Integration Foundation action plan for 2016 covers entire field of integration
Integration Foundation expert group helps develop counselling service
Language café launches separate classes for beginners and advanced language learners
Tallinn University lecturers provide training to national minority Sunday school teachers
Union of National Minorities marks decade of uniting cultural associations in Pärnu County

Integration Foundation action plan for 2016 covers entire field of integration

In 2016 the Integration and Migration Foundation is providing almost 4.7 million euros in support of a wide range of integration projects and activities. The detailed action plan for the year was approved at a meeting of the foundation’s supervisory board on 26 January. The aims of the foundation’s activities in 2016 are primarily based on the ‘Integrating Estonia 2020’ development plan. Its activities are implemented via state budget resources allocated by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research and with the support of the European Social Fund.

Dmitri Burnašev, the director of the Integration Foundation, says that in planning all of its activities the foundation is guided by the field of integration as a whole, taking into account people’s primary needs and their desire to feel at home in Estonia whilst giving people the chance to retain their linguistic and cultural identity. “Through our counselling service we’re able to help and support people in dealing with agencies and authorities, we explain to them what their fundamental rights are and we give them an introduction to national laws,” Burnašev explained. “Organising classes for those who registered for Estonian language studies on our website last year remains a priority for us as well. Plus we have language and cultural immersion clubs and training events to get people ready to take the Estonian citizenship exam.” The director added that project competitions enable the Integration Foundation to support the organisation of sports and cultural events for speakers of languages other than Estonian. “We’ve recently acquired some display technology with which we hope theatres and museums will be able to provide more events for non-Estonian speakers,” he said. “And this year the state is continuing to support the preservation of the mother tongues and culture of the national minorities living in Estonia by funding the activities of associations and the work of Sunday schools.”

The Integration Foundation provides its counselling service to less successfully integrated residents of Estonia in Tallinn, Harju County, Narva, Ida-Viru County and elsewhere in the country. It is currently working to develop its information system and to inform the public more broadly of its counselling service.

Among the key activities of the foundation in 2016 is the organisation of the free Estonian language courses at the A1, B1 and B2 levels which commenced last year. The aim is to provide such studies to at least 2000 people all over Estonia this year. The first training events for 700 less successfully integrated residents of Estonia and new immigrants on the Estonian Constitution and the Citizenship Act will also be starting this year, and language and cultural immersion clubs will be opening their doors all over the country.

The financing of the activities of the umbrella organisations of national minority cultural associations and Sunday schools will continue in 2016. This year greater emphasis will be given to promoting and developing the activities of Sunday schools, with a series of open-door days, round tables and training events being organised. New activities will include the provision of display technology for theatres and museums with the aim of helping such establishments attract Russian- and English-speaking audiences.

The Integration Foundation will also be launching project competitions in support of the events of national minority and foreign Estonian cultural associations. Furthermore, for the first time in a number of years the foundation will be organising an international integration-themed conference which will bring together experts in the field from Estonia and abroad.

The schedule of 2016 project competitions and procurements will be published on the website in March.

Integration Foundation expert group helps develop counselling service

The Integration and Migration Foundation has been offering its counselling service to less successfully integrated residents of Estonia since autumn 2014. In moulding the service the foundation has drafted in experts for the development of the services provided and to explain to those living in the country the key topics covered therein.

The development and implementation of the counselling and information system are designed to ensure the availability of the counselling service and information supporting integration to both less successfully integrated residents of Estonia and new immigrants. Existing public services and service providers at the national and local levels were mapped in 2015. The foundation is working on developing the services with all of the ministries and agencies connected to the field of integration, including the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Research, the Police and Border Guard Board, the Unemployment Insurance Fund and of course local authorities.

Since 2015 the foundation has been supported in developing the counselling and information service by an expert group comprising representatives of ministries, Tallinn and Narva city governments and the Association of Estonian Cities (itself representing local authorities). The group is charged with the task of developing the counselling service and analysing earlier projects and studies related to counselling. The foundation has also established a partner network which includes organisations involved in the provision of public services. Information and experience are exchanged via the network on how to more effectively support less successfully integrated residents and new immigrants in coping and adapting in Estonia.

Following a meeting in January, the expert group has recommended that the Counselling Centre start coordinating the forwarding of partner network news so as to ensure the improved distribution of important information to organisations involved in serving and counselling less successfully integrated people.

The counselling and information system is being developed and maintained as part of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project of the European Social Fund.

For further information please contact: Kätlin Kõverik | Senior Adviser, Counselling Centre | E-mail: katlin.koverik@meis.ee | Telephone: +372 659 9032

Language café launches separate classes for beginners and advanced language learners

Language cafés supporting Estonian language studies have been held at the Integration Foundation’s Counselling Centre in Narva since spring 2015. Starting this year, separate events are being held for beginners and more advanced language learners.

“The language café isn’t your classic language lesson,” explained Irina Rakova, a counsellor at the centre. “It’s a way of supporting the studies of those who want a chance to speak Estonian, expand their vocabulary and simply chat to others in a stress-free atmosphere. The get-togethers are free of charge – all you need to do is show up on time! We let people know what the theme each week is, and provide any teaching materials we use. And there’s tea and coffee, too!”

There are only two prerequisites for the beginner classes at the language café: motivation; and knowledge of the Estonian alphabet. This year’s get-togethers will focus on basic vocabulary, Estonian customs and traditions, and what to do in order to get by in everyday situations. The basis of teaching work will be the lessons provided in the online Keeleklikk course and the subjects they cover.

The get-togethers for more advanced language learners are open to anyone who already gets by in everyday conversation but would like to broaden their vocabulary and to practise their spoken Estonian more. The basis of these lessons will be Pille ja Lauri lood /Pille and Lauri’s Stories/, a set of teaching materials supporting Estonian language studies. The themes of the get-togethers will be based on the structure of the teaching materials. The students will use worksheets, watch instructive videos and practise vocabulary related to the theme of the day.

Language café get-togethers are held for beginners and more advanced students of Estonian every other Monday from 10:00-11:00 and from 17:00-18:00 in Room 308 at the Integration Foundation’s Counselling Centre on the 3rd floor at Kerese 3, Narva.

The activities of the Counselling Centre are financed as part of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project of the European Social Fund.

For further information please contact: Integration Foundation Counselling Centre | E-mail: info@integratsiooniinfo.ee | Free information line: +372 800 9999

National minority Sunday school news

Tallinn University lecturers provide training to national minority Sunday school teachers

On the last weekend in January the Integration Foundation organised a two-day in-service training event in Toila for teachers from national minority Sunday schools. The theme of the training was ‘More effective teaching of the mother tongue in Sunday schools’. A total of 32 teachers from all over Estonia took part in the event, which was led by Tallinn University lecturers Irina Moissejenko and Natalia Tšuikina.

Training on developing the mother tongue in Sunday school conditions aimed to help the teachers improve the quality and effectiveness of their mother tongue teaching and to motivate youngsters to learn the language. The teachers were given an overview of basic knowledge on the development of language studies and were introduced to ways of using illustrative and technical resources in language lessons. The lecturers provided the teachers with materials they can use in class and which each school can adapt to the needs of their studies, the age of their students and the level of their language skills. The teachers also got to try practical exercises and to share their own schools’ experience with their peers.

Since students today are more than happy to use the Internet in their studies, the second part of the training event outlined for the teachers how to create and use an online journal, how to support their students’ language studies and how to share teaching materials with students with the help of the Internet.

The teachers can implement the skills and knowledge they obtained at the training event in their Sunday school work so as to make the teaching of the mother tongue more effective and more interesting for students.

The Integration Foundation organises regular in-service training for national minority Sunday school teachers each year. The training is financed from the state budget via the Ministry of Education and Research.

For further information please contact: Kristina Pirgop | Director of Partnership Relations, Integration Foundation | Telephone: 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee

National minority cultural association umbrella organisation news

Union of National Minorities marks decade of uniting cultural associations in Pärnu County

The activities of the national minority cultural associations operating in Pärnu, including those with Russian as their mother tongue, have been led by the NPO Raduga – a.k.a. the Union of National Minorities – for more than 10 years. The union brings together 12 such associations, with a total of 380 members. Raduga director Galina Ivanova shares the union’s most important activities and events in recent years with readers of the Integration Foundation newsletter.

“An umbrella organisation, as the body that brings together a large number of associations, needs a definite vision and an action plan,” she says. “To this end we drew up a seven-year development and action plan in 2013 as part of a project called ‘Under One Umbrella’. In 2014 and 2015 we ran a project called ‘The Development Dive of Minority Cultural Associations into the e-State’ through which we showcased for our members e-state solutions and ways of using social media, and we streamlined our member organisations’ paperwork. As part of this project we also published a brochure about what Raduga does, with information in Estonian as well as in the languages of the national minority cultural associations. Plus we put together ‘passports’ for each cultural association, which is to say an introductory portfolio with the association’s statutes and other key documents, overviews of their projects, reports and more.” Ivanova added that the umbrella organisation plans to pursue further joint projects in 2016, as well as to offer the cultural associations the opportunity to learn how to deal with the media and thus the general public as a whole so as to ensure that their activities are visible in society.

Ivanova says that a number of opportunities have been created in the last five years for closer cooperation with Estonian-language NPOs and other organisations. Raduga enjoys a good working relationship with the schools, libraries and museums in Pärnu, as well as with the Estonian Open Air Museum in Tallinn. “An entire page is dedicated to Raduga in the brochure produced by the Pärnu County Business and Development Centre showcasing the county and what goes on here,” she said. “And every year in November we mark our organisation’s birthday with a special seminar. Since 2011 we’ve been presenting the ‘Friend to Raduga’ title at the seminar to someone who’s played an important role for national minority cultural associations.”

Taking part in events, says Ivanova, presents the associations with an excellent opportunity to show themselves and highlight their culture, language, traditions, cuisine and other things that make them special. It also gives them the chance to find out more about other associations and find friends and cooperation partners.

“It’s important in Estonian society that every national group hangs onto and preserves its own cultural heritage, because then people respect other cultures as well,” Ivanova said, underscoring the importance of the work and very existence of national minority cultural associations. “Personal development makes you stronger and teaches you to be more decisive, to take greater responsibility and to make compromises. In that way a person starts to realise that they’re valuable to society.”

The activities of national minority umbrella organisations are supported by the Integration Foundation from the state budget via the Ministry of Culture.

For further information please contact:

Galina Ivanova | Director, Union of National Minorities | Mobile: +372 5800 8847 | E-mail: raduga_parnu@mail.ru
Kristina Pirgop | Director of Partnership Relations, Integration Foundation | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee

National identity of Estonians and Estonian Russians in a multicultural Estonia
National minority cultural associations work with Estonian cultural associations and students
Find out for yourself what national minority Sunday schools do
National minority Sunday schools organise student get-togethers on special days

Latest survey on national identity

National identity of Estonians and Estonian Russians in a multicultural Estonia

Author: Raivo Vetik

The focus of Riigikogu Toimetised issue 32/2015 is the national identity of Estonians and Russian Estonians, with the subject examined in depth in an article by Raivo Vetik, a professor of political science at Tallinn University.

The article has two aims: to provide a theoretical approach that takes the context of a multicultural society into account in giving meaning to national identity; and to analyse the data of the most recent monitoring of integration in Estonian society in the light of this approach.

The theoretical half of the article outlines why such a study is needed and why it is important to give meaning to national identity, highlighting the principle of the mutual link between the identities of majority and minority groups. The second half of the article is dedicated to an empirical analysis of the national identity of Estonians and Russian Estonians on the basis of the data of the latest integration monitoring, bringing to the fore its connections with demographic aspects and indicators of human and social capital.

Within the integration monitoring the national identity of Russian Estonians was delineated as a social orientation expressing their participation in society which is characterised by the importance given to belonging to the Estonian nation in comparison with being a member of their own nationality, appreciation of the related rights and obligations and acceptance of key symbols of the Estonian nation. An index compromising three components was devised in order to measure these aspects: responses to the questions/statements ‘If you think of yourself as a representative of your nationality and as a representative of the Estonian nation, which group do you consider yourself to belong to?’, ‘The Estonian state protects my rights and provides public benefits’ and ‘I feel proud when I see the Estonian flag  flying’.

Estonians’ national identity was defined in the monitoring as a social orientation expressing their willingness to include minorities which is characterised by their recognition of members of national minorities as an important part of Estonian society, consideration of their interests based on the principle of equality and appreciation for belonging to the Estonian nation in comparison with being a member of their own nationality. The index here also comprised three components – responses to the questions/statements ‘Involving non-Estonians in the running of the Estonian state is beneficial to Estonia’, ‘We should be better aware of the views of non-Estonians and give them more consideration’ and ‘If you think of yourself as a representative of your nationality and as a representative of the Estonian nation, which group do you consider yourself to belong to?’.

Analysis carried out on the basis of the indexes showed that while the weak, average and strong national identity of respondents among Russian Estonians was 17%, 47% and 36% respectively, that of Estonians was 24%, 57% and 19%. If we deem those with at least an average level of national identity to be supporters of a strong core in Estonia as a multicultural society, it can be said that almost 80% of both groups form the two pillars on which the integrity of multicultural Estonian society stands. Given the historical and geopolitical context of relations between our two nations, we are dealing with a sufficiently balanced system. This makes a good starting point from which to plan further integration policy.

The article is available in full (in Estonian) here.

National minority cultural association umbrella organisation news

National minority cultural associations work with Estonian cultural associations and students

During the last 12 months the umbrella organisations of national minority cultural associations have done a lot towards fulfilling new development objectives and have involved Estonian educational and cultural associations and Estonian youngsters in their activities.

A national minority cultural association umbrella organisation is a group which brings together at least five national minority cultural associations, which is to say member organisations. The main goals of the activities of the umbrella organisation are to ensure the preservation of the national minority cultures that fall within their area of oversight, to ensure the effective operations of their member associations and to promote their activities to the public on an ongoing basis.

With the implementation of the new funding model adopted in 2015, expectations have risen regarding the results of the work of both national minority cultural associations and their umbrella organisations. The latter are faced with the challenge of getting young people involved in the activities of cultural associations more broadly than simply taking part in the events they organise. It is important to generate interest among youngsters and a desire to not only join associations, but to continue their activities in the future. Young people are offered a variety of opportunities to contribute to the work of associations, from organising events to drawing up and implementing projects. Efforts are also made to involve the community as a whole in activities and to raise awareness among the leaders of member organisations via a range of events and training sessions.

“National minority cultural associations are more interested in and willing to work more closely with Estonian cultural associations – libraries, community centres and the like,” explained Kristina Pirgop, the director of partnership relations with the Integration Foundation. “It’s great that they’re organising events promoting their own cultures in schools, too, since contact with other cultures is one way young people become more tolerant.”

Previously, support was allocated in order for associations to preserve their language and culture and to promote their cultural heritage in Estonia on a wider scale. Since 2015 the focus has been the development and sustainability of umbrella organisations and their members. Key arguments in obtaining support are the involvement of young people in the activities of organisations, growth in the administrative capabilities of umbrella organisations, prospects in terms of finding additional sources of financing and development of cooperation with Estonian cultural associations.

The funding model of umbrella organisations was also amended in 2015. The round of applications carried out on the basis thereof resulted in support being allocated for periods of up to three years at a time. The total budget for the application round increased by 50,000 euros, enabling larger amounts of support to be allocated to a number of umbrella organisations. The payments are made to organisations to which support has been allocated in two parts every year: 50% at the start of the budgetary year and the remaining 50% six months later.

“National minority cultural associations have been good partners to the Integration Foundation since our early years, but the funding model we were using created a number of problems for them,” Pirgop said. “For example, there was the problem of lacking the financial resources to pay bills before the final payment of the support was received. There was also a complicated situation where the funding period started on 1 February but support was being allocated in May. The new model supports the development of umbrella organisations and enables them to solve these problems.”

If any Estonian cultural associations wish to work with national minority cultural associations, please contact Kristina Pirgop (+372 659 9024 | kristina.pirgop@meis.ee) so that she can pass on your details.

The financing of national minority cultural associations is supported by the Ministry of Culture.

For further information please contact: Kristina Pirgop | Director of Partnership Relations, Integration Foundation | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee.

National minority Sunday school news

Find out for yourself what national minority Sunday schools do

This year, in association with national minority Sunday schools, the Integration Foundation is launching a brand new series of events – open days at Sunday schools.

During the open days, anyone interested will have the opportunity to attend special lessons and find out what goes on at the schools in more detail. Children between the ages of 3 and 18 (varying from school to school) can study the language and learn about the culture of their forefathers at national minority Sunday schools.

