative collectives of the Association of Slavic Educational and Charitable Societies in Estonia and Lüüra (the International Union of Associations of National Minorities). Free admission
23 September at 14:00 | Large Hall | ‘Russian songs in my soul’ concert. Featuring the Sudaruški folk song choir (Tallinn), the Rodnõje napevõ Russian song choir (Tallinn), the Ljubava folk song ensemble (Tallinn), the Zlatõje gorõ folk music ensemble (Tallinn), the Retšenka Russian song ensemble (Kohtla-Järve), the Zorenka Russian song choir (Kohtla-Järve) and the Nadežda Russian song choir (Narva). Free admission
23 September at 18:00 | Small Hall | ‘We live here’ classical music concert. Performances by soloists from the Russian Philharmonic Society. Including classical vocal and instrumental works of Russian, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Romanian and Estonian composers. Featuring: Karina Amirhanjan (soprano), Natalja Burova (soprano), Aleksandr Nekrassov (baritone), Roman Tšervinko (baritone), Vladimir Skamnitski (violin), Aleksandr Paškov (piano, St Petersburg). Free admission
28 September at 19:00 | Small Hall | Creative evening with poet, film director and journalist Andrei Tantsõrev. Free admission
How will Lüüra (the International Union of Associations of National Minorities) be marking National Minorities Day?
On 7 September an exhibition of Russian applied art entitled ‘Source of Joy’ will open at the Russian Cultural Centre (Mere pst 5, Tallinn). The exhibition is being organised by the NPO Töökoda-huviklubi Stiil under director Marina Datskovskaja.
It will include displays of:
- protective dolls;
- traditional embroidery;
- gem stone and pearl jewellery;
- woven charms known as “God’s Eye”; and
- ancient Slavic wooden symbols.
The exhibition will be open until 30 September. Admission is free.
On 8 September at 18:00 an exhibition by Sergei Lim (who is considered Estonia’s Aivazovski) entitled ‘The Sea around Us’ will open at the Russian Cultural Centre. It will be open until 8 October. Admission is free.
On 9 September at 10:00 Kotka stadium in Tallinn (Linnu tee 15) will play host to an open football tournament between national minority teams being organised by the Cultural and Sports Association of National Minorities. The day will also include performances by children’s dance groups: the Slavic cultural association Akrida, the Lezginka ensemble, the Ariran folklore dance ensemble and the Russian ensemble Daleko Li Do Tallinna. There will also be a mini-football tournament. The organisers call on all representatives of national minorities who are interested in football to form teams and take part in the event. For further information please contact: Imedi Kekeishvili, tournament coordinator | Mobile: +372 51 58 020.
On 18 September from 10:00-12:00 a children’s morning will be held in the Foreign Literature section of Tallinn Central Library (Liivalaia 40, Tallinn). The programme includes a Lezgin dance workshop and an exhibition of national costumes. The Lezginka ensemble is led by Rameliya Ulubayova.
On 19 September from 17:30-19:30 an evening of music and poetry will be held in the Foreign Literature section of Tallinn Central Library (Liivalaia 40, Tallinn). There will be a performance by the ensemble Ju Vega. Admission is free.
On 17 September from 12:00-14:00 Lüüra (the International Union of Associations of National Minorities) will be holding the ‘Golden Autumn’ fair and festival and an open day at Kaera 21 in Tallinn. For the ninth year this event will open the doors to everyone interested in finding out more about the traditions of different nationalities. More than 30 are represented by Lüüra: Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Georgians, Tatars, Armenians, Kabardians, Buryats, Lezgins, Moldovans, Chuvash, Koreans, Kazakhs, Uzbeks and more. There will be a concert, a festival of national cuisines, national games, an exhibition and sale, an art fair, contests and creative workshops for children. Admission is free.
On 22 September at 18:00 the main hall of the Russian Cultural Centre will be the venue for the ‘Under One Sky’ gala concert of national minority collectives. It will feature members of the Association of Slavic Educational and Charitable Societies in Estonia and Lüüra (the International Union of Associations of National Minorities). Admission is free.
