On the occasion of Citizen’s Day, which is celebrated today, 26 November, the Integration Foundation invites everyone to test their knowledge of the Estonian state in an online quiz. The quiz is open for a week until 3 December and can be found on the website of the Integration Foundation.

The Integration Foundation, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, is organising the quiz for the 22nd time. Year after year, the quiz has provided an opportunity to test the knowledge that comes with living and being a citizen in Estonia.

This year, the online quiz, which comprises 35 questions, will be open from Citizen’s Day on 26 November until Tuesday, 3 December. A large part of the questions is about the events of 2024 in Estonia and concerning Estonia. These are accompanied by questions on the activities planned for the coming year in Estonia. The questions mainly concern culture, sport, education, and science, but also the functioning of the state.

More information about the Citizen’s Day online quiz in English here: 

https://www.integratsioon.ee/en/citizens-day-quiz

We offer students with varying language and cultural backgrounds the opportunity to participate in the shadow days programme of public sector institutions (ministries, state institutions, local governments) on 18–21 November 2024. The programme lasts one to three working days, i.e. 8–24 academic hours.

Students of various language and cultural backgrounds, who speak Estonian at the B2-level at minimum, have the opportunity to participate in up to three shadow days, during which they observe the daily tasks of (a) public sector employee(s) (e.g. office, department head, specialist, adviser, minister). The shadowing takes place in state institutions or local governments, where students receive an overview of the work of a public sector institution.

It is very important for students to plan their career during their studies. At the same time, public sector institutions need employees who have recently graduated university with modern knowledge, attitudes, and values for their organisation. This is why it is very important for the staff of an organisation to be linguistically and culturally diverse. Knowledge of a second language is often an asset when applying for a job, since there are many positions in the public sector where, in addition to very good Estonian, the skill of speaking foreign languages is unavoidably necessary.

The shadowing programme consists of:

● An introductory theoretical lecture ‘The Public Sector and its Role in Society’ – 8 academic hours (ah)

● Job shadowing days in a public sector institution – 8–24 ah

● Follow-up mini-hackathon online ‘Summaries and proposals for institutions’ – 8 ah

● Individual work – 4–10 ah

● Internship volume: minimum 33 and maximum 44 ah

Along with the Integration Foundation, the training will be conducted by Reiting PR OÜ, which will also provide the corresponding academic certificate to students who have completed the shadowing programme.

Information and contacts: janika.gedvil@reiting.ee, phone +372 5140035

The Integration Foundation, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, is looking for proposals on who among Estonian people and organisations should be awarded for their activities promoting integration. Candidates can be submitted in five categories until 2 October 2024.

Minister of Culture Heidy Purga says that the integration awards are a commendable tradition. ‘Estonia is home to all of us. It is rich due to the diversity of cultures that results from the differences and similarities between nations. Through integration, we create a more cohesive society where everyone can play a part in shaping our common future,’ said Purga.

This year, the Integration Foundation and the Ministry of Culture will be giving awards to people and organisations that are developing integration for the 25th time.

Director of the Integration Foundation, Dmitri Moskovtsev invites people to submit candidates from different areas of life. ‘With the integration awards, we recognise people and organisations that have helped to develop cooperation between different ethnic communities and thus improve integration,’ said Dmitri Moskovtsev.

Integration awards are given in five categories:

> Building Integration– raising awareness of the cultural diversity of Estonia and the targeted long-term activities to promote integration;

> Bridgebuilder of the Year – implementation of cooperation projects aimed at residents whose first language is not Estonian;

> Spark of the Year – outstanding activities of a person or organisation in the field of integration;

> Messenger of the Year – shaping attitudes supporting integration through the media;

> Special Award for the Cultural Diversity Year – raising awareness of as well as valuing and promoting the cultural diversity of Estonia in the framework of the Cultural Diversity Year.

Individuals or organisations can be nominated for activities carried out between 1 September 2023 and 31 December 2024. There is no time limit for the Building Integration Award. The competition is not open to self-nominations or nominations from candidates who have received an integration award in the last three years.

This year’s winners will be awarded by Minister of Culture Heidy Purga at a ceremony on 10 December 2024 in Tallinn. The best among all candidates will be selected by a panel of experts in the field. Each of the award winners will receive a €1,000 prize.