“The open days could well be the first time the schools come into contact with new students,” said Kristina Pirgop, the director of partnership relations with the Integration Foundation. “It’s a great opportunity for kids and their parents to find out what goes on at Sunday schools. They give kids the chance to learn and experience something new. The teachers do everything they can to make what the kids learn as varied and interesting as possible, taking into account the ages of the students and everything that comes with that. In a lot of schools they don’t just study language and culture, but also folk dancing, national cuisine and the like. I really hope anyone interested makes the most of the open days we’ll be running.”

The first event in the series will be held at the Labora school of the Ukrainian Cultural Centre, which will be opening its doors at 10:00 on 19 March 2016. The day will start with a lesson on egg-painting in which participants will find out about the Easter-time culture of painting eggs in Ukraine. Everybody will get the chance to paint their own egg, which they can take home with them. There will also be an excursion around the unique cultural centre, which under one roof houses a museum, a church, a calligraphy classroom and a paper workshop – and which is home to three different-coloured chickens! At the end of the event the attendees will be offered tea or coffee, cookies and baked potatoes. To register for the event, e-mail labora.tallinn@gmail.com.

“Egg-painting forms part of global culture, but for Slavic peoples it means a lot more,” explained Anatoli Ljutjuk, the director of the Ukrainian Cultural Centre’s Sunday school. “Every symbol painted on our eggs has a special meaning. They enjoy almost cult status in Ukrainian culture, particularly Easter eggs. That said, egg-painting is common in everyday life as well, and has been for a long time. For example, in the past, if a young lady was taken with a young man, she would paint an egg and present it to him as a gift.”

The Labora Sunday school aims to provide children with Ukrainian roots with a place in which they are surrounded by their own culture, allowing them to practise their Ukrainian language and customs and reinforce their identity. The school is open to other interested people as well, regardless of their nationality or faith. All traditional practical activities give the children the chance to learn new skills and to express themselves in an individual way, learning more about Ukrainian culture and improving their language skills in the process.

The Sunday school also focuses on preserving, teaching and updating handicraft skills that are tending to become forgotten in today’s modern world.

The Ukrainian Cultural Centre organises egg-painting workshops for anyone interested all year round. Around 500 people participate in its workshops each year. The workshops can also be arranged to take place outside of Tallinn.

The activities of national minority Sunday schools are supported by the Ministry of Education and Research.

For further information please contact: Anatoli Ljutjuk | Director, Ukrainian Cultural Centre Sunday school | E-mail: labora.tallinn@gmail.com.
Kristina Pirgop | Director of Partnership Relations, Integration Foundation | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee.

National minority Sunday schools organise student get-togethers on special days

Starting from this year, national minority Sunday schools are working with the Integration Foundation to mark special days with events to which students and teachers from other Sunday schools are being invited.

“This is an important initiative that will help students from Sunday schools get to know one another better and learn more about other cultures and traditions,” said Kristina Pirgop, the director of partnership relations with the Integration Foundation. “On the one hand, greater awareness among young people means greater tolerance in regard to other nationalities, while on the other, the students will be more active and more interested in Sunday school studies, since only the best students will be able to take part in the exchange project.”

On 26 March 2016 the Lemminkäinen Sunday school of the Ida-Viru County Association of Ingrian Finns will be hosting visitors from the Russian Sunday school of the Cultural Education Association, the NPO Estonia-Georgia National Society and the NPO Orhan Azerbaijan Hobby School in Tallinn.

The students from these schools will learn about the Easter traditions of the Ingrians and Finns, take part in a language lesson and get the chance to taste traditional Ingrian Finn dishes made at Easter time. Since the Saturday in question falls within Lent, the visitors will be offered a lunch menu of fish soup, Karelian pastries, poppy seed buns, the traditional Finnish dessert mämmi and a delicious tea which was once exported from Ingria to the rest of Europe.

The visitors will be showcasing their own cultures for their hosts through poems, songs and Easter traditions. “For Christians, Easter is the most important holiday of all, but there are differences and similarities between branches of the faith,” explained Roman Ljagu, the director of the Russian Cultural Sunday school in Tallinn. “The students from our school will be presenting special dishes made during Orthodox Easter, such as kulich and pascha, and telling the other students about Orthodox Easter traditions.”

The activities of national minority Sunday schools are financed by the Ministry of Education and Research.

For further information please contact: Maire Petrova | Director, Ida-Viru County Association of Ingrian Finns Sunday school| Mobile: +372 52 60 394 | E-mail: maire2008@gmail.com. 
Kristina Pirgop | Director of Partnership Relations, Integration Foundation | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee. 

Identificational integration: Conceptualisation and operationalisation on the example of second generation Russians in Estonia
Estonian studies are well underway
Organisers of Estonian language and culture clubs to be announced in May
Who and what is training on the Constitution and Citizenship Act of the Republic of Estonia designed for?
Celebrate Mothers Day with students from the Latvian school in Tallinn
Azeri Sunday school to open its doors on the last day of April
Kabardian Sunday school teaches language and culture through dance

Dissertations covering the field of integration

In recent years a number of important Doctoral dissertations involving the field of integration have been published which we plan to showcase for you in this and subsequent editions of the newsletter.

Identificational integration: Conceptualisation and operationalisation on the example of second generation Russians in Estonia

PhD thesis by Gerli Nimmerfeldt, defended in 2011, focuses on identity and identity building for the minority youth (second generation Russian youth) in Estonia. It does so by focusing on identificational integration which refers to the sense of belonging this group experiences on the national level. This identificational integration is based on the feeling of being at home and being accepted as a member of Estonian society. Feeling at home is important for the creation of social cohesion and unity in the society. For the second generation, it is often assumed that being born and growing up in a country is enough to create an emotional attachment and a sense of belonging to the country and society, however this is not the case. This thesis focuses on the factors that can influence identity, allowing better understanding identification integration.

Ethnic and national identifications are two important dimensions when talking about integration. One way of viewing integration refers to the declining of the ethnic identities and loyalties accompanied by a growing identification with the resident country, the society and mainstream culture. This view implies that only the national or the ethnic identity can be dominant, bordering on assimilation. Another view however does imply that identities can/are multiple and can allow both national and ethnic identification.

Results from the thesis show that among ethnic identity of young Estonian Russians is rather weak, ethnic identification is much stronger among Estonian respondents. 28% of the Russian respondents reported their sense of belonging to Russians to be very strong and 43% evaluated their affiliation to be strong, while 65% of Estonians respondents indicated a very strong sense of belonging to their ethnic group. The feeling of belonging among the Russians was stronger felt with groups on the basis of language (Russian-speakers), citizenship status (Estonian citizens), and groups composed of all people living in Estonia (Estlanders).

According to the second generation Russians, to be an Estonian you have to be born an Estonian. Estonian language is also often mentioned as a determining factor, specifically highlighting that to be accepted by the Estonians as an Estonian, it is required to speak the language as a native Estonian. The Russian youth feels that they can never become Estonians even if they would want to. However when they are outside of Estonia, they are considered to be Estonians.

Low identification with the majority group by the Estonian Russians may be explained by the exclusive nature of the Estonian national identity, constructed as an ethno-cultural group, united by native origin, common culture, history, national traditions, feelings, language, preservation of and pride in their culture and traditions, a deep connection with the Estonian territory and landscape.

If the sense of belonging is measured in a different way, with statements like ‘I love Estonia’ etc, a different picture emerges. 12% of the Russian respondents felt a very strong and 42% a strong connection to Estonia. 35% feel a weak and 11% a very week connection to Estonia.

For further reading go to: http://www.etera.ee/zoom/1963/view?page=3&p=separate&view=0,0,2067,2834.

Information about language and culture studies

Estonian studies are well underway

As at the end of March there were more than 1700 people around the country studying Estonian as part of the courses for which people registered on the Integration Foundation website last summer. The majority of this year’s groups commenced their studies in early spring so as to complete their courses before the summer holiday period.

The courses last for 100 academic hours, which means studies continue for around four months. Placement testing is conducted ahead of the courses, enabling people’s actual language level to be determined before they start studying and their subsequent progress to be measured. Five companies are carrying out this year’s courses: OÜ Keelepisik, OÜ Mitteldorf, the EDUKOOL Foundation, Folkuniversitetet Estonia and the NPO Atlasnet. The courses, which are offered to groups of 16 participants, are being held in Tallinn, Narva, Jõhvi, Kohtla-Järve, Sillamäe, Ahtme, Tartu and Pärnu.

The first courses, involving 540 participants, started in autumn last year and earlier this year and will all be completed by Midsummer.Of those who commenced their studies in 2015, 370 had completed them by the end of March.

Currently, more than 1700 people are attending the Estonian courses. This spring the Integration Foundation will be launching a further procurement to find organisers for the courses for the next 2000 people who registered for the language studies in 2015. These courses are scheduled to commence this coming autumn.

All of those who registered on the Integration Foundation website in 2015 and have not yet taken part in a language course will get the chance to do so this autumn and in early 2017. The organisers will contact those accepted onto the courses personally.

The Estonian language courses at the A2, B1 and B2 levels being provided until 2020 are organised by the Integration and Migration Foundation using the resources of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project of the European Social Fund.

For further information please contact: Jana Tondi | Director of Language and Cultural Immersion, Integration Foundation | Telephone: +372 659 9069 | E-mail: jana.tondi@meis.ee.

Organisers of Estonian language and culture clubs to be announced in May

Starting in June, the Integration and Migration Foundation will be working with clubs to organise linguistic and cultural immersion in a club format for long-terms residents of Estonia who speak a language other than Estonian as their mother tongue and whose integration to date has been limited. The language and culture clubs are designed primarily for those who speak Estonian at the B2 level as a minimum and who wish to improve or maintain their conversational language skills. Membership of the club will first be offered to those who have applied for Estonian courses at the B2 level via the Integration Foundation website and those who have taken part in B2 courses.

“Almost 600 people are taking part in the B2 courses being organised by the foundation at the moment, and it’s them who’ll be first in line when we start offering membership of the clubs in summer,” said Jana Tondi, the director of language and cultural immersion with the Integration Foundation.“2201 people from all over Estonia registered for B2 studies last summer,  and everyone whose Estonian is good enough and who’s interested will be given the chance to take part in the clubs.”

Tondi explained that up to 60 clubs would be established around the country in 2016 and 2017. “We’ll be focussing mostly on places in Ida-Viru County - Narva, Sillamäe, Kohtla-Järve, Jõhvi and Ahtme - where people get fewer opportunities to speak Estonian and less exposure to Estonian culture,” she said.

The language and culture clubs are designed for people who are native speakers of languages other than Estonian who want to practise the national language and find out more about Estonian culture and what makes it unique. Native speakers of Estonian will be invited to club meetings to offer support in practising the language and to encourage the participants to use it. They will get the chance to talk to these mentors on a range of everyday topics, learning a wide range of phrases and expressions for use in common situations. The club members and leaders will get together at least once a week over a six-month period and take part in at least one cultural event or excursion each month. Each of the clubs will also contribute to a blog which is aimed at getting members to do things together and to share their thoughts and experiences.

Offers to find club leaders and organise activities around the country can be submitted to the Integration Foundation until the end of April.  Information about the procurement can be found on the Integration Foundation website at or in the e-procurement register at https://riigihanked.riik.ee/register/hange/173036.

The activities of the ‘Linguistic and cultural immersion’ sub-programme of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project are financed from the resources of the European Social Fund. The activities of the language and culture clubs are being financed to a value of 850,002 euros in 2016 and 2017.

For further information please contact: Jana Tondi | Director of Language and Cultural Immersion, Integration Foundation | Telephone: +372 659 9069 | E-mail:  jana.tondi@meis.ee.

Estonian citizenship

Who and what is training on the Constitution and Citizenship Act of the Republic of Estonia designed for?

The first training courses on the Constitution and Citizenship Act of the Republic of Estonia commissioned by the Integration Foundation were conducted by the NPO Kodanikukoolitused in February. What impressions did the training leave with those who took part? What does the training involve? And who is the training meant for?

The courses are designed for people who want to know how the Estonian state works and what basic rights, freedoms and responsibilities people have. The training forms useful preparation for those wishing to take the Constitution and Citizenship Act exam. Estonian citizens who have had little exposure to the way the country is run and who want to find out more about it are also welcome to attend the courses.

The first two-day courses were held in Tallinn in February, with a further 10 courses taking place by the end of March not only in the capital but also in Kohtla-Järve and Sillamäe. The training will continue to be organised all over the country until November 2017. Each course ends with an excursion to a significant state institution such as the Bank of Estonia, the Riigikogu (parliament) or the Alarm Centre of the Rescue Services.

Two exams must be taken and passed in order to acquire Estonian citizenship: an Estonian language exam (minimum B1 level) and a citizenship exam. The results of the Constitution and Citizenship Act exam remain valid indefinitely, regardless of whether you take the language exam at the same time or a year or more later. So why not make the most of the opportunity to take and pass the citizenship exam with the help of the course?

One participant - a man with Belarusian roots - said that since he will have been living in Estonia long enough by this coming autumn to apply for citizenship and has already taken and passed the language exam, the citizenship exam is the only requirement he still has to meet. “People kept putting the fear of God into me that the laws were complicated and that the legal language was hard to grasp,” he revealed. “But the course helped me understand the details a lot better, and that makes it a lot simpler to remember everything.”

Another participant, a 65-year-old man, was also taking part in order to prepare for the citizenship exam. “There’s so much to see in the world, and travelling as an Estonian citizen makes that so much easier,” he said. “Now I’ll be able to go on trips with my daughter’s family, since she’s had an Estonian passport for ages already.”

During the training the participants learn, among other things, who the highest authority in the land is, what the role of the government is and who has the right to freedom and what is known as the ‘inviolability of the person’. They also discover a lot of useful information about how things work at the local level, as well as about traditions and customs. Knowledge of the law also engenders self-assurance and emboldens people to make decisions.

The trainers from NPO Kodanikukoolitused - Reet Valing, Anu Kihulane, Nady Vest and Jelena Ohakas - all boast many years of experience.

The courses are free for all participants.

Information on the courses is available in Estonian at http://kodanikukoolitus.edicy.co/kodakondsuskoolitus2016.

Information in Russian is available at http://kodanikukoolitus.edicy.co/grazhdanstvo, by calling Irina Oleinitš on +372 50 69 028 or by e-mailing koolitus@kodanikukoolitus.eu or irina@powertugi.ee.

The training is being conducted with the support of the Integration and Migration Foundation using funds from the ‘Integration training’ sub-activity of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project of the European Social Fund.

Open-doors day at Sunday schools

Celebrate Mothers Day with students from the Latvian school in Tallinn

Between 10:30 and 13:30 on 7 May the Taurenis Latvian School will be giving a sample lesson at the City Centre Russian Upper Secondary School at F.R. Kreutzwaldi 25 in Tallinn. The theme for the lesson will be Mothers Day. Although marking Mothers Day is a relatively recent tradition, the mother as the main bearer of cultural heritage has been exalted since ancient times.

“During the first half of the lesson we’ll be offering everyone in attendance the chance to take part in a Latvian lesson which will be divided up into two age groups,” explained Dita Lince, the director of Taurenis. “In the second half both groups will get together to learn and take part in two traditional Latvian games. We’ll also be helping the participants make typical Latvian Mothers Day gifts. And since in our culture there’s no party without proper catering, we’ll also be offering traditional Latvian dishes for everyone to try.”

Those wishing to take part in the lesson are asked to register in advance by e-mailing dita@green.ee.

The Latvian school was established in 2008, but only gained its name and official status in 2013. Its objectives are to teach Latvian children living in Estonia the language, culture, traditions and history of their country of origin. Classes are divided into two age groups: a pre-school group (children aged 1-6) whose language and culture studies take place through the medium of games, songs and crafts; and a school-age group (children aged 7+) whose studies are organised as an academic process which integrates Latvian language and literature, folk dance, music, folk art and handicrafts and Latvian history and geography.

For further information please contact: Dita Lince | Director, Taurenis Latvian School | E-mail: dita@green.ee

Kristina Pirgop | Director of Partnership Relations, Integration Foundation | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee.

Azeri Sunday school to open its doors on the last day of April

The Orhan Azerbaijani School will be hosting an open-doors day in room 307 of Tallinn University from 15:00-17:00 on 30 April. Azeris who want to introduce their children to the activities of the school and all those who are interested in the culture and traditions of Azerbaijan are welcome to attend the event.