For further information please contact: Larisa Ivaniševa | Mobile: +372 5805 3258 | E-mail: info@lyra.ee
Children are invited to attend Azerbaijan Day at Miiamilla Museum
On Saturday 23 September at 15:00 the Miiamilla Children’s Museum in Kadriorg (Koidula 21C) will be the venue for Azerbaijan Day, organised by the Orhan Azeri Sunday School.
The programme will include folk dances, workshops and face-painting, and everyone will have the chance to try the famous sweet treat baklava. The activities of national minority Sunday schools are financed from the budget of the Ministry of Education and Research.
For further information please contact: Sanam Aliyeva, Director, Orhan Azeri Sunday School | E-mail: sanam.aliyeva@gmail.com | Mobile: +372 5595 6950
Other National Minorities Day events
Haapsalu
From 22-24 September the Bõliina folklore ensemble and the Bereginja Russian National Culture Centre will be holding open days at Kastani 7. The programme will include excursions in the ‘Russian cabin’ museum, workshops, national games, a folklore programme and an introduction to Russian cuisine.
For further information please contact: Natalja Jampolskaja | Bõliina folklore ensemble, director of the Bereginja Russian National Culture Centre | E-mail: natalja.jampolskaja@mail.ru | Mobile: +372 55 20 094
Tallinn
On 30 September a lecture entitled ‘Traditional Russian rag dolls’ and a workshop will be held at the Sääse branch of Tallinn Central Library.
For further information please contact: Natalja Jampolskaja | Bõliina folklore ensemble, director of the Bereginja Russian National Culture Centre | E-mail: natalja.jampolskaja@mail.ru | Mobile: +372 55 20 094
Pärnu
From 25-30 September the NPO Raduga (the Union of National Minorities) will be showcasing national minority cultures on its premises at Rüütli 23. Visitors will be able to find out all about Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian music, literature, national symbols and national cuisine. From 1-10 October there will be an exhibition of national dolls. The final event dedicated to National Minorities Day will be held on 7 October.
For further information please contact: Galina Ivanova | Director of NPO Raduga (Union of National Minorities) | E-mail: raduga_parnu@mail.ru | Mobile: +372 5800 8847
Are you an innovative integrator? Nominate yourself for a prize!
The Integration Foundation is looking to bestow development prizes on legal entities and individuals who have involved people from different ethnic backgrounds in cooperative activities in an innovative way in 2016 and 2017. The prize fund is valued at 3000 euros.
Integration is defined as the shaping of knowledge, skills and values in a way that contributes to the development of society and where people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds play an active part in social life and support democratic values.
The development awards will be presented in three categories:
- Promotion to the general public of the cultures of the national minorities living in Estonia. One prize valued at 1000 euros will be awarded in this category.
- Promoting cooperation between residents of the country who speak Estonian and those who speak other languages as a mother tongue with the aim of fostering contact between communities. One prize valued at 1000 euros will be awarded in this category.
- Shaping opinions supporting integration through media projects or the initiatives of opinion leaders. One prize valued at 1000 euros will be awarded in this category.
This year will also see the awarding of a Baltic Integration prize for the first time in recognition of a project or activity that has influenced the development and sustainability of the field of integration within society as a whole in the Baltic States. The best integration projects from Latvia and Lithuania will also vie for this prize, with nominations being made by the Latvian Ministry of Culture and the Lithuanian National Minorities Board. The Baltic Integration prize is non-monetary.
This year, international experts will be included in the judging, which will take place as part of an integration conference being organised by the Integration Foundation on 16 & 17 November.
The deadline for the submission of applications is 25 September 2017. To lodge a nomination, fill in the appropriate application form on the Integration Foundation website under ‘Competitions’.
The Integration Foundation has been awarding the development prizes since 1999, while media prizes were first presented in 2009. The integration awards are financed from the state budget via the Ministry of Culture.