Candidates for the Integration Awards can be submitted until 2 October 2024. You can find the application and all the other information at this link.

Winners of the 2021–2023 Integration Awards

> Building Blocks of Integration: 2023 – Pavel Ivanov, 2022 – Jelena Skulskaja and Marju Lauristin, 2021 – Not awarded

> Bridgebuilder of the Year: 2023 – Maria Sakarias, 2022 – Helen Sildna, 2021 – MTÜ Eesti Instituut

> Spark of the Year: 2023 – Kirill Badikin, 2022 – Ukrainian School of the Tallinn Lilleküla Gymnasium, 2021 – Estonian women’s épée team, 2021 MTÜ Sofiit Klubi

> Messenger of the Year: 2023 – editorial staff of Raadio 4, 2022 – Public Relations Department of the Estonian National Museum, 2021 – Tiina Pärtel

Same information at social media

Please find the according post on Facebook at this link. 

The team of the Cultural Diversity Year invites you to celebrate the Day of Nationalities in Estonia. Let us hoist the Estonian flag and dress in folk costumes or add national elements to our outfits. This way, we show that together, we are Estonia. 

This holiday, celebrated on 24 September, is dedicated to the communities of Estonians and other nationalities living in Estonia. This year, as part of the Cultural Diversity Year, we all have the opportunity to celebrate the Day of Nationalities in a bigger way than before – by hoisting the blue, black, and white flag in our homes, offices, or elsewhere, dressing up in folk costumes or adding national elements to our outfits, and taking part in different events in each county. The programme of the Day of Nationalities includes both traditional events and brand new initiatives in each county, where you can experience the culture of both Estonian and other ethnic communities free of charge.

The comprehensive programme  from 14 September until 30 September for celebrating the Day of Nationalities was prepared in cooperation with the Estonian Union of National Minorities, the Estonian Folk Culture Centre, The Association of Estonian Cultural Societies, Tallinn Culture & Sports Department, Ida-Virumaa Integration Center and the cultural associations of various nationalities.

The programme of the Day of Nationalities is available on the website https://integratsioon.ee/en/rahvustepaevaprogramm

Important:

• The Cultural Diversity Year is a theme year that takes place under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and the Integration Foundation. Its goal is to celebrate the cultural diversity of the communities of Estonians and other peoples living here.
• The Estonian Union of National Minorities continues the work of the I Forum on Nationalities, which took place on 24 September, 1988 and supported the restoration of Estonia's independence. At the proposal of the association, Paul-Eerik Rummo, the Minister of Population at the time, declared September 24 as the Day of Nationalities.

The Integration Foundation, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and the Institute of Baltic Studies, is conducting a survey between August and December 2024 to determine the main obstacles for residents of Estonia with unspecified citizenship in applying for Estonian citizenship. The results of the survey will help us develop measures for overcoming different obstacles in acquiring citizenship.

The survey will focus on the analysis of the motivational factors and obstacles of residents with an unspecified citizenship. The results will help to shape an evidence-based integration policy and create or improve solutions that support the application of Estonian citizenship among people with unspecified citizenship.

The survey includes a questionnaire and focus group interviews. In order to carry out the survey, the contact details of randomised members of the target group are requested from the Estonian Population Register. Participation in the survey is completely voluntary, people can refuse to take part at any moment, and information is processed in accordance with all guidelines and principles of data protection and ethical research. Data is not processed in a way that does not coincide with the purpose of the survey and all contact details are deleted in December 2024 at latest.

In case of any questions, please contact: Research Manager Kristjan Kaldur (Institute of Baltic Studies), kristjan@ibs.ee, or Jekaterina Gvozdeva (Integration Foundation), jekaterina.gvozdeva@integratsioon.ee.

The survey is conducted with the support of the project ‘Activities supporting Estonian language learning and civic education’ (2021-2027.4.07.23-0006) financed by the cohesion and internal security policy funds of the European Union within a programme period of 2021–2027.

September 24 is Day of Nationalities in Estonia. The Cultural Diversity Year working group is looking forward to celebrating it this year from September 14 through 30 with various events across Estonia.