Attendees will hear Azeri poetry and songs performed by children from the Sunday school and see a presentation about the amazing country, which is situated in the middle of the mountainous Caucasus region. Participants will find out about a national folk pattern called Buta and can try their hand at embroidering it under the watchful eyes of the teachers. Students from the school will demonstrate how to dance a local folk dance known as “Jally’s story” and everyone attending will have the chance to learn it for themselves. To take part in the event, please register by e-mailing sanam.aliyeva@gmail.com or calling +372 5595 6950.

“The people of Azerbaijan, who are known as Azeris, are renowned for their hospitality,” said Shahsanam Alijeva, the director of the Orhan School. “Sweets have a special place in our national cuisine, and making special treats is something for which every housewife is honoured. We’ll be treating everyone who attends our open-doors day with the best our cuisine has to offer - including, of course, our national cake, baklava.”

The Orhan School was established in 2010. It aims to support the teaching of the language, culture and history of Azerbaijan to children with Azeri roots living in Estonia and to champion the integration of Azeri children into Estonian society. The school provides language, literature, history and culture lessons. There is also a dance group which not only provides entertainment and dance classes but

Kabardian Sunday school teaches language and culture through dance

A sample lesson will be given at the Kabardian Sunday School at Sõle 40-204 in Tallinn at 17:00 on 26 April which everyone interested in Kabardian culture is welcome to attend.

Moscow-based Anzor Shorov, who teaches language through the medium of dance, will be participating in the event. This innovative methodology, which allows people to understand another culture with the help of dance, will be showcased during the lesson. Anyone who wishes to will get the chance to try some Kabardian dances for themselves. Traditional sweets, bread, tea and coffee will be offered to participants.

Those wishing to take part in the open-doors day are asked to register in advance by e-mailing ilona.thagazitova@mail.ee.

“It’s a great honour for us to have Anzor Shorov working with us this academic year,” said Ilona Thagazitova, the director of the Sunday school. “Anzor is a recognised artist, teacher and promoter of the Kabardian language in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic. The kids at our school really enjoy his lessons. They’ve taken to the innovative teaching method he uses like ducks to water! He really cares about the kids and approaches every one of them individually.”

The Kabardian Sunday School was established in 2006.  Its primary task is to preserve and pass on the culture of the peoples living in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic.  Without knowledge of customs, legal norms, history and rules of behaviour, culture cannot be understood, developed and preserved or introduced to others. The school is also charged with the task of language teaching. The Kabardian language is taught using a number of methods, both traditional (using sample texts and primers and compiling dictionaries) and more playful (making handicrafts and learning songs). In staging dance performances, the school introduces its students to folk music, teaches them typical dance steps, showcases costumes and national dress ornaments and teaches movement in Kabardian. Students and alumni of the school dance in the ensemble Terek, which has taken part in international competitions and won a number of prizes.

 For further information please contact: Ilona Thagazitova | Director, Kabardian Sunday School | E-mail: ilona.thagazitova@mail.ee

Kristina Pirgop | Director of Partnership Relations, Integration Foundation | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail:  kristina.pirgop@meis.ee

lessons on the history of folk dance in Azerbaijan.

For further information please contact: Shahsanam Alijeva | Director, Orhan Azerbaijani School | Mobile: +372 5595 6950 | E-mail: sanam.aliyeva@gmail.com.

Kristina Pirgop | Director of Partnership Relations, Integration Foundation | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee.
 

Kabardian Sunday school teaches language and culture through dance

A sample lesson will be given at the Kabardian Sunday School at Sõle 40-204 in Tallinn at 17:00 on 26 April which everyone interested in Kabardian culture is welcome to attend.

Moscow-based Anzor Shorov, who teaches language through the medium of dance, will be participating in the event. This innovative methodology, which allows people to understand another culture with the help of dance, will be showcased during the lesson. Anyone who wishes to will get the chance to try some Kabardian dances for themselves. Traditional sweets, bread, tea and coffee will be offered to participants.

Those wishing to take part in the open-doors day are asked to register in advance by e-mailing ilona.thagazitova@mail.ee.

“It’s a great honour for us to have Anzor Shorov working with us this academic year,” said Ilona Thagazitova, the director of the Sunday school. “Anzor is a recognised artist, teacher and promoter of the Kabardian language in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic. The kids at our school really enjoy his lessons. They’ve taken to the innovative teaching method he uses like ducks to water! He really cares about the kids and approaches every one of them individually.”

The Kabardian Sunday School was established in 2006.  Its primary task is to preserve and pass on the culture of the peoples living in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic.  Without knowledge of customs, legal norms, history and rules of behaviour, culture cannot be understood, developed and preserved or introduced to others. The school is also charged with the task of language teaching. The Kabardian language is taught using a number of methods, both traditional (using sample texts and primers and compiling dictionaries) and more playful (making handicrafts and learning songs). In staging dance performances, the school introduces its students to folk music, teaches them typical dance steps, showcases costumes and national dress ornaments and teaches movement in Kabardian. Students and alumni of the school dance in the ensemble Terek, which has taken part in international competitions and won a number of prizes.

For further information please contact: Ilona Thagazitova | Director, Kabardian Sunday School | E-mail: ilona.thagazitova@mail.ee.

Kristina Pirgop | Director of Partnership Relations, Integration Foundation | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee.

Course participants motivated to study Estonian by desire to communicate in the language
Counselling Centre assists more than 1000 residents in 2015
Applications for support for new academic year now open for national minority Sunday schools
Maštots Armenian Sunday school opens its doors to visitors
National culture society events

Information on Estonian language studies

Course participants motivated to study Estonian by desire to communicate in the language

As at the end of April, 1884 people all over the country were taking part in the Estonian language courses being organised by the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA). Employees from the foundation are dropping in on lessons to share information with the participants, answer any questions they have and to seek their feedback on the courses.

“The language courses have been running since last autumn, and in that time we’ve popped in quite regularly to talk to the students and teachers face to face,” said Jana Tondi, the head of language and cultural immersion at the Integration Foundation. “We’ve asked them why they’re studying Estonian and whether they’d like to use the language more. The majority said they’d signed up for the courses because of their jobs and to be able to communicate more freely with their Estonian colleagues. In the feedback they gave us, quite a few also mentioned that they’d like to make more use of Estonian in their everyday lives – in shops and cafés, talking to Estonian neighbours and people they know, going to the movies, watching Estonian-language shows on TV, listening to the radio and reading newspapers.”

44-year-old Svetlana, who works as an editor, is taking Estonian at the A2 level in Tallinn. She said her studies are helped by watching subtitled programmes on ETV.

55-year-old Tatjana, who is a price and quality controller, is studying the national language at the B1 level in Pärnu. She is studying Estonian in order to be able to use the language at work and in day-to-day life, but added that she would also like to read Estonian books and newspapers and chat more with Estonians.

41-year-old Irina, an assistant in outpatient rehabilitative medicine, uses Estonian at work and in her everyday life quite a lot. She still wants to improve her language skills, however – especially in grammar, which she feels is complicated and needs practice. She added that she would like to make even more use of the national language, including being able to help her child with school work. 

36-year-old IT specialist Vitali has started studying Estonian at the B1 level, since he wants to be able to engage more with his colleagues and make new Estonian-speaking friends.

The Integration Foundation wishes all of the participants in the courses well and hopes they are motivated to see their studies through and make real use of their Estonian skills.

MISA is organising free Estonian courses at the A2, B1 and B2 levels until 2020 as part of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project of the European Social Fund.

For further information please contact: Jana Tondi | Head of Language and Cultural Immersion, MISA | Telephone: +372 659 9069 | E-mail: jana.tondi@meis.ee

Activities of the Counselling Centre of MISA

Counselling Centre assists more than 1000 residents in 2015

Since autumn 2014, the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) has been operating a Counselling Centre which provides information, advice and guidelines on living in Estonia to those of other nationalities residing in the country. It has offices in both Tallinn and Narva, and monthly consultation hours take place in various towns in Ida-Viru and Harju counties.

A total of 1035 people turned to the Counselling Centre’s consultants in 2015, being assisted via e-mail, over the phone and in person. “The main questions people had for our consultants were about citizenship and benefits,” explained Kätlin Kõverik, a senior consultant at the Counselling Centre: “what they need to do in order to apply for Estonian citizenship and the order they need to do it in; whether and on what conditions you can apply for Estonian citizenship for a child born here; what basis you can apply for an Estonian residence permit on for your relatives; what the language requirements are in obtaining citizenship and working in a variety of positions; what kind of financial support is offered to those who are less well-off and to older people; whether and on what conditions pensions are paid to people with residence permits who have only recently started living in Estonia; what the situation is with support services and employment for people with disabilities; what help is offered to newly arrived immigrants in terms of finding a job; and how to go about finding and contact people from the same national or ethnic background.”

Another topic which is regularly discussed during consultations is Estonian language studies and language practice. “Most people want to know what the conditions are for taking Estonian language exams, how they should go about choosing the right teacher and what materials they should use,” said Kõverik. “They also ask how they can practise their Estonian, who can make use of such opportunities and what the conditions are for doing so. Some people ask for advice as well on how to overcome barriers in speaking Estonian.” 

The Counselling Centre is open to anyone seeking information on the way things are run in Estonia and on living and working in the country. Consultants can introduce clients to public services and the social benefits offered by the state, and if requested can provide help in communicating with state and local government institutions.

Consultants can be contacted by e-mailing info@integratsiooniinfo.ee or calling the free information line 800 9999. The Counselling Centre’s offices are located at Lõõtsa 2a (8th floor) in Tallinn and Kerese 3 (room 308, 3rd floor, Kerese Centre) in Narva. Information about consultations in Tallinn and Harju County and Ida-Viru County can be found on the Integration Foundation website.

The operations of the Counselling Centre form part of the ‘Development and implementation of an advisory and information system’ activity of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project of the European Social Fund.

For further information please contact: Kätlin Kõverik | Senior Consultant, Counselling Centre | E-mail: katlin.koverik@meis.ee | Telephone: +372 659 9032 

Open application rounds

Applications for support for new academic year now open for national minority Sunday schools

The Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) has launched an application round for base financing for national minority Sunday schools for activities in the 2016/2017 academic year.

“We decided to open up the application round in May so that all Sunday schools have project support agreements in place by the start of the new academic year and can recommence their teaching work straight away in September,” explained Kristina Pirgop, the head of partnership relations with MISA. “We’ve also been arranging open days with national minority Sunday schools since the start of the year to introduce parents and anyone else interested to what goes on at the schools and to raise interest in sending their kids to them. We’ve had four open days so far, all organised in partnership with the schools.”

Sunday schools that apply for financing for the 2016/2017 academic year must be registered in the Estonian Education Information System. The deadline for the submission of applications is 6 June 2016. More information about the application round can be found on the Integration Foundation website.

30 national minority Sunday schools were granted support for activities in the 2015/2016 academic year. These included Ukrainian, Russian, Azeri, Latvian, Georgian, Ingrian-Finnish, Tatar, Uzbek, Belarusian, Kabardian, Korean and Armenian schools.

Sunday schools are open to children and young people from the ages of 3-18. Classes are generally held in two age groups. The Integration Foundation organises in-service training for teachers each year so as to ensure that the studies offered to the students are interesting, educational and of high quality. 

The base financing of national minority Sunday schools is funded from the state budget via the Ministry of Education and Research.

For further information please contact: Kristina Pirgop | Head of Partnership Relations, MISA | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee  

Sunday school open days

Maštots Armenian Sunday school opens its doors to visitors

From 16:00-18:00 on Saturday 28 May the Maštots Armenian Sunday school will be holding an open-day event on the premises of the ‘Tee Tulevikku’ hobby school on the 3rd floor at Rävala 8 in Tallinn.

“Since the date of the open day coincides with Armenia’s Independence Day, we’ll be talking about Armenian history, its symbols and the most important sights in the country,” explained Džanna Šahbazjan, the director of the Sunday school. “We’ll also be having a music lesson, in which we’ll be singing Armenian songs about spring and mothers. There’ll be a handicraft lesson, too, and in the language class we’ll be revising Armenian words and expressions and learning some new ones. The event will be capped off by a dance class in which anyone interested can learn the steps to a special dance Armenians do on Independence Day.”

Anyone wishing to attend the open day is asked to register in advance by e-mailing mastotsh@gmail.com.

The Maštots Armenian Sunday school was established in Tartu in 2008. It has also been operating in Tallinn since 2013. Students at the school study Armenian and learn about the culture and traditions of the country. The vocal ensemble Dvin, led by Džanna Šahbazjan, is connected to the school and has taken part in a number of international competitions. It also won the ETV singing competition series ‘Perepidu’ in 2012.

For further information please contact: Džanna Šahbazjan | Director, Armenian Sunday school | E-mail: mastotsh@gmail.com
Kristina Pirgop | Head of Partnership Relations, Integration Foundation | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee

National culture society events

SED ARTE to celebrate 20th anniversary with series of exhibitions

SED ARTE, a non-profit organisation which arranges art exhibitions, is set to mark its 20th anniversary with a series of exhibitions. The first in the series, entitled ‘Dolce Vita’, will be open from 12 May-7 June.

‘Dolce Vita’ will be hosted at Tallinn Portrait Gallery (Suur-Karja 2). It will showcase the latest works of two modern artists: Marina Printseva and Yuri Gorbachev. Printseva lives in St Petersburg, while Gorbachev resides in New York. They are both new-age artists with Estonian roots who look at the world from a similar angle – believing in miracles and a brighter future.

Marina Printseva’s mother is Estonian, and a blend of two cultures can be seen in all of the artist’s work. She introduces the world to Estonian and Russian traditions and their wealth of culture. Her textile compositions emerge from a complex technique that combines embroidery, painting and appliqué. Art specialists have named it ‘knitted painting’.

Juri Gorbachev’s work is characterised by the use of gold, bronze and specialist lacquers and enamels. His art can be seen in 25 museums around the world, including the Louvre and the State Russian Museum in St Petersburg. Last year the artist donated one of his paintings to KUMU.

For further information please contact: Olga Ljubaskina | Director, SED ARTE | Mobile:  +372 50 56 257 | E-mail: sedarte@mail.ru

Slavic culture and literary language days to be held in May

Culture and literary language days of importance to Slavic people have been organised in Estonia for almost 30 years. The Kirill & Meffodi cultural society, in association with the Union of Russian Educational and Charity Associations in Estonia, has taken charge of the event for the past eight years. The 2016 Slavic culture and literary language days will be held at the Russian Cultural Centre in Tallinn (Mere pst 5) from 19-26 May. All events are free of charge.

The programme includes:

19 May | 18:00 – Belarusian culture day

20 May | 18:00 – Concert of the Russian Philharmonic Society in association with the instrumental studio of the Russian Cultural Centre

21 May | 16:00 – Folklore concert

22 May | 13:00 – Russian culture day featuring performances by collectives of the Union of Russian Educational and Charity Associations in Estonia

23 May | 18:00 – Ukrainian culture day

24 May | 19:00 – Concert of spiritual songs at Aleksander Nevski cathedral

27 May | 19:00 – Vocal music concert featuring performances by special guests Marina Cherkasova and Irina Ishutina (St Petersburg) and Vladimir Ignatov (Tallinn)

The following talks will be held at the Russian Cultural Centre:

23 May | 12:00 – Sergei Minin: ‘Images of Kirill and Meffodi in Russian iconic art and church architecture’

24 May | 12:00 – Literary researcher Vladmir Bragin: ‘The sources of Russian writing and publishing’

26 May | 11:00 – Artist and art specialist Valeri Laur: ‘Orthodox motifs in Russian painted art’

For further information please contact: Tatjana Semenjuk | Member of the Board, Kirill & Meffodi | Mobile: +372 5836 3613 | E-mail: Semjana7@gmail.com

Unique ‘Poems of Music’ concert to be held at Russian Theatre

The ‘Poems of Music’ concert being held on 21 May represents a unique project performance. The music of composers from Estonia, Russia, a variety of other European countries and the United States will be played by the Estonian Defence Forces Orchestra while the works of Russian poets from the Silver Age are recited by actors from Estonia and Russia.

The concert will take place at 18:00 on 21 May at the Russian Theatre.

Led by conductor Peeter Saan, the Estonian Defence Forces Orchestra will perform well-known romances in new arrangements featuring the vocal talents of Estonian opera singers Olga Zaitseva and Maria Kondratjeva. 

Poems by Igor Severyanin, Anna Ahmatova and Marina Tsvetaeva – representatives of the Silver Age in Russia in the early the 20th century – will be recited by Russian theatre and film actor Evklid Kürdzidis, Estonia’s Russian Theatre actress Tatjana Manevskaja, Estonia’s Puppet Theatre actor Evgeni Moissejenko, Viljandi Academy of Culture student Eduard Tee and actors from the Russian Youth Theatre.