For further information please contact:
Kristina Pirgop, Head of Partnership Relations, Integration Foundation, telephone: +372 659 9024, e-mail: kristina.pirgop@integratsioon.ee
People of different nationalities, tell us what your favourite place in Estonia is!
Reaching television screens in September will be the six-part travel series Meie Eestid (‘Our Estonias’) created by Mari-Liis Lille and Paavo Piik, in which each week a host who speaks Russian as their mother tongue will present the places that are most important to them in Estonia.
Their stories will take us to Lasnamäe and Laulasmaa, Vasknarva and Lake Võrtsjärv, Paide and Osmussaare, offering an interesting insight into places that already seem familiar to us.
On social media (https://www.facebook.com/meieestid/) the producers are inviting people from all national backgrounds to share their favourite places in Estonia in the hope of putting together a definitive list of the hundred most beautiful places to visit in the country for the 100th anniversary of the Estonian Republic.
Contributing to the series are Nikolai Bentsler, Dmitri Kosjakov, Aleksandr Žilenko, Tatjana Kosmõnina, Sergei Furmanjuk, Sergo Vares and some surprise guests. The series was produced by Kinoteater, U8 and producer Maria Kljukina.
It will be broadcast on ETV starting on 4 September and on ETV+ from 8 September.
The series was produced with the support of the Integration Foundation as part of activities supporting integration of the European Social Fund.
Are you a high school student? Do you want to share your thoughts on the Republic of Estonia?
The Citizens Day essay competition organised by the Integration Foundation and the Ministry of Education and Research is designed to get students thinking about the Republic of Estonia and to put those thoughts into words in an engaging way.
The competition will open on 25 September with entries to be submitted to essee@integratsioon.ee by 13 October. The competition is open to students from grades 7-12 in general education schools and students in vocational education.
There are two topics to choose between:
- What I would give to Estonia for its 100th birthday and why?
- The kind of app I would use as a developer of the Republic of Estonia in the future
Toivo Sikk, the head of civic education with MISA, says that the aim of the Citizens Day essay competition is to show an appreciation for the Estonian state and its history and for the role of every individual in the development of Estonian society.
“We also want to encourage students to have a say on issues related to the development of the country and to recognise them for their wish to contribute to society,” he explained.
The Integration Foundation has been organising the essay competition since 2011. Previous topics have been ‘What it means to me to be an Estonian citizen’ (2011), ‘How does sport help you recognise what it means to be an Estonian citizen?’ (2012), ‘What it means to me as an Estonian citizen to take an active role in social life’ (2013), ‘Our first decade as a Member State of the European Union’ (2014), ‘How can young people be of use to Estonian society?’ (2015) and ‘100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia – guest or guest of honour?’ (2016).
This autumn will see the launch in Estonian schools of nine media education projects to which support was granted in the ‘Promotion of media education in general education schools and institutions of vocational education’ project competition held in spring. The total volume of the projects being supported is almost 20,000 euros. 12 applications were submitted.
- As part of the ‘Opportunity to choose’ project, students from Sillamäe Gymnasium will be learning key techniques in text analysis – how to distinguish between reliable and questionable information and how to recognise the main ways in which the author seeks to influence the reader in a media text. In the practical part of the project the students will conduct interviews and put together reports on youth work topics at Kadrina Secondary School, Võru Gymnasium and Narva Language Lyceum.
- Tallinn Art Grammar School is working with Estonian Public Broadcasting to introduce its students to the process of making television programmes. The students will attend workshops on production, filming and editing at which they will acquire practical skills for producing their own School TV.
- One of the aims of Ahtme Gymnasium’s project ‘I look at the news inside and out!’ is to increase awareness among young people from Ida-Viru County of the ways in which propaganda is spread and of the media as a production system. To achieve this objective, the Baltic Film and Media School at Tallinn University has put together a special study programme. As a result of the course, the students will complete a simulated news bulletin covering local life.