Day of Nationalities is dedicated to the national communities living in Estonia. It was created in 2005 by the Estonian Union of Nationalities with the aim of bringing together Estonian communities and the communities of other nationalities living in Estonia. Since then, Day of Nationalities has been celebrated with various events all over Estonia.

The ongoing Cultural Diversity Year provides an opportunity to celebrate Day of Nationalities on a larger scale than ever before – in every county and with the participation of even more communities. The theme-year working group has compiled all the information about the events together in one programme.

From September 14 through 30, we invite everyone to participate in concerts, exhibitions, lectures, workshops and other events related to different national cultures. The programme can be found on the Cultural Diversity Year website www.kultuuririkkus.ee from September 7.

On Day of Nationalities in Estonia (Tuesday, September 24), the working group of the Cultural Diversity Year calls on people to hang the Estonian flag on their homes, wear folk costumes or add national elements to their clothing.

The programme for celebrating this year's Day of Nationalities is being prepared in cooperation with the Estonian Union of National Minorities, the Estonian Folk Culture Centre, The Association of Estonian Cultural Societies, Tallinn Culture & Sports Department and the cultural associations of various nationalities.

The Cultural Diversity Year is a theme year that takes place under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and the Integration Foundation with the aim of celebrating the diversity of the cultures of Estonian communities and the peoples living in Estonia. More info: www.kultuuririkkus.ee.

As a part of our language learning programme for those who wish to acquire Estonian citizenship, we offer everyone who is interested in Estonian citizenship the opportunity to acquire Estonian at the required level as well as a course on the Estonian Constitution and the Citizenship Act.

Starting from 29 August 2024, participants of the programme can register for the courses on the Constitution and the Citizenship Act of the Republic of Estonia. Between September and December, six courses will take place. They are carried out by a training partner selected as a result of a public procurement.

All courses run for two days and take place over a weekend in Tallinn, in Narva, or online. The course load of each course is 18 academic hours. The course takes place in Estonian, so you need to be proficient in Estonian at least at the level A2. The course can only be taken once.

If you are interested, you can select a suitable course based on its time and location and sign up in our self-service environment while we still have spots available:

14–15 September 2024 9.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m. Zoom

https://pesa.integratsioon.ee/service/service/view/14828

21–22 September 2024 9.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m., Tallinn, Suur-Sõjamäe 10a

https://pesa.integratsioon.ee/service/service/view/14829

19–20 October 2024 9.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m., Narva, Malmi 8a

https://pesa.integratsioon.ee/service/service/view/14830

19–20 October 2024 9.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m. Zoom

https://pesa.integratsioon.ee/service/service/view/14831

16–17 November 2024 9.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m., Tallinn, Suur-Sõjamäe 10a

https://pesa.integratsioon.ee/service/service/view/14832

7–8 December 2024 9.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m., Tallinn, Suur-Sõjamäe 10a

https://pesa.integratsioon.ee/service/service/view/14833

The courses are funded by the Estonian Ministry of the Interior.

For additional details, please contact the course provider: Janus Paurman – email: januspaurman@gmail.com; phone: +372 5660 4379.

We encourage everyone to celebrate the Day of Restoration of Independence by sharing photos and videos, what makes you truly cherish Estonia. In this way, we will wish Estonia well together.

Let’s celebrate Estonian restoration of independence by capturing memories of everyone and everything that makes Estonian dear to us. To this end, we ask everyone to post pictures or videos on their social media accounts of people or places that are important to them, sunrises or seashores, singalongs or jam-making – everything and anything that makes Estonia dear to our hearts. We welcome photos and videos from everyone who loves Estonia – from Estonian residents and Estonian people from all over the world, their relatives and friends, groups and communities.

Please post the content no later than August 20, using the hashtags #eesti, #meiekodu and #kultuuririkkus. On August 21, an overview of the posts will be published on the social media accounts of the Cultural Diversity Year, grouped by hashtags.

The Cultural Diversity Year is a theme year organised by the Ministry of Culture and the Integration Foundation with the aim of celebrating the diversity of cultures in Estonian communities and among the peoples living in Estonia. All information can be found at: www.kultuuririkkus.ee.