The life story of Igor Severyanin, one of the best known authors of the Silver Age, is closely connected to Estonia: he took up residence of Toila in 1921, translating the works of many poets from Estonian into Russian with the help of his Estonian wife, Felissa Kruut. He died in Tallinn and is buried in Aleksander Nevski cemetery. Silver Age poetess Anna Ahmatova is considered to be the soul of Russian literature and the greatest poetess of the Silver Age. The works of Marina Tsvetaeva leave no one unmoved: her love poems and odes to her fatherland have a sombre undertone, reflecting her emotional world and what she went through in her life. 

Tickets are available online from Piletilevi at http://www.piletilevi.ee/rus/tickets/teater/mitmesugust/muusika-luuletused-poezokoncert-ahmatova-cvetaeva-severjanin-178885/.

For further information please contact: Marina Tee | Director, Zlata Educational and Literary Culture Centre | E-mail: marina.tee@mail.ru

Watch the family opera ‘Elephant’ ahead of Child Protection Day

At 12:00 on Sunday 29 May, children and their parents are invited to come along and watch the exciting new Russian choral opera ‘Elephant’. This fun production, based on text by Russian poet David Samilov, is being staged by Oleg Golub (Moscow).

The main character in the opera, which is full of adventure, is an elephant who decides to travel the world, meeting a variety of wild animals and figures from fairytales along the way. 

The music for this unique children’s opera was composed by Vladimir Ignatov. Its colourful sets and props (in Hundertwasser style), the foyer decorations and the costumes were designed by Elena Klyuyeva (Moscow).

The opera will be performed by the Allegro studio choir, Aleksandr Nekrassov, Anastassia Tsubina, Alina Silina and Eduard Tee.

The opera premiered on 16 March 2016. Tickets are available online from Piletilevi at http://www.piletilevi.ee/rus/tickets/kogupere/mitmesugust/elevant-ooper-seiklustega-slonenok-opera-s-prikljuchenijami-slonenok-185063/.
 

For further information please contact: Ljudmila Tee-Veresinina | Director, NPO Noorte Ühing Go-7 | E-mail: Ljudmila.v@gmail.com

Ukrainian folk culture festival to be held in Tallinn from 1-12 June

A Ukrainian folk culture festival is to be organised at the same time as the Tallinn Old Town Days by the Ukrainian Cultural Centre. The main aims of the event, which will run from 1-12 June, are to introduce the culture of Ukrainians – one of the largest ethnic minorities in Estonia – to the public and to further ensure that cultural heritage and traditions are passed on and maintained among the local Ukrainian community.

During the festival, townsfolk and visitors will be able to take part in workshops, attend exhibitions and participate in free excursions in the Cultural Centre. At the woodwork shop (Laboratooriumi 25) visitors will be able to make their own wooden toys, while at the Cultural Centre itself (Laboratooriumi 22) there will be a workshop on decorating traditional Ukrainian Easter eggs. There will also be poetry afternoons at the centre at which visitors will hear poems from the Red Book of Poetry, while the youngest members of the family will enjoy Ukrainian fairytales. Exhibitions will also be open during the festival, showcasing traditional Ukrainian toys, embroidered kerchiefs and folk costumes.

Anyone interested is welcome to attend the events, all of which are free of charge.

The programme and schedule for the festival can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/1164988643513270/ and on the website of the Ukrainian Cultural Centre at http://www.ukk.ee/ora/kultuur/festival-2016.

For further information please contact:  Kadri Mägi | Ukrainian Cultural Centre shopkeeper | E-mail: magikadri1@gmail.com

Contemporary Belarusian art on display at Keila-Joa Castle

As part of a series of exhibitions being organised by the non-profit organisation SED ARTE, an exhibition of contemporary Belarusian art entitled ‘Mental World: Dedicated to Chagall’ is being shown at Keila-Joa Castle. It is open from 4 June-4 July 2016.

The exhibition showcases the works of Russian artists Aleksandr Grishkevich, Ilona Kosobukoi and Vladimir Kontsndailov. It is the first time these artists’ works are being shown in Estonia. There will also be meet-and-greets with the artists during which they will outline their painting techniques. A ticket to Keila-Joa Castle is required in order to visit the exhibition.

For further information please contact: Olga Ljubaskina | Director, SED ARTE | Mobile: +372 50 56 257 | E-mail: sedarte@mail.ru

‘Ukrainian Flowers 2016’ concert to bring together Ukrainian youngsters from Estonia and abroad

The Ukrainian Youth Union of Estonia invites everyone to attend the gala concert of the international youth and children’s festival ‘Ukrainian Flowers 2016’. The free concert will be held at 15:00 on 5 June 2016 in the main hall of the Russian Cultural Centre in Tallinn (Mere pst 5).

This annual festival gives Estonia’s Ukrainian community the chance to celebrate its cultural heritage and to promote it to the general public. Audiences can watch and listen to music and songs and folk songs and folk dances that are important to Ukrainians as performed by children and youngsters.

Ukrainian collectives from Estonia and around the world have taken part in the festival over the years. This year’s gala concert will feature children’s and youth music and dance collectives from the Estonian towns and cities of Tallinn, Sillamäe, Valga, Pärnu, Tapa, Maardu and Tartu, with guest performances by Ukrainian youngsters from Poland and Ukraine itself.

For further information please contact: Vladimir Palamar | Director, Ukrainian Youth Union of Estonia | E-mail: ukrainaoae@gmail.com

National cultural association activities are supported by the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People through the national minority cultural association project competition, which is 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@meis.ee

Structural integration of young Russian speakers in post-Soviet contexts: attainment of education and transition to the labour market
New member joins Counselling Centre team
Narva opinion festival overturns undetermined citizenship myths
Estonian language studies to continue this summer
Sunday school teachers to travel to their ethnic homelands for in-service training
Estonian language and culture to be studied at youth camps this summer

Dissertations linked to the field of integration

Structural integration of young Russian speakers in post-Soviet contexts: attainment of education and transition to the labour market

This thesis by Kristina Lindemann from 2013 focuses on the performance at school, educational transition and labour market entry (also known as structural integration) of Russian speakers aged 15-35 in Estonia who obtained their education in the post-Soviet era. The data for analysis was taken from four large-scale surveys: PISA (2006); the Estonian TIES survey (2007-2008); the Youth Transition survey in Ukraine (2007); and the Estonian Labour Force Surveys 2002-2011. The important question in this thesis is how ethnicity and language skills can influence an individual’s attainment of education and their labour market outcomes and how these influences depend on such contextual effects as linguistically divided educational systems and linguistic contexts on the labour market. Comparisons are also made between Estonia and Latvia, and Estonia and Ukraine.

The results show that, contrary to other findings in Western European countries, where the gap in education attainment between second-generation immigrants and the ethnic majority compared to their parents’ generation is decreasing, in Estonia the gap between the ethnic majority and minority increased over the generation. According to the PISA test results, students at schools with Russian as the language of instruction achieved lower results, in particular in mathematics, than students in ethnic-majority schools (i.e. with Estonian as the language of instruction). The PISA 2012 results, published after this dissertation was completed, confirm this gap, which has however decreased over time. The socio-economic status of students and of parents in particular tends to play an important role in school achievement, which may in part explain the lower results of schools with Russian as the language of instruction. Another important factor is language proficiency.

This dissertation also shows that Russian speakers are significantly less likely than Estonians to continue their studies at general secondary school so as to pursue higher education, instead obtaining vocational training and moving directly to the labour market. There is a strong belief among Estonia’s ethnic minorities – even those with higher education and good language skills – that ethnicity shapes opportunities on the labour market, which may explain why minority youth do not choose to pursue a more ambitious education pathway (higher education).

The study also shows that compared to young Estonians, second-generation Russians are less successful upon entering the labour market and have lower prospects of being promoted. Estonian language proficiency plays a very important role, and the study shows that the importance of ethnicity differs by region, with ethnic differentiation being significantly smaller in regions with a small minority population (regions outside of Tallinn and north-eastern Estonia). In Tallinn, for example, young Russian-speakers with good Estonian language skills experience longer periods of unemployment and secure jobs of lower quality than Estonians. Social capital and communication networks seem to be important factors in this respect, which in regions with a large minority population and high ethnic segmentation may be lacking among Russian-speaking youth.

The conclusions from the study suggest that greater inclusion by the ethnic majority group, stronger inter-ethnic contact and Estonian language proficiency promote the educational success of young Russian speakers as well as their entry to the labour market.

Further reading: http://www.etera.ee/zoom/2041/view?page=3&p=separate&view=0,0,2067,2834.

Integration Foundation activities

New member joins Counselling Centre team

Joining the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) Counselling Centre in April was Olga Žukova. Olga will be in charge of organising events as well as helping out at them by offering technical support and advising residents.

Olga previously spent many years consulting clients in the tourism field. Thanks to her understanding of people she is able to quickly resolve problems and answer any questions that residents have. She also has experience of marketing and event management. She is very thorough in everything she does, thinking things through to the smallest detail to ensure that an event is a success.

Olga’s contact details can be found on the MISA website at http://www.meis.ee/tootajate-kontaktandmed.

Narva opinion festival overturns undetermined citizenship myths

An opinion festival was held for the second time in Narva on 21 May at which integration topics came up for discussion. During this debate, which was organised by the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA), those involved looked at the future of people with undetermined citizenship in Estonia, the misconceptions that are prevalent in society in regard to them and their actual situation.

Discussing the topic ‘The future of people with undetermined citizenship: myths and reality’ on the festival’s partners’ stage were migration expert and Estonian Academy of Security Sciences Centre for Migration Studies project manager Eva-Maria Asari, Police and Border Guard board Eastern prefecture Jõhvi police department senior officer Thea Roots, journalist and activist Roman Vikulin, former union leader Vladimir Aleksejev and Integration Foundation director Dmitri Burnašev. The discussion was led by the foundation’s Narva-based counsellor Natalja Vovdenko, who shone the spotlight on myths that are prevalent among residents.

In raising the topic, MISA sought to overturn myths and misunderstandings surrounding people with undetermined citizenship. During the debate the participants shared information and explanations on what the lives of such people are like in Estonia and what has been done to reduce the number of people without defined citizenship.

The participants emphasised a number of times that there is no point speculating whether people with undetermined citizenship have made a decision regarding which country they consider to be their homeland. Roman Vikulin and Vladimir Aleksejev remarked that a large proportion of people without defined citizenship have invested themselves in Estonia and do hold strong, positive feelings towards the country. They nevertheless admitted that on certain issues there are differences of opinion – for example, what bothers people with undetermined citizenship most of all is the fact that the ‘grey passports’ they carry bear the English title “Alien’s passport”, which can of course suggest not only foreigners but also ‘strangers’ or indeed ‘aliens’.

The biggest obstacle in applying for Estonian citizenship is considered to be the requirement to be able to speak Estonian. In some cases, decisions in this regard are also purely pragmatic, since undetermined citizenship makes travelling to Russia much easier.

At the same time, those taking part in the discussion conceded that the issue of undetermined citizenship is no longer as topical as it once was or as problematic among young people: just 3% of those without defined citizenship in Estonia are below the age of 25. Also very important is the change in law which came into effect on 1 January this year which now means that any child born in Estonia to a parent with undetermined citizenship is automatically granted Estonian citizenship.

In summarising their discussion, the participants came to the conclusion that explaining the myths surrounding people with undetermined citizenship and their actual situation and raising the issue in society is necessary in order to overturn misconceptions and bring those with conflicting opinions together. 

Information on Estonian language studies

Estonian language studies to continue this summer

As at the end of May a total of 1984 people had joined the Estonian language courses at the A2, B1 and B2 levels being organised by the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA), divided up into 124 groups. The majority of these people will complete their courses before the high season for summer holidays begins.

1167 people had already completed their studies by the end of May. Of those, 938 (80.38%) completed the courses successfully. “We consider anyone who’s attended at least 80% of their lessons to have completed their course successfully,” explained Jana Tondi, the head of language and cultural immersion with the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People. “229 people withdrew from the courses or only managed to attend less than 80% of their classes.”

As at 31 May there were 817 people on Estonian language courses, divided between 51 groups in Tallinn, Narva, Jõhvi, Kohtla-Järve, Sillamäe, Ahtme, Tartu and Pärnu. All of these groups will complete their studies by Midsummer or 1 September.

Courses for two groups in Tallinn will be starting in early July, one of which will be studying Estonian on the basis of English and the other on the basis of Russian. A further 528 people will then commence studies in August and September in 33 groups which will be put together in June.

The Estonian language courses are being run until 30 November this year by Keelepisik, the Edukool foundation and Folkuniversitetet Estonia. The courses run by two other training companies – Mitteldorf and the NPO Atlasnet – will come to an end by September.

A new procurement will be launched in June with the aim of finding organisers for language courses for the 2520 people who registered for Estonian studies on MISA website last summer.

The Integration and Migration Foundation Our People is organising free Estonian courses at the A2, B1 and B2 levels until 2020 as part of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project of the European Social Fund.

For further information please contact: Jana Tondi | Head of language and cultural immersion, MISA | Telephone: +372 659 9069 | E-mail: jana.tondi@meis.ee

Results of project competitions

Sunday school teachers to travel to their ethnic homelands for in-service training

The month of May saw the end of a project competition organised by the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) to support the in-service training of national minority Sunday school teachers in their ethnic homelands. 10 applications were received from teachers, of whom eight will get the chance to return to their historical homelands this summer to broaden their knowledge.

“Taking part in in-service training – especially in the countries whose languages and cultures the teachers are teaching – is very much needed from the point of view of high-quality studies,” said Kristina Pirgop, the head of partnership relations with the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People. “In order for the teachers to be able to offer their students appropriate and contemporary studies of their mother tongue and culture, the teachers have to constantly educate themselves as well. It goes without saying that the best and most up-to-date information they’re going to get is in the country itself whose language and culture they’re teaching.” Pirgop explained that the Sunday schools were applying for the financial means to cover the study, travel and accommodation costs of the teachers in order for them to be able to take part in training on their mother tongue. “A number of the courses that are offered in the relevant countries are free for the teachers,” she added. “For example, Sunday school teachers can take part in the studies being offered at the summer school in Armenia completely free of charge.”

Aided by the competition, teachers will be taking part in in-service training this summer in Ukraine, Russia, Armenia and Tatarstan.

In-service training for national minority Sunday school teachers in their ethnic homelands is financed from the state budget via the Ministry of Education and Research.

For further information please contact: Kristina Pirgop | Head of partnership relations, MISA | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee

Estonian language and culture to be studied at youth camps this summer

The long-awaited summer holidays are here, and what could be more fun for kids than spending part of them at a camp – somewhere they can talk to people their own age, play sports, go hiking, make new friends and have lots of fun? The Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) is contributing to the success of such summer camps this year by supporting the implementation of activities showcasing Estonian language and culture at ongoing camps, the promotion of Estonian language and culture at project camps and Estonian language and culture studies as part of family stays.

Both camp activities and family studies give youngsters the chance to discover Estonian cultural space – the country, its history and important sights and places – as well as to hone their language skills by communicating with Estonians their own age. “Based on the feedback we’ve got from participants in previous years, taking part in the camps and the family studies has really given these kids the courage to speak Estonian, and they’ve also discovered some exciting places around the country and made new friends they keep in touch with afterwards,” said Jana Tondi, the head of language and cultural immersion with the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People. “It’s important to us that the projects we support offer the kids a range of activities that encourage spontaneous communication in Estonian – real dialogue on everyday issues that young people identify with.”

Studies of Estonian language and culture at a camp or while staying with a family are designed for young people aged 7-19 who live in Estonia but whose mother tongue is a language other than Estonian, as well as for Estonians of the same age who speak the language as their mother tongue to provide support to other camp-goers. This year MISA is supporting the participation of 1408 youngsters in the Estonian language and culture programmes of ongoing camps. 100 young people will also get to take part in an Estonian language project camp, while a further 34 will be practising their Estonian as part of family stays. The language and culture camp projects will be taking place from June to October.

The activities showcasing Estonian language and culture at ongoing camps are being carried out this year by three organisations: Lastekaitse Liidu Lastelaagrite OÜ, Optimum Semper OÜ and Valgemetsa Puhkeküla OÜ.

Project camps promoting Estonian language and culture are being organised for young people by Narva School no. 6 and Keila Municipal Government. Estonian language and culture studies in families are being organised for 34 youngsters at five different times during summer by the NPO Veeda Vaheaeg Võrumaal.

Groups have been or will be put together by the organisers of the camps and family studies. The contact details of the organisers receiving support in 2016 can be found on MISA website.