- Two projects of institutions of vocational education were also granted support: Students from Tallinn Construction School will be holding a Media Day in October at which they will learn about the critical evaluation and ethical use of information found online; and as part of a series of ongoing events, students from Järva County Vocational Training Centre will be practising the writing of news stories and articles under the tutelage of professionals and finding out what it’s like to be a YouTuber and produce a television show.
- Students from Haabersti Russian Gymnasium and Tallinn Mustamäe School of Humanities will be visiting studios to learn the basics of directing and camera operating and find out how radio and television news is produced.
- Pirita Business High School will be the venue for a media conference entitled ‘Orienting in media space – obligation or freedom?’.
- The non-profit organisation VVS Media grupp will be offering Tallinn-based upper secondary students who do not speak Estonian as their mother tongue the chance to take part in video training and making news stories and reports so as to teach them the skill of understanding information and the language of pictures.
The aim of the competition is to foster the media competence of students from upper secondary schools and vocational education institutions as well as their ability to analyse information, critically interpret media messages and themselves create media content.
The projects are being financed from the state budget via the Ministry of Education and Research.
For further information please contact: Liilika Raudhein, analyst, telephone: +372 659 9841, e-mail: liilika.raudhein@integratsioon.ee
President Kaljulaid: All nationalities living in Estonia should feel proud of themselves
At a meeting between Estonian and national minority umbrella organisations at the Estonian National Museum on 18 August, President Kersti Kaljulaid remarked that everyone in Estonia should feel proud of their nationality and culture.
“I’m so pleased that you’ve all come together today to discuss how everyone can play a part in designing Estonia’s ‘national pattern’ in the 21st century,” President Kaljulaid said. “And I support you in ensuring that our pattern features a wide spectrum of colours. As much variety, as much multiplicity of languages and of course as much diversity of cultures as possible!”
110 people from 40 organisations attended the event. Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Armenians, Azeris, Tatars, Ingrian Finns, Mordvans, Bashkirs, Kabardians, Estonians and other nationalities were represented. New cultural contacts were made and discussions were held on how to make a greater contribution to the development of Estonia.
The Integration Foundation’s Head of Partnership Relations Kristina Pirgop says that such a sizeable gathering of Estonian and national minority umbrella organisations has never taken place in Estonia before.
“There’s been a lot of interest in such an event over the years, which is why we decided to work with the Ministry of Culture and the Estonian Folklore Council to arrange it,” she explained. “There’s no reason these umbrella organisations should keep to themselves when meeting with people from other cultures could be such an amazing platform for growth for new ideas and undertakings.
Text of president’s address: https://www.president.ee/en/official-duties/speeches/13514-president-of-the-republic-on-the-opening-of-the-summer-co-operation-event-of-umbrella-organisations-of-estonia-and-national-minorities/index.html
Video of president’s address: https://youtu.be/BPI19UKLiE0
Event gallery: https://goo.gl/photos/6BCAgk4mafrXzY9T6
For further information please contact:
Kristina Pirgop, Head of Partnership Relations, Integration Foundation, mobile: +372 5194 1147, e-mail:
kristina.pirgop@integratsioon.ee
Trainer sought for recipients of international protection
The Ministry of the Interior is seeking a partner to provide training in the adaptation programme designed for recipients of international protection. Said partner will also be charged with the task of updating the existing training and the accompanying materials.
The training materials will now be more extensive as further topics are added. There is a separate training module within the adaptation programme for those who have received international protection. The module was designed with the needs of the recipients in mind: it aims to provide them with a good understanding of how Estonian society works and to enable them to connect with their local community as quickly as possible.
The activities forming part of the module will be implemented in 2018 and 2019, with at least 200 recipients of international protection being trained during that period. The total budget for the round of applications is 200,000 euros. 75% of this amount is being financed by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the remaining 25% from the state budget.
The deadline for the submission of applications is 11:00 on 27 September 2017. Application forms and guidelines can be found online at www.amif.ee
For further information please contact:
Silva Viilup, Adviser, Foreign Financing Department, Ministry of the Interior, telephone: +372 612 5180, e--mail: silva.viilup@siseministeerium.ee