Estonian language and culture studies at project camps are being supported to a value of 11,400 euros, Estonian language and culture studies in families to a value of 12,240 euros and the implementation of Estonian language and culture programmes at ongoing camps to a value of 17,772 euros.

The organisation of such studies within families and at camps is financed from the state budget by the Ministry of Culture.

For further information please contact: Jana Tondi |Head of language and cultural immersion, MISA | Telephone: +372 659 9069 | E-mail: jana.tondi@meis.ee  

Transition to e-invoicing
Estonian language and cultural immersion clubs provide useful language practice
Our partnership with Estonian theatres and museums
Mentorship programme for less successfully integrated residents
Estonia and the foundation from a Dutch perspective

Announcement

Transition to e-invoicing

The Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) made the transition to the OÜ Omniva invoice management interface on 1 July 2016 for the processing of purchase invoices. As such, MISA is now capable of accepting e-invoices.

The Estonian government has approved an action plan to make machine-readable e-invoices mandatory. The aim is for invoicing between the public and private sectors to be operating on the basis of e-invoices by the end of 2016. In connection therewith, MISA has also adopted the e-invoice management interface, as a result of which e-invoices can now be submitted. Through these, all invoice data will be transferred directly to the MISA accounting system.

E-invoices can now be submitted to MISA by sending them via the e-invoice operator of your choice (OÜ Omniva, AS Fitek, AS Telema et al.). PDF invoices should in future be e-mailed to misa@e-arvetekeskus.eu. From July, hard-copy invoices to be submitted to MISA should be addressed to Pallasti 28, 10001 Tallinn. Please mark ‘Arved 19200’ on the envelope.

More information about the transition to e-invoices can be found on the website of the Ministry of Finance at http://www.fin.ee/e-arved.

More information about e-invoices to be submitted to MISA is available by calling +372 659 9021 or e-mailing info@meis.ee. 

Information about Estonian language and culture club activities

Estonian language and cultural immersion clubs provide useful language practice

The Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) organised procurements this spring to find organisers for language and culture clubs for those who do not speak Estonian as their mother tongue.

Jana Tondi, the head of language and cultural immersion at MISA, says that for practising Estonian, overcoming language barriers and getting past communication problems it is important to offer such opportunities to those who already speak some Estonian but who lack the courage and need recognition and praise in order to speak the language spontaneously and freely. “One effective way of doing that is through language and culture clubs that give people the chance to speak Estonian, enjoy themselves and learn new things,” she said. “Compared to traditional language classes, the club meetings are enriched with communication situations and elements of non-formal learning such as excursions and meet-and-greets with guests. The atmosphere’s a lot more relaxed, and taking part is entirely voluntary.”

The clubs are being run by four organisations: Mitteldorf OÜ, Keelepisik OÜ, Implement Consulting Group OÜ and ImmiSchool - Uusimmigrantide Koolituskeskus OÜ.

The first two clubs opened their doors in Tallinn in July. A further 10 or so clubs will be starting up in August and September. Club members will not only be getting together in Tallinn, but also in Tartu, Sillamäe, Jõhvi, Kohtla-Järve, Ahtme, Narva and Pärnu. Up to 60 Estonian language clubs will be opened around the country in the next two years (2016-2017).

Among those on the waiting list to join the clubs, top priority is being given to people currently taking part in the Estonian language courses at the B2 level being organised by MISA, then to others who registered for the B2 courses on the foundation’s website in summer 2015. MISA forwards the lists of potential club members to the organisers, who then get in touch with them and invite them to attend an information day to find out more about the club and its activities.

Invited along to meetings of the language and culture clubs are people who speak Estonian as their mother tongue, who provide the club members with language practice and encourage them to communicate in the language. The attendees get to talk to the guests on a range of everyday topics, thus being exposed to phrases and expressions frequently used in ordinary situations. Club members and leaders get together at least once a week over a six-month period, for up to four academic hours at a time. Once a month they also go on an excursion or attend a cultural event. Furthermore, each club keeps a blog of its activities, with the aim of getting its members working together and sharing their thoughts and experiences.

Keelepisik OÜ club leader Helge Kušner says that what makes the club different from ordinary language learning is that grammar rules are not the focus of attention. “Occasionally words come up that need to be translated or written on the board, particularly if we’re talking about a more specific topic,” she explained. “Our members are really motivated. We have a great time at our meetings. The atmosphere’s always really relaxed and friendly.” Fellow Keelepisik club leader Katrin Kark says that it has only taken a couple of meetings for members to forget the language barrier and communicate more freely and directly. “That’s really gratifying to see,” she said. “We take a creative approach to our get-togethers, and we try to come up with discussions that will be of use to the group, but also allow them to enjoy themselves.”

Each language and culture club is led by two native speakers of Estonian who are teachers of Estonian (or another foreign language) to adults and who have undergone special group leadership training. They have also been given advice from experienced practitioners and are supported by the teaching materials prepared for the language clubs.

Information days for those running the clubs, as well as the first information events for future club members, will be held in summer 2016.

MISA is financing the Estonian language and culture clubs from the resources of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project of the European Social Fund.

For further information please contact: Jana Tondi | Head of Language and Cultural Immersion, MISA | E-mail: jana.tondi@mail.ee | Telephone: +372 659 9069

Partnerships with Estonian cultural institutions

Our partnership with Estonian theatres and museums

A range of supporting activities contributes to the integration of Estonian society, and an important part is played in this by being familiar with and consuming Estonian culture. In order for those who live in Estonia but do not speak Estonian as their mother tongue to be part of and understand the cultural events and activities that take place in the country, the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) works with 11 cultural institutions around the country.

“Our aim in doing so is to give theatres and museums that are willing and able to offer cultural events and programmes in other languages for less successfully integrated residents of the country and new immigrants the chance to obtain the technical equipment they need,” explained Riina Ring from the MISA Implementation Centre.

In order to make the upgrades required for providing cultural programmes in other languages and to acquire and modernise technical equipment, MISA has entered into partnership agreements with the following institutions: Theatre NO99, Rakvere Theatre, the Vanemuine Theatre, the Russian Theatre, Vaba Lava, the Estonian Open Air Museum, the University of Tartu Museum, the Palamuse Oskar Luts Parish Museum, Pärnu Museum, Valga Museum and the Estonian Theatre and Music Museum.

“I’m happy to say that with the first few theatre and museum procurements we’ve already reached the point of signing contracts,” Ring explained. “This means they’ll soon be able to put on exhibitions and performances for people living in Estonia who speak other languages as well.”

The activities being coordinated by MISA to enhance the availability of information in other languages are being financed from the resources of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project of the European Social Fund.

For further information please contact: Riina Ring | Coordinator, MISA Implementation Centre | E-mail: riina.ring@misa.ee | Telephone: +372 659 9030

INTERREG Central Baltic Sea programme cooperation project

Mentorship programme for less successfully integrated residents

Since spring 2016, the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) has been working with Luckan Integration, a branch of its Finnish partner Föreningen Luckan r.f, to implement a project entitled ‘Cross-border cooperation on mentoring and peer support for immigrants’.

The overall aim of the project is to support less successfully integrated residents of Estonia who are unemployed and Estonians living in Finland, as well as organisations that are prepared to hire people from different national backgrounds.

As part of the project, MISA is conducting a survey to map the needs of Estonians living in Finland (primarily in and around Helsinki) that they feel would help them better integrate into Finnish society. Based on the results of the survey, support groups will be established for Estonians living in Finland, who will be offered a mentorship service.

In the course of the project a mentorship programme promoting the integration and employment of less successfully integrated residents will be developed for Estonia on the basis of the Finnish programme FIKA. The programme will involve 20 pairs of mentors whose cooperation will last for around six months.

Activities will also be carried out in Estonia and Finland for organisations that are prepared to hire people from different national backgrounds. With the help of information campaigns, the organisers aim to raise awareness of multicultural working environments, thereby leading to an increase in the willingness of organisations to recruit people of different nationalities.

The project will last until the end of 2018. It is being financed by the INTERREG Central Baltic Sea programme of the European Regional Development fund. Information about project partner Luckan Integration can be found here.

For further information please contact: Natalia Reppo | Head of Cooperation, MISA | E-mail: natalia.reppo@meis.ee | Telephone: +372 659 9840

Estonia through other people’s eyes

Between March and June this year MISA played host to an enthusiastic Dutch work experience trainee with a very sunny disposition – Mieke van Vemden. Everyone at the foundation is very pleased that Mieke chose our organisation for her work placement and that we got the chance to get to know her a little. Mieke’s thoughts on her three months in Estonia (including her time at MISA) can be read below.

Dutch intern’s thoughts about Estonia and MISA

I’m Mieke van Vemden. I’m 24 years old and I’m from Utrecht in the Netherlands. For the past three months I’ve been an intern at MISA and getting to know the country. I came to Estonia to do research for my Master’s degree. I’m studying Human Geography at the Radboud University in Nijmegen where I am specialising in Europe: borders, identity and governance. It’s because of my specialisation in border studies that I ended up in Estonia.

Border studies focus on national and European borders, but also borders within societies, which I researched in Estonia. The issues surrounding the integration of minorities – in particular the Russian minority and its position in society – have been the subject of my research. I’ve been conducting interviews with Russian speakers and Estonian speakers to obtain information and to find out more about their lives, views and way of thinking.

My internship at MISA has helped me gain an insight into and better understand Estonia and the Russian and other minorities living here. I’ve been working in the Development Centre of MISA, which has been a great help to me. As such, I’m very happy and truly grateful that I was welcomed here. I think MISA is an example of how integration can be a very positive thing, where the strengths of every person in terms of language or origins are used and where people work together. MISA is involved in a great variety of activities and contributes to creating a more unified society – something I feel is always a challenge. Living together with who you consider to be different-minded people is difficult, especially when understanding or communication is lacking. For me, integration therefore doesn’t mean assimilation, as I believe that a varied society is a more enriched society. I do however see integration as a process where people engage and get to know a country, its culture, its traditions, its values and its language so that it becomes home to them. For me it is also a two-way process, where (in this case) Estonians can also put in an effort to get to know their new foreign neighbours or colleagues. When it comes to integration, communication and understanding are the most important things – as well as the most difficult. However, understanding on both sides is vital.

Someone once told me that Estonians are like coconuts: a little bit hard on the outside, but very friendly inside. I’d say I agree with that. I do however have to say that in first few weeks here, when you’ve not yet realised this fact, the outside of the coconut can sometimes seem very hard indeed.

Estonians, I have discovered, also love cakes and pastries. Everywhere in restaurants and cafés there are so many of them, and they’re so tasty! I also really like the fact that there are so many flowers.

In these three months I’ve fallen in love with Tallinn. It has a beautiful Old Town and is a very varied city in terms of its houses, parks and old buildings, like Patarei and Linnahall, but also with places like Telliskivi. I’ve also noticed some differences with the Netherlands – of course the weather when I arrived was a bit colder, but also taking off your shoes, the long opening hours of shops, the huge number of shopping malls, free public transport for residents of Tallinn, the lack of special bike lanes everywhere, and the lack of pre-chopped vegetables in supermarkets!

At home I describe Estonia as a beautiful country and Tallinn as a beautiful city which is full of history. You can experience the Middle Ages here, but more recent history is present as well. If people want to visit Estonia I would definitely recommend that they hire a car and go visit the countryside. I’ve visited Saaremaa and Muhu, Lahemaa National Park, Lake Peipus, Haapsalu, the old Rummu prison and Tartu. I like to think that I’ve seen a lot of the country.

What Tallinn and Estonia can maybe improve on and learn from the Dutch is bike lanes! We’re both very flat countries, so biking is easy. In winter as well as in summer there’s little rain here as well, which is perfect for biking. So the only thing that could make it better would be bike lanes. It makes things much easier, quicker and safer riding a bike. And with more bikes there are fewer cars and less pollution, you get more exercise – and there are more happy Dutch people!

All in all I have to say I’ve really enjoyed my stay in Estonia and have experienced for myself what a beautiful and interesting city Tallinn is. MISA has been a great and very welcoming organisation, which has helped me a great deal with my research. I’m very curious as to what the future will bring for Estonia and I’ll be sure to visit again. Estonia has been a very good home to me for the past three months.

MISA to discuss untapped potential of Estonian society at Opinion Festival
Everyone involved in the learning process contributes to guaranteeing academic success
The challenges of Estonian language studies for residents of Sillamäe
16th national culture festival to be held in Pärnu in August
Pärnu to host international festival of Slavic culture in August 

Opinion Festival 2016 – ‘State potential’ area

MISA to discuss untapped potential of Estonian society at Opinion Festival

During the Opinion Festival being held in Paide on 12 & 13 August, the Integration and Migration Foundation 'Our People' will be working with five of its partners to organise discussions in the ‘State potential area. On Friday 12 August, Paul Eerik Rummo, Mari-Liis Lill, Olesja Lagašina, Henri Laupmaa and Vladimir Svet will discuss the issue of so-called alien passport holders in a discussion entitled ‘People with undetermined citizenship – headache or untapped potential?' 

There are more than 80,000 people currently residing in Estonia – representing 6% of the population – whose citizenship is undetermined. They were born here or have lived here for decades, have started their families, acquired an education, have found jobs or become employers for themselves or others. But they are not Estonian citizens; nor have they chosen to become citizens of any other country. As such, they miss out on the opportunities that being an Estonian citizen provides. They have fewer opportunities to participate in political and civic life: they do not have the right to work in civil service or to take part in Riigikogu or European Parliament elections. Moreover, with their citizenship remaining undetermined, they are forced to ask themselves where they belong; which country they see as their own. According to the Estonian Human Development Report, the level of social exclusion among people with undefined citizenship is as high as 50% – 2.5 times higher on average than Estonian-speaking citizens of the country. This rate is also significantly higher than that of Russian-speaking Estonian citizens.

At the Opinion Festival we will be discussing what does such large number of people with undetermined citizenship say about Estonian society. Is the “alien” status and the challenges that accompany it, such asthe limited dialogue with the state, social exclusion and other,– solely the problem of the people who face it, or is it indicative of much broader untapped potential that concerns Estonia as a whole?

“We’re raising this issue at the festival because there’s currently little public discussion of how to reduce the number of people with undetermined citizenship, and what discussion there is –largely one-sided,” explained MISA director Dmitri Burnašev. “It’s been a problem for decades, and most of the solutions proposed have focussed on how to get people to apply for citizenship. But that’s only one way of resolving the issue. Over the years, MISA has implemented a range of activities that support people in applying for citizenship, such as providing free Estonian language courses and supporting preparations for the Estonian citizenship exam, as well as initiating discussions among young people about what it means to be an Estonian citizen and what values that status embodies. But at the same time we can see that if all this is going to bear fruit, Estonian society as a whole needs to get involved. According to feedback, many people with undefined citizenship feel they have no functional dialogue with the state, which makes them question whether the state is even interested in them as citizens. If the situation is to change, we need to deal with the issues in much more broad-ranging way than just educating and supporting people with undetermined citizenship –support involving Estonian society as a whole is required.”

The discussion organised by MISA will seek answers to a variety of questions. What changes are needed to ensure that everyone who lives in Estonia is more involved and feels like a truly valued member of Estonian society, in order to reduce the level of social exclusion and increase trust in Estonian society? What needs to be done in order for Estonian citizenship to become a value in itself that people are willing to strive towards? With the answers to these and many other questions, the panellists will seek to find ways of how to make non-citizens think of strenghtening their bond to Estonia and also make them feel that they are important to the state.

Apart from the discussion organised by MISA, during the two-day festival the visitors to the ‘State potential area will get to participate in discussions  on the future of the e-state and e-services, the administrative reforms being implemented in Estonia at present, as well as the prosperity of the state and the prospects of the Estonian nation.

‘State potential’ area discussions are being organised by the the e-Governance Academy, the Integration and Migration Foundation ‘Our People', the Estonian Cooperation Assembly, Statistics Estonia, the Estonian Youth Work Centre and the Estonian National Youth Council.

Posts from the ‘State potential’ area can be followed on the Facebook event page at  https://www.facebook.com/events/1762865637260935/. The programme for the Opinion Festival 2016 is available online at http://www.arvamusfestival.ee/kava/.

For further information please contact: Ann Asser | Head of Communications, MISA | E-mail: ann.asser@meis.ee | Telephone: +372 659 9039

Overview of international project SLT4AA

Everyone involved in the learning process contributes to guaranteeing academic success

July saw the final conference of the Erasmus+ KA2 strategic partnership project SLT4AA (School Leadership Toolkit for Accelerating Achievement) held in Hungary. One of the partner countries in the two-year project led by the University of Tartu was Estonia. Alongside staff from many Estonian schools, MISA’s head of language and cultural immersion Jana Tondi took part in the project, which focussed on school management and boosting academic success. 

The main aim of SLT4AA was to enhance academic success by streamlining school management processes. It took as its example the reorganisation of British schools into academies and the management of these schools. Estonia’s role was to provide a critical overview of the development experiences of schools from the five countries taking part in the project, among other things comparing them with the situation in Estonia and contributing to resolving their problems. Involvement in the project gave the participants the opportunity to look at similar processes in different countries and weigh them against one another.

70 people attended the final conference, including teachers, interest group leaders, practitioners, academic advisers, school directors and lecturers from Estonia, Bulgaria, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Hungary.

One of the points made at the conference was that Estonian education is in a very good position compared to a number of other European countries and that students are looking to come here to study. “At the same time, considering the issues we face, there are ideas we can cherry-pick from other countries’ practice and use in the Estonian context, albeit in a slightly different situation and perhaps a little differently, to make our education system and school management even better,” said Hasso Kukemelk, SLT4AA’s project manager and a lecturer on the organisation of education at the University of Tartu.

Fellow project contributor Jana Tondi is involved in the organisation of non-formal education and language studies in her everyday work, implementing them in cooperation with a variety of schools and project partners. “I also promote non-formal education opportunities to Russian- and Estonian-language schools,” she explained. “During the project I learnt about the non-formal education opportunities offered in other countries, as well as how they go about managing their schools, and I’ll be able to use examples of both in implementing activities related to Estonian language and culture studies in future.”

Tondi says that the quality and results of studies are not only dependent on the material being taught, the people teaching it and those learning it, but on a wide range of nuances that were discussed during seminars and at the final event of the project. “In a school, or any other educational institution, responsibility for the success of the learning process is shared among everyone who works there, not just the (language) learner or the teacher,” she said. “If you want to ensure quality, you need systematic analysis of the entire process – whether that’s a satisfaction survey or a simple discussion – as well as agreements you stick to and regular reviews of results. It’s also important what you analyse: grades, attendance, the number of groups or classes, exam results or fulfilment of the curriculum. You also have to take into account each other’s wishes and goals. You have to ask whether students are even aware of what teachers expect of them, and whether teachers know what students hope to get from lessons. Expectations aren’t always entirely clear, so you have to talk about them.”

The project also highlighted the fact that it is necessary to support students’ own initiative and to encourage them to organise and do things themselves. “Any day at school or excursion or the like that breaks kids out of their normal routine helps resolve issues that the students bring to the lessons,” Tondi explained. She added that it is no less important for students and teachers to have the same understanding of values and a sense of fairness. 

Also attending the final conference were Suure-Jaani Upper Secondary School director Evald Sepp, Alatskivi Juhan Liivi High School Estonian language teacher Helen Paju and Suure-Jaani School interest group leader Siivi Tõnuri, who remarked that the event left them very encouraged by the knowledge that the Estonian education system is given as a good example to others. “A number of issues that other schools are still struggling with, such as the fulfilment of school attendance requirements and the involvement of pedagogues in the entire learning process, have long since been resolved in our education system” Tõnuri said.

Sepp felt that participating in the project had been very useful in forging new contacts, sharing new ideas and developing new solutions. “When I talked to people from schools in Bulgaria, Hungary and Portugal I realised that you can start from the same idea when implementing development activities in different countries,” he said. “What you need is the impetus to make changes. The main thing you want to achieve in introducing these changes is to get people thinking differently, and not just within a small group of school workers either – your entire community should be aware of the need for change.” He added that the theoretical basis of development work is suited in general to every school, but the starting position is very different. “Whereas our schools are dealing with things like the dynamics of the updated approach to studies and the most effective amount of technology to use in the learning process, for other schools in Europe these are issues they’ll only face further down the track,” he said. “Giving teachers more freedom in terms of lesson planning could prove successful for some schools. But it’s difficult to introduce technological changes in classrooms where the only way of visualising something is with chalk on a blackboard.”

More information about the project can be found online at http://slt4aa.eu/.

For further information please contact: Jana Tondi | Head of Language and Cultural Immersion, MISA | Telephone: +372 659 9069 | E-mail: jana.tondi@meis.ee

Master’s degree on studies of Estonian

The challenges of Estonian language studies for residents of Sillamäe

In May 2016, University of Tartu Narva College student Anna-Olga Luga defended her Master’s thesis, entitled ‘The Estonian Language Studies of the Residents of Sillamäe’. Her goal was to identify the main challenges in the town related to language studies and to present a new language-learning paradigm incorporating a variety of support systems and enabling learners to develop their language skills independently.

In the thesis, Luga provides an overview of key legislation concerning language studies and language use. She also outlines the language-learning opportunities that are available in Sillamäe and the support structures that exist in the town in terms of language studies. As imperial input for the thesis, more than 50 residents of Sillamäe who had undertaken language courses at different times between 1990 and 2015 were interviewed. Extracts from the interviews provide examples of their language-learning experiences, enabling changes in the organisation and methodology of language studies to be traced on the basis of feedback. Interviews conducted with Estonian language teachers in Sillamäe also provide an overview of the organisational challenges of language studies. The thesis further presents the teachers’ views on the low level of motivation among learners, which is explained by the ‘learned helplessness’ phenomenon.

In her research and analysis, Luga focuses on Sillamäe – a town which was once ‘closed’ and of strategic importance, and which is today predominantly Russian-speaking.

Luga describes her main findings by saying: “It can be seen from the reports, monitoring and other documents related to Estonian language and integration presented that language policy and organisation must become more substantive and focus on creating diverse and affordable options for Estonian language studies.” The thesis highlights the fact that regional organisers of language studies need a more effective support system in order to coordinate the work of language-learning service providers and to enable courses to be conducted for learners at different levels of proficiency. Flexibility of language studies also needs to be preserved, taking into account those who work in shifts, and it should be ensured that the language level of study groups is more homogenous.

The thesis underscores the importance of checking the quality of language studies and the implementation of more effective methods, since there is a strong link between the quality of studies and the experience of students and between the individual nature of teachers and the quality of contact between them. The work demonstrates that there is interest in language-learning methods that are more clearly differentiated on the basis of the students themselves and that enable teachers to respond adaptably to the actual language skills of students in a group.

According to the residents of Sillamäe, the main obstacle to taking part in language studies is the cost, which makes it impossible for families subsisting on the minimum wage to participate in courses. An important challenge in the specific case of Sillamäe itself is the fact that most language studies are offered in other towns – since the closure of the town’s language school, the nearest courses are to be found in Jõhvi. As such, studying Estonian involves constant travel and additional costs, making participation complicated and often leading to people dropping out. Learners also highlight the limited availability and uneven quality of free, web-based language studies opportunities – although online courses would make for an effective language-learning tool thanks to their accessibility, regardless of where people live.

In its summary, the thesis provides an interesting overview of the quirks of Estonian language policy and Estonian language learning opportunities in Sillamäe based on feedback from the town’s residents and the teachers working there about the organisation of Estonian language studies over the last two decades. Feedback also forms the basis for recommendations regarding the organisation of future language courses.

The thesis makes a significant contribution to discussions on the organisation of Estonian language studies in Estonia. It is important that such issues continue to be raised in academic circles as well as in Estonian society more broadly.

For further information please contact: Marianna Makarova | Head of Research, MISA | E-mail: marianna.makarova@meis.ee | Telephone: +372 659 9853

National culture society events

16th national culture festival to be held in Pärnu in August

The national culture festival ‘Multicultural Pärnu’ is to be held in the summer capital on 13 & 14 August 2016. The festival is being organised by the NPO Vähemusrahvuste Liit Raduga (the umbrella organisation for national minority cultural associations) for the 16th time.

The event will begin with an opening concert which all residents of and visitors to Pärnu are invited to attend. Performing at the concert will be creative collectives of children and adults from the NGO as well as guest artists from Estonia and abroad.

The two-day festival will showcase the songs and dances of Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Polish, Chuvash, Buryat and Caucasian peoples.

There will also be handicraft exhibitions and workshops dedicated to various national cultures, and visitors will be able to try a range of national dishes.

The festival will be opened at 12:00 on 13 August on Rüütli Square in Pärnu. Performances will take place throughout the city.

For further information please contact: Galina Ivanova | Director, NGO Vähemusrahvuste Liit Raduga | Mobile: +372 5800 8847 | E-mail: raduga_parnu@mail.ru  

Pärnu to host international festival of Slavic culture in August 

‘Svetotš’, an international festival of Slavic culture, is to be held in Pärnu for the 4th time from 25-28 August 2016. It will feature 35 folklore collectives from Estonia and neighbouring countries.

Taking place over four days, the festival will include performances by Slavic vocal and dance ensembles from Estonia, Russia, Belarus and Latvia.

There will be spiritual music concerts at Jekateriina Orthodox Church at 9:30 and 15:00 on 26 August, while an exhibition of decorative art and handicrafts will open at Pärnu Concert Hall at 14:00 on 28 August.

During the festival, concerts will be held at Pärnu Concert Hall, in Pärnu Children’s Park and in the Pärnu Kuursaal and bandstand.

More information about the festival and its programme can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FestivalSvetoch/photos/pb.153081604884531.-2207520000.1464591362./517771711748850/?type=3&theater. Tickets to the events being held at Pärnu Concert Hall can be purchased from Piletilevi or at the venue.

For further information please contact: Natalia Rafikova | Director, NGO ‘Järeleaitaja’ Õppe- ja arenduskeskus | Mobile: +372 5597 8839 | E-mail: nar2311@mail.ru 

National cultural association activities are supported by MISA through the national minority cultural association project competition, which is financed from the state budget via the Ministry of Culture.

For further information please contact: Kristina Pirgop | Head of Partnership Relations, MISA | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee

Overview of procurements and competitions

National minority Sunday schools await new students

Looking back at the B2 Estonian course in Pärnu

„I’m a migrant“ – elulised ja huvitavad lood Eestis elavatest inimestest
Day of Nations events
Tarkovsky festival invites admirers of the art of film-making to the cinema

Overview of procurements and competitions

Second round of applications open for base financing of national minority Sunday schools

MISA has launched an additional round of applications for the base financing of national minority Sunday schools. The second round is open to any national minority Sunday school operating in Estonia that did not receive funding in the first round of applications.

The aim of the base financing of Sunday schools is to support the mother tongue and cultural studies in national minority Sunday schools of children whose mother tongue is a language other than Estonian. In accordance with the Hobby School Act, the Sunday schools that apply for financing must be registered in the Estonian Education Information System.

The funding is open to schools whose teaching activities involve at least 10 students during the academic year. 80% of Sunday school students or at least one of the parents of each student must be representatives of the national minority whose language and culture form the basis of the work of the Sunday school in question. The schools must teach at least 100 academic hours of language, culture and history per school year.

Sunday school places are open to children and young people between the ages of 3 and 18.

The total budget for the second round of applications is 14,450.57 euros. The deadline for the submission of applications is 23:59 on 19 September 2016. Information and materials for the application round can be found on the MISA website.

27 Sunday schools were awarded financing in the first round of applications. They operate in Tallinn, Tartu, Valga, Jõhvi, Sillamäe, Pärnu, Maardu, Viljandi, Toila and Kose.

The activities of national minority Sunday schools are financed by the Ministry of Education and Research via the national budget.

For further information please contact: Kristina Pirgop | Head of Partnership Relations, MISA | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee

Additional language and culture studies to be offered at camps and with families

This year MISA launched an additional competition to support the organisation of Estonian language and culture studies in project camps and as part of homestays for young people aged 7-19 living in Estonia whose mother tongue is a language other than Estonian.

“Since there’s so much interest in the camps and homestays, we’ve corralled more resources for the organisation of both this year,” explained Jana Tondi, the head of language and cultural immersion with MISA. “The competition’s open to organisations that are interested in putting on a project camp during the autumn school holidays for at least 20 kids whose mother tongue is a language other than Estonian so as to showcase Estonia’s linguistic and cultural space for them and to give them the chance to speak to people their own age in Estonian. And the organisers of the homestays will have to provide at least 34 kids with the opportunity to spend the autumn holidays with an Estonian-speaking family.”

The overall aim of the project competition is to promote Estonia’s cultural space – historical and interesting sights and traditions – among young people aged 7-19 living in the country, as well as the national language, and to offer them an opportunity for contact with Estonian-speaking kids their own age. The activities of the camp and homestays must include age-appropriate, educational joint activities and excursions and participation in events.

“As part of the competition activities we’ll be supporting the kids’ non-formal Estonian language studies, in which they’ll be helped by Estonian-speaking youngsters the same age as them or by the kids their age in the families,” Tondi explained. “Family-based studies mean the kids have a constant and spontaneous need to use Estonian in everyday situations with other members of the family, where they have to focus on communication – there’s no time to think about what they’ve learned or any mistakes they might make. This gives them a better grasp of how to use the language and the chance to practise expressing themselves in a second language.”

Studies of Estonian language and culture at a camp or while staying with a family are designed for young people aged 7-19 who live in Estonia but whose mother tongue is a language other than Estonian, as well as for Estonians of the same age who speak the language as their mother tongue to provide support to the other camp-goers. This year MISA is supporting the participation of 1408 youngsters in the Estonian language and culture programmes of ongoing camps. 100 young people will also get to take part in an Estonian language project camp, while a further 34 will be practising their Estonian as part of homestays. The language and culture camp projects will be taking place from June to October.

The total budget for the competition is 21,545 euros. The organisation of studies within families and at camps is financed by the Ministry of Culture via the national budget. Information about the competition and the materials required for participation are available from the MISA website. The deadline for the submission of applications is 26 September 2016.

For further information please contact: Jana Tondi | Head of Language and Cultural Immersion, MISA | Telephone: +372 659 9069 | E-mail: jana.tondi@meis.ee

National minority Sunday school news

National minority Sunday schools await new students

National minority Sunday schools are places where children and youngsters between the ages of 3 and 18 can explore the culture and learn the language of their forefathers. The studies also provide different age groups of children with a variety of options in regard to hobby activities.

In addition to studies of language and culture, Sunday schools offer lessons in other subjects related to national culture. For example, students can learn how to make national dishes, perform folk dances and songs or master handicraft techniques. Also, educational excursions are often organised for their students that are linked to the school’s curriculum.

Sunday school doors are open first and foremost to children whose parents, grandparents or more distant forefathers or who themselves are representatives of a national minority. Other youngsters are also accepted as students, regardless of their national background. Russian Sunday schools are primarily open to children from a Russian background who study at Estonian-language schools.

The network of Sunday schools is dense. The largest number of schools operates in Tallinn, but they can also be found in Tartu, Valga, Pärnu, Viljandi, Jõhvi, Narva, Sillamäe, Toila, Kose and Maardu.

Sunday school lessons generally take place once a week, and as the name suggests, on weekends – whether on Saturday or the Sunday itself. Studies tend to begin in September or early October and continue through to late May or early June. Lessons at many Sunday schools are free of charge for those taking part.

Sunday schools are a place where youngsters get to dig up their roots – their skills in their mother tongue are developed, their creativity is fostered and their knowledge of cultural history and traditions is broadened. As poet Juhan Liiv once said, “He who does not remember the past lives without a future.”

Information about Sunday school activities and the schools’ contact details can be found on the MISA website.

The activities of national minority Sunday schools are financed by the Ministry of Education and Research via the national budget.

For further information please contact: Kristina Pirgop | Head of Partnership Relations, MISA | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee

Estonian language studies

Looking back at the B2 Estonian course in Pärnu

A 100-hour course for permanent residents of Estonia with a low level of integration and new immigrants which started in Pärnu in spring came to an end on 12 August. The language lessons, which were organised by the Integration and Migration Foundation 'Our People' (known by its Estonian acronym MISA) and run by the NPO Atlasnet, took place three times a week on working days. Those who registered for the course did so with the aim of acquiring the B2 level in spoken and written Estonian.

A total of 41 people registered for language courses in Pärnu, 25 of whom wished to study Estonian at the B2 level. Putting the group together was complicated by the different starting times that the potential students preferred, leading to the organisers taking longer to finalise the list of participants. However, the B2 course was at last launched on 1 April, with the first lesson taking place in a room at Tammsaare School in Pärnu and involving 16 students.

The Pärnu course was led by Merle Taggu, an experienced instructor of Estonian as a second language who has taught Estonian to Russian-speaking students in general education schools in Pärnu and to adults on courses organised by both the Police and Border Guard Board and the Pärnu office of the Unemployment Insurance Fund. She is also a member of the management board of the Association of Teachers of Estonian as a Second Language.

Since there were not enough people with the same language skills to open a course in Pärnu, Merle accepted the challenge of working simultaneously with students at different language levels. As an experienced teacher she implemented a slightly different approach which helped to satisfy the needs and wishes of the stronger and weaker students alike. We asked her how the course went and how satisfied both she and the students were with the results.

“I realised straight away during the first lesson that the students weren’t all at the same level,” Merle recalls. “Some were A2; others were B2. But since the point of the course was to get them up to a level that would allow them to take the B2 exam, there was no way we could lower that threshold. This meant that a couple of the participants who were at the lower end of the scale and who’d overestimated their abilities pulled out.”

During the first few lessons there were further changes to the list of participants, with those who dropped out being replaced by those next in line. Merle says there were brave students at the A2 level who carried on with the stronger participants and who, by the end of the course, were glad that they had done so – since the extra vocabulary they learned encouraged them to speak more, and the relaxed Estonian-language environment they got used to during the course emboldened them to talk to Estonians outside of the classroom.

The people on the course quickly formed into a good working group, says their teacher. “Nobody was worried about their language skills, or lack of them,” Merle says. “They never shied away from taking part in role play situations. Most of them made up for their shortcomings using humour in any case!”

The stronger students developed and polished all of their existing skills, but considered it most important to improve their writing skills. Merle says that the participants were positively surprised by the end of the course at how freely they were able to make jokes, find the right wording and use the slang they had learned in conversation.

A lot of memorable things occurred during the course. For example, some new words seemed so strange to the Russian-speakers that they later ran them by their Estonian acquaintances to make sure they used the words when talking to one another. Merle says the students were taken aback when they found out that they really did. “And that’s what they joined the course for,” she says: “to find out those sorts of things about the language.” 

At the start of the course the students were also asked why they were taking the lessons and what they expected from them. They said that they wanted to learn to speak to Estonians more freely and without any shame. “None of them were stressed about taking the exam or were doing the course because their employer expected them to,” Merle explains. “The 100 hours we spent together were about direct communication, analysing grammar, reviewing the kinds of writing that people need in their day-to-day lives, making jokes, watching bits of well-known films, listening to some great songs and talking about topical issues. The students always left in a good mood, and always thinking positively, regardless of the fact that most of them came to the lessons after a long day at work and then put in another three academic hours on top of that.”

Merle says she was pleased to hear her students say that the more grammar they learned, the harder it became for them to speak, since they were always trying to remember the rules and correct themselves in their heads. She says this showed that the students had knowingly gone into the language. For stress-free and spontaneous communication they simply need everyday language use at the B2 level, not conversation on mundane topics.

“It’s good to see that more and more Russian-speaking people want to learn Estonian for their own benefit, not because they have to,” Merle says. “That’s why you’ve got to motivate and encourage people to use the language more boldly and more actively. And that’s exactly what we did on our course.”

MISA is organising free Estonian courses at the A2, B1 and B2 levels until 2020 as part of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project of the European Social Fund.

For further information please contact: Jana Tondi | Head of Language and Cultural Immersion, MISA | Telephone: +372 659 9069 | E-mail: jana.tondi@meis.ee

“I am a migrant” – Fascinating real-life stories of people who live in Estonia

In the next MISA newsletter we’ll be looking at the stories collected by the Estonian office of the International Organization for Migration about people who live in Estonia. All of these people have something in common; similar experience and knowledge – “I am a migrant”.

The first story is about Dan, an Estonian activist, volunteer and world-traveller with an interest in Middle Eastern culture, who shares his experience of life in Palestine.

Cultural immersion helps you learn a language – Dan’s story
 

Dan has a love for Middle Eastern cultures. As a teenager Dan was convinced he wanted to visit Palestine to understand its culture, faith and prevalent conflict.  After finishing his studies he began looking for volunteers with previous experience in Palestine. “One village was recommended to me. I contacted the elder of the village, who did not speak English, but referred me to another volunteer.”

“At first I went with a tourist visa. It was difficult to constantly renew my visa, because it required a lot of traveling. All together I was in Palestine little over 3 years. In the spring of 2015 I returned to Estonia, but as a married man.

She was doing an internship at a kindergarten next to the school where I was teaching. I taught English to adults and asked if someone from the group could teach me Arabic, she did. At first everyone in the village did not think our relationship was possible. She told her father about me, so I met with her parents, siblings and other relatives. It was challenging as the village was rather conservative, but her family vouched for me. So in the end it all went well.

My wife teaches while I’m active in several local NGOs. I’m a support person to refugees through an NGO called ‘Johannes Mihkelsoni Keskus’. Having a direct contact with refugees inevitably destroys the stereotypes media portrays. Media has such a strong influence on how we understand things. In my work I find success stories most uplifting. It brings me so much joy when one of my clients starts speaking Estonian to me. I don’t know how or where he has learnt it, but the fact that he can say some basics shows self-motivation and initiation from his side. This type of positive cases are uplifting.

I also work with ‘Youth for Understanding’ student exchange programme. My experience shows that full cultural immersion helps with learning a language – students, who don’t know any Estonian when they first come here, speak it at a basic level few months later.

I also coordinate Arabic language courses at an NGO called ‘Ethical Links’. Our team has a substantial knowledge and experience of Arabic language and cultures. Among many activities we try to offer an alternative to mainstream media. You can read the news all you want, but real encounters are needed to overcome fears and misunderstandings. Last year we imitated an Arabic living room at a local event. We decorated our tent with cushions, carpets, offered Arabic food, taught name writing in Arabic and did henna decorations. We invited people to sit with us and discuss the questions they have. The problem with stereotypes is, they only show one side and amplify it. Fear of the other can be overcome through personal encounter.

My hope is Estonia will be a successful state and that common sense will win.”

Day of Nations events

The Day of Nations is celebrated in Estonia on 24 September, marking the anniversary of the first meeting of the Estonian National Minorities Forum. It has been part of the cultural calendar since 2005 and is dedicated to all of the nationalities living in Estonia.

National minority cultural associations are organising a range of events throughout September as part of the Day of Nations.

1 September saw the opening of an exhibition entitled ‘Ornaments in culture – culture in ornaments’ on the premises of Lüüra (the International Union of Associations of National Minorities) at Kaera 21A in Tallinn. The exhibition showcases 12 posters and original works that have been crocheted or made from felt or timber. The display provides an overview of the ornaments of five nationalities: Estonians, Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Tatar people. The exhibition has been organised by the NPO Stiil, which is supported via the Kodurahu programme. It is open from 11:00-15:00 Monday to Friday. Admission is free of charge.

From 15:30-17:00 on 15 September ‘Russian Cultural Folk University’ Education Society management board member Tatjana Tšervova will be leading an excursion and conversation about the Dome Church, or the Cathedral of St Mary the Virgin in Tallinn (Toom-Kooli 6). Those interested are invited to gather outside the church beforehand. The event is being organised by the Union of Russian Educational and Charity Associations in Estonia.

From 12:00-13:30 on 20 September the conference room at the Russian Cultural Centre in Tallinn (Mere pst 5) will play host to a lecture by artist Sergei Minin entitled ‘My introduction to Kalevala: Artistic illustration as a text element’. The event is being organised by the Union of Russian Educational and Charity Associations in Estonia. Admission is free of charge.

From 11:00-13:00 on 22 September the conference room at the Russian Cultural Centre in Tallinn (Mere pst 5) will play host to a lecture by artist Valeri Laur entitled ‘Estonian art from 1970-1980: The work of Peeter Mudiste, Andres Tolts, Ando Kesküla, Olev Subbi, Enn Põldroos and Ludmilla Siim’. The event is being organised by the Union of Russian Educational and Charity Associations in Estonia. Admission is free of charge.

At 18:00 on 23 September the main hall at the Russian Cultural Centre in Tallinn (Mere pst 5) will be the venue for a folk collective concert entitled ‘Under the same sky’. It will feature performances by collectives of the Union of Russian Educational and Charity Associations in Estonia and members of Lüüra (the International Union of Associations of National Minorities). Admission is free of charge. Admission is free of charge.

At 17:00 on 24 September the ‘Raduga’ Union of National Minorities will be hosting a fun event dedicated to the Day of Nations at Nooruse Maja in Pärnu (Roheline 1B). Visitors will be able to watch and take part in a pageant of national costumes. Songs and poems of different nationalities will be performed and recited. Visitors will also have the chance to find out about folk customs and traditions and try well-known national dishes. Admission is free of charge.

At 14:00 on 24 September the main hall at the Russian Cultural Centre in Tallinn (Mere pst 5) will be the venue for a concert entitled ‘Russian song in my soul’. Folk music choirs and folklore ensembles from Narva, Kohtla-Järve and Tallinn will be performing. The event is being organised by the Union of Russian Educational and Charity Associations in Estonia. Admission is free of charge.

From 12:00-13:00 on 25 September Lüüra (the International Union of Associations of National Minorities) will be holding its open day. There will also be a concert, a showcase of national games and customs, an introduction to national cuisine and creative handicraft and art workshops. From 13:00-15:00 you can visit the ‘Golden autumn’ national cultural association fair in the courtyard of its premises in Tallinn (Kaera 21A). Admission is free of charge. For further information please contact: Larissa Ivaništševa, Lüüra member | E-mail: larissaiv@gmail.com |Mobile: +372 5805 3258.

At 18:00 on 25 September the small hall at the Russian Cultural Centre in Tallinn (Mere pst 5) will be the venue for a concert of Russian Philharmonic Association soloists entitled ‘We live here’. The programme features classical vocal and instrumental works of Russian, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Armenian and Estonian composers. The event is being organised by the Union of Russian Educational and Charity Associations in Estonia. Admission is free of charge.

National cultural association activities are supported by MISA through the national minority cultural association project competition, which is financed by the Ministry of Culture via the national budget.

For further information please contact: Kristina Pirgop | Head of Partnership Relations, MISA | Telephone: +372 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee

Events supported by MISA

Tarkovsky festival invites admirers of the art of film-making to the cinema

The 5th ‘Encounters with Tarkovsky’ festival is set to open at the Artis cinema in Tallinn at 17:00 on 14 September. This year’s festival is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Andrei Rublev and to the 30th anniversary of the director’s final film, The Sacrifice.

In his lifetime Tarkovsky became a classic of world cinema, but in his own country his fate was rather dramatic. After his successful debut with Ivan’s Childhood (1962), he made the historical drama Andrei Rublev (1966), which became the main drawcard at the XXII Cannes Film Festival in 1969. This year marks half a century since the film was completed. Also being screened at this year’s festival will be the director’s final film – The Sacrifice, produced in Sweden in 1986, which became a creative testament to Tarkovsky.

Visitors to the festival will also have the chance to see an exhibition entitled ‘Andrei Tarkovsky: His Final Film’ curated by Leila Alexander-Garrett, who served as an interpreter and the director’s assistant on The Sacrifice. The exhibition is illustrated by the photo story of two greats of Swedish cinema: two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Sven Nykvist and actor Erland Josephson. 

Festival events will be taking place throughout the month in Tallinn, Tartu, Sillamäe, Pärnu and Maardu. The programme includes films and documentaries, creative meetings and discussions. 

More information about the festival can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/304315399931318/.

The festival is being supported by MISA as part of the ‘Promotion of a unified field of information through cultural and sporting activities’ project competition, which is financed by the Ministry of Culture via the national budget.

Estonian language cafés to open doors in Tallinn in October
MISA to organise awareness-raising events in Russian-language schools about young people’s future
Estonian language and culture camps and homestays to continue in October
Youngsters from Ida-Viru County to take part in youth programme fostering social cohesion
Ukrainian Sunday school to open its doors to visitors
Festival showcasing Ukrainian culture to be held in November
‘I am a migrant’ – fascinating real-life stories of people who live in Estonia

Activities of the MISA Counselling Centre

Estonian language cafés to open doors in Tallinn in October

Starting from 11 October, Lindakivi Cultural Centre and Lasnamäe Children’s Centre in Tallinn will be hosting twice-weekly get-togethers of the free Estonian language cafés run by the Counselling Centre of the Integration and Migration Foundation 'Our People' (MISA). The cafés are designed for those who want and are motivated to learn Estonian and to practise speaking in the language.

The language café groups are divided into three: those with elementary skills; those with primary skills; and those who are more advanced at the initial level. The cafés will be held at Lindakivi Cultural Centre (Jaan Koorti 22) and Lasnamäe Children’s Centre (Ümera 46) in Tallinn twice a week at 10:00 and 18:00. Each get-together will last for around 90 minutes and be free of charge for those taking part. Up to 20 people can participate in any one event. The language café groups are being put together by the MISA Counselling Centre.

The get-togethers will be led by experienced teachers of Estonian, who will offer the participants support in their independent learning and practising of the national language. The role of the language cafés is also to motivate people to make bolder use of Estonian in everyday situations. Situations and topics that come up in day-to-day life will be focussed on during the get-togethers – issues like job-seeking, training, communicating with colleagues, travel, hobbies, celebrating special occasions and dealing with situations like making doctor’s appointments and buying things in shops.

Where the language café is concerned it is not important how well you speak Estonian. However, in order to find the group that is best suited to you, the groups are divided in three: those with elementary skills; those with primary skills; and those who are more advanced at the initial level. The only prerequisites for taking part are the desire and motivation to learn Estonian and to practise speaking the language.

Information on the times and venues of the language cafés can be found on the MISA website.

The language café activities are being financed as part of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project of the European Social Fund.

For more details about the language cafés and information event, call the Counselling Centre free of charge on 800 9999 or e-mail info@integratiooniinfo.ee.

MISA to organise awareness-raising events in Russian-language schools about young people’s future

The MISA Counselling Centre will be carrying out a series of information events around Estonia in October and November under the umbrella title ‘The opportunities available to young people in Estonia’. At the events, information will be provided to young people and their families who live in Estonia but speak Russian as their mother tongue about how to make something of themselves in the country.

The MISA Counselling Centre is organising 10 regional events in the series in Tallinn, Narva, Maardu, Pärnu, Kohtla-Järve, Sillamäe, Valga and Tartu in association with local specialists from the Police and Border Guard Board, the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund and the ‘Rajaleidja’ careers advice portal. In addition to the young people themselves, their family members and friends are also welcome to attend the events, as are those youngsters who have dropped out of school for some reason and their families, and anyone interested in the topics to be discussed at the events.

The opportunities of career and training advisory services through which Russian-speaking youngsters can get support to continue and complete their studies will be outlined to the attendees. Circumstances related to finding work in Estonia and abroad will also be covered, and practical recommendations will be shared in regard to making future career choices. The amendments made to legislation affecting non-Estonians and in regard to citizenship that entered force on 1 January 2016 will also be explained, as they are of importance to permanent residents of the country. Furthermore, an overview will be provided of integration activities designed for young people, applying for Estonian citizenship will be discussed, opportunities for Estonian language learning and practice will be explored and information will be given about the counselling service offered by MISA.

The information events will adopt a discussion format. Regional specialists will be sharing information with the young attendees, explaining issues in terms of the needs of young people and from their point of view, and answering any questions they may have. In addition to specialists, people known in local schools and communities will also be invited to take part in the discussions wherever possible. The events will start in the schools at 18:00 and last for around 90 minutes. The language of the events will be Russian.

For more details about information events, call the Counselling Centre free of charge on 800 9999 or e-mail info@integratsiooniinfo.ee. Information on the times and venues of information events can be found on the MISA website.

Information events are held as part of the ‘Integrating Estonia 2020’ regional development plan and are financed from the resources of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project of the European Social Fund. 

Results of project competitions

Estonian language and culture camps and homestays to continue in October

An additional project competition entitled ‘Promoting Estonian language and culture at camps and Estonian language and culture studies in families’ was held in September. Support was granted for the implementation of projects to the NPO Veeda Vaheaeg Võrumaal (organising homestays) and Narva School no. 6 (organising a project camp), who will showcase Estonian language and cultural heritage to youngsters on visits to various places in southern Estonia.

Veeda Vaheaeg Võrumaal’s project “Let’s Speak Estonian!” will enable 34 youngsters from Narva to take part in family-based studies and classes at Võru City Centre Basic School this autumn. 8-10 families will be hosting the kids. There will be a total of five 10-day homestays, during which young people whose mother tongue is Russian will get the chance to live in an Estonian-language environment and attend an Estonian-language school, explore the sights of southern Estonia and take part in group events and handicrafts workshops.

“These kids are motivated to learn,” explained Jana Tondi, MISA’s Head of Language and Cultural Immersion. “A number of students from Narva Language High School who’ve taken part in the homestays before have been positively surprised how much of a boost a week spent in an Estonian-language environment gives them in terms of their language skills.”

Homestay project manager Pille Kulberg says that their organisation has been helping to organise family-based studies for many years. “We have a lot of experience working with Narva Language High School,” she said. “At the same time, we can only do what we do thanks to those families in Võru County with children of their own who take these kids in for a week at a time. Over the years we’ve seen how the kids who live in the county who’ve had more to do with the Russian-speaking kids have become more tolerant and are always friendly towards those arriving for the homestays. The project works both ways, with mutual benefits, and is a great experience for everyone involved.”

The ‘School Holidays on Cultural Trails’ project of Narva School no. 6 was also awarded support. 32 students aged 12-16 from the school and from Narva Estonian Upper Secondary School will take part in the project. The project camp taking place in Saverna in Põlva County will be attended by 22 Russian-speaking youngsters and 10 of their Estonian-speaking peers. The kids will visit the university town of Tartu and take part in a special lesson entitled ‘Language, Culture and the Environment’ at the Estonian National Museum. They will also find out about the history of Võru and its surroundings and visit the home museum of Estonian author F. R. Kreutzwald. They will also pay a quick visit to Kambja and its basic school.

“There’ll be language lessons each day for the kids, to give them the chance to practise their Estonian, at which the teachers will use elements of non-formal language learning as well as active learning methods,” explained Irena Kedus, the project manager with Narva School no. 6. “The Estonian-speaking support students will play an important role, as they’ll serve as mentors to the Russian-speaking youngsters. Every day we’ll be doing our best to provide the kids with sports and creative activities as well which will help them get to know one another and get along better.”

Estonian language and culture studies at camps and in families are supported by MISA from the state budget via the Ministry of Culture.

For further information please contact: Jana Tondi | Head of Language and Cultural Immersion, MISA | Telephone: 659 9069 | E-mail: jana.tondi@meis.ee

Youth programme 2016 activities

Youngsters from Ida-Viru County to take part in youth programme fostering social cohesion

This autumn MISA is organising study trips and training days for 35 youngsters from Ida-Viru County with the aims of boosting the participants’ knowledge of ways in which they can make something of themselves in Estonia and of promoting contact between the young people. The youth programme is designed for students from general and vocational schools in Ida-Viru County who are from Narva, Kohtla-Järve and Jõhvi and aged 15-18.

“There’ll be one training day and three study trips for the participants as part of the programme activities,” explained Natalia Reppo, MISA’s Head of Cooperation. “The first training day was held on 24 September at Narva Youth Centre. The youngsters who attended learnt about successful and well-functioning team work, taking part in civic initiatives, taking the initiative themselves in starting things up and how to draft, manage and implement projects, all through practical examples.”

Reppo added that the aim of the youth programme is to introduce to Russian-speaking youngsters different ways of making something of themselves in Estonia. “That can be in relation to education, job-seeking and social activities, as well as contributing to civic initiatives,” she said.

Three study trips are planned for the young participants as part of the programme. On 13 October they will be travelling to southern Estonia, where they will visit the Võru County Vocational Education Centre and sights in the surrounding area. On 9 November there will be a study trip to Tartu during which the plan is to visit the Estonian Aviation Academy, the Computer Science Institute of the University of Tartu and Tartu Observatory. The final study trip will take place on 20 December, bringing the students to Tallinn. Kohtla-Järve Youth Centre and Narva Youth Centre were of assistance in finding youngsters to participate in the programme.

MISA implements integration-related cooperation activities as part of the ‘Integration cooperation activities’ sub-programme of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ programme of the European Social Fund.

For further information please contact: Natalia Reppo | Head of Cooperation, MISA | Telephone:  659 9840 | E-mail: natalia.reppo@meis.ee

Sunday school open days

Ukrainian Sunday school to open its doors to visitors

From 11:00-14:00 on 15 October, the ‘Nadija’ Ukrainian Sunday school will be holding an open day. Anyone interested is welcome to visit the rooms of the Association of Ukrainian Organisations in Estonia at Nafta 6-2 in Tallinn.

The theme of the open day is ‘Pokrova – the Cossack and Ukrainian Feast Day’. During a singing lesson, attendees will learn Ukrainian-language songs about the Cossacks. A history lesson about Ukraine will be given by two Cossacks, who will also speak about the history of their own people up to the present day. There will also be a Ukrainian language lesson and a handicrafts room. Visitors will get to try kulish – the traditional pottage of the Cossacks – as well as sweets.

Anyone interested in attending the open day is asked to register by calling 5810 4307.

For further information please contact: Alla Inno-Yakymenko | ‘Nadija’ Ukrainian Sunday school handicrafts teacher | Mobile: 5810 4307

Activities of national minority Sunday schools are supported by MISA from the state budget via the Ministry of Education and Research.

For further information please contact: Kristina Pirgop | Head of Partnership Relations, MISA | Telephone: 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee

National culture society events

Festival showcasing Ukrainian culture to be held in November

Starting at 15:00 on 6 November 2016, Salme Cultural Centre (Salme tn 12, Tallinn) will play host to a festival of Ukrainian culture entitled ‘Star of the North’. This is a traditional festival which has been organised by the Association of Ukrainian Organisations in Estonia every two years since 2000.

Taking part in the festival will be Ukrainian song and dance troupes that are active in Estonia as well as the ensemble ‘Kolor’, the ‘Ukraina’ academic mixed choir, the ensemble ‘Susidki’, the ‘Mrija’ choir and others. An exhibition of the artworks of students from the Ukrainian Sunday school will also be held at Salme Cultural Centre during the festival.

Anyone interested in Ukrainian culture is welcome to attend the event. Admission is free of charge.

For further information please contact: Association of Ukrainian Organisations in Estonia | Telephone: 600 6768 | E-mail: UkrainaOAE@gmail.com  

The ‘Star of the North’ festival is supported by MISA through the national minority cultural association project competition, which is financed from the state budget via the Ministry of Culture.

For further information please contact: Kristina Pirgop | Head of Partnership Relations, MISA | Telephone: 659 9024 | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee 

‘I am a migrant’ – fascinating real-life stories of people who live in Estonia

Immigrants are like teachers who teach the local people openness and tolerance - Heba's story

Heba is an Egyptian who first heard about Estonia from a friend. “When searching for post graduate studies, I was intrigued by the studies in international relations and diplomacy at the Estonian School of Diplomacy.

My previous experience in Egypt was with media monitoring, elections, and human rights. At the Egyptian cabinet I worked with media monitoring projects. I was responsible for media monitoring and election projects at the Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti Violence Studies. I led a team who monitored media during the elections to see whether media were biased, we put recommendations to media outlets to improve their performance and gave advice on how to be more neutral.”

Working with the civil society sector was an eye-opening experience as I was working with human rights, tolerance issues and Syrian refugees. I realized that some people really don’t have any future and they need to look for better opportunities, it’s not something we can use against them. Many Estonians also go abroad searching for better chances. For me the question is why is it good for people from Europe to move within Europe, but bad when people from Middle East or Asia look for jobs in Europe?

I’ve seen that immigrants enrich their new societies. They are like teachers, because through interaction with immigrants locals learn open-mindedness and tolerance toward cultural differences. Also, if immigrants are employed they benefit the economic cycle. Migration consists of normal people, some are good and some are bad. When someone does something it is because they are bad, not because they are from a specific place. We need to judge people’s acts according to the law.

Through my work and volunteering experiences I have learned to look beyond stereotypes. My thinking began to change when I saw that different ideas, thoughts and people will not cause me any harm. If I had a very limited mentality, I don’t think I would be very successful in bringing change through my work.

In the future I hope to work with human rights and torture issues. I hope to make a difference in people’s lives and help them understand that human rights are not a luxury, but vital to being human. In Egypt it’s not easy to convince people that human rights are part of your essential rights. I hope to make this shift in thinking. It is hard to change what the whole society thinks, but at least I can start with myself and know what I believe.”

Take part in the upcoming international conference ‘Integration Challenges in a Radicalizing World’
‘Active Youth Forum 2016’ invites young people to join in on discussions
Citizens Day quiz launching on 21 November
Organiser sought for awareness-raising campaign to get young people with mother tongues other than Estonian working in the public sector
The National Association of Armenians in Estonia is organizing Armenian Cultural Days in Haapsalu
Azeri Sunday School opens its doors to visitors

MISA events in November

Take part in the upcoming international conference ‘Integration Challenges in a Radicalizing World’

This international conference is organised by the Integration and Migration Foundation 'Our People' (MISA) and is titled ‘Integration Challenges in a Radicalising World’. It will take place on the 29th and 30th of November in Tallinn. The conference will focus on integration challenges in contemporary societies characterised by increasing cultural diversity and migration, as well as escalating global conflicts, affecting relations at the local level between people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

“The world is rapidly changing and we need to review the preconceptions we have of what is important for social integration, as well as continue to raise issues that have been topical for decades,” explained MISA’s Director, Dmitri Burnashev. “Our goal with the conference is to bring together professionals in the field of integration from Estonia and elsewhere in Europe to share their experience and best practices, which could also be implemented in Estonia.”

Internationally recognised experts from Canada, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Estonia will be speaking at the event. Among guest speakers are Queen’s University (Canada) emeritus professor and the founder of the principles of contemporary acculturation psychology, Prof. John Berry; Bradford University (UK) Diversity Professor Prof. Uduak Archibong MBE; German Integration and Migration Foundations Expert Council Deputy Chairman, Prof. Dr Haci-Halil Uslucan; and other leading visionaries from Estonia and abroad. You can find additional information on the conference programme and list of speakers online at www.misakonverents.ee.

The conference will take place on 29 & 30 November in Tallinn. Experts from the field of integration are invited to attend the event, as is anyone who is interested and involved in diversity and integration issues, as well as representatives of companies and organisations with diverse staff.

A reception for speakers and conference participants will take place on 29 November starting at 19:00 in the main hall of the Estonian Academy of Sciences (Kohtu 6, Tallinn).

Registration is open until 22 November or until the maximum number of attendees is reached. You can register here.

Participation is free of charge. The language of the conference will be English, with simultaneous interpreting into Estonian.

The conference is organised by MISA with support from the Ministry of Culture and partner organisations including the British Council, the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the Royal Danish Embassy Tallinn University and other partners.

For further information please contact: Marianna Makarova | Head of Research Development, MISA | E-mail: marianna.makarova@meis.ee | Telephone: +372 659 985

‘Active Youth Forum 2016’ invites young people to join in on discussions

The Mektory Innovation and Enterprise Centre in Tallinn will play host to the ‘Active Youth Forum 2016’ on 22 & 23 November.  The two-day event is open for up to 250 active youngsters and people in charge of them from all over Estonia.

“The first day of the forum will focus on young people between the ages of 17 and 26,” explained MISA Head of Cooperation, Natalia Reppo. “On the second day, we hope to see not only youngsters there but also members of organisations who deal with them. The issues we’ll be looking at in the workshops are the same on both days – the impact of voluntary work on the people who do it and on society as a whole, and the effect of civic activity and young people in making the world a better place. We’ll also be looking at the media space from the point of view of young adults – what they should be reading and watching, whether they should be reading it and watching it at all, how much they read and watch and how they read and watch it. Last but not least, there’ll be a focus on the impact of and need for youth organisations as well.”

Workshops will be held throughout the two days on five different topics. Participants can choose two topics that most interests them on each day of the forum. The first day’s results will be discussed during the workshops on the second day with the aim of analysing the participant’s thoughts and to share information with youth organisations. Two moderators will lead each workshop simultaneously – one focussing on the Estonian-speaking participants and the other on the Russian-speaking participants.

Information about the workshops and registering for the event can be found on the youth forum website. Registration is open until 18 November or until the maximum number of attendees is reached. You can also join the forum’s event page on Facebook.

The aim of organising the forum is to get young people living in Estonia involved in shaping social processes and thereby increasing their interest in implementing ideas. It is also designed to provide support in shaping a shared field of information for young people and a more cohesive Estonia.

During the workshops, experts from the field will be giving practical advice on and describing measures for becoming involved in voluntary work, youth organisations and civic initiatives, as well as for getting the media involved in promoting activities.  

A number of youth organisations have assisted in developing the concept of the forum and in its organisation, including the NPOs Noorteklubi Active, Shokkin Group and Serve the City.

The youth forum is being organised by MISA in association with the Harju County Entrepreneurship and Development Consultancy. The event is being supported from the resources of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project of the European Social Fund.

For further information please contact: Natalia Reppo | Head of Cooperation, MISA | E-mail: natalia.reppo@meis.ee | Telephone: +372 659 9840

Citizen’s Day quiz 2016

Citizens Day quiz launching on 21 November

Students from general and vocational education schools can take part in the annual Citizens Day Quiz, being held for the 14th time from 21 November to 2 December. Everyone in Estonia will get the opportunity to take the quiz on Citizens Day, 26 November.

The quiz, comprised of 50 unique questions (some taking into account events from the preceding 12 months), is put together each year for students in grades 7-12 from general and vocational education schools. It covers topics ranging from nature studies to history, as well as general knowledge of sports and sports stars, cultural events and cultural figures. Picture, sound and video questions are included.

A 30-question quiz for students from Grades 5 - 6 in general education schools with Estonian and Russian as the language of instruction is compiled by students from higher grades. The younger participants can choose which language they take the quiz in. For older students, the quiz is always in Estonian.

Everyone is given 60 minutes to complete the quiz. Participants find out their score as soon as they complete the quiz. The correct answers can be checked on the quiz page starting 5 December. Also available on this page are statistics from previous quizzes and the names and results of the best-performing participants.

The links to the quizzes will be made public at 9:00 on 21 November at http://www.meis.ee/citizens-day-quiz.

A total of 61,000 participants have successfully completed the quizzes over the years, with the total number of those taking part being even higher.

The highest-scoring participants will be invited to a reception on 20 December, which this year will be held in the Riigikogu.

The conducting of the quiz is being organised by MISA in association with the Ministry of Education and Research.

For further information please contact: Toivo Sikk | Head of Civic Education, MISA | E-mail: toivo.sikk@meis.ee | Telephone: +372 659 9850

New procurement launched

Organiser sought for awareness-raising campaign to get young people with mother tongues, other than Estonian, working in the public sector

MISA has launched a public procurement entitled ‘Valuing public-sector organisations with linguistically diverse staff and informing people with mother tongues, other than Estonian, of career opportunities in the public sector’. This initiative is being launched in order to help young people, whose mother tongue is a language other than Estonian, to apply for jobs in the public sector.

The objective of the procurement is to plan and implement an awareness-raising campaign in the first half of 2017, which will inspire young people ages 18-30, whose mother tongue is a language other than Estonian, to take up work in the public sector and bind their future to Estonia. The campaign should also help make it clear to senior staff and personnel workers in the public sector why it is a good idea to also recruit people whose mother tongue is a language other than Estonian and how to reach them.

With the help of this campaign, the hope is to foster direct contact in a different form between young people and senior staff and personnel workers in the public sector (e.g. public-sector employees visiting and giving talks at schools and the organisation of workshops). Those submitting tenders will be expected to prepare videos for distribution in online channels and social media, which for example, showcase the success stories of public officials who speak Estonian as a language other than their mother tongue.

The use of innovative approaches and cross-media solutions that enable campaign messages to reach the target group are awaited.

The documentation for the procurement can be viewed online in the e-state procurement registry at https://riigihanked.riik.ee/register/hange/178561.

Tenders should be submitted to MISA via the e-state procurement registry by 16:00 on 12 December 2016.

The procurement is being organised as part of the ‘Activities supporting integration in Estonian society’ project of the European Social Fund.

National minority Sunday school news

National Association of Armenians in Estonia to organise Armenian Cultural Days in Haapsalu

For the fifth time, the National Association of Armenians in Estonia is organising the Armenian Cultural Days in Haapsalu in order to showcase Armenian traditions and celebrate their connection with the city.

Haapsalu is an important place for Armenians, since it was home to Hedvig Büll, a missionary who helped Armenian refugees during World War II. As such, the Armenian community has strong ties to the city.

The event will be taking place at Haapsalu Cultural Centre (Posti 3, Haapsalu) starting at 13:00 on 19 November. Transport from Tallinn to Haapsalu has been arranged.

The programme includes an exhibition of Armenian artists, a concert and performance of Armenian musicians, an introduction to Armenian cinema and a showcase of sights worth seeing in Armenia. Visitors will also have the chance to try some traditional Armenian dishes. The 25th anniversary of the country’s independence will also be celebrated as part of the event.

Everyone interested is invited to attend the Cultural Days, which are free of charge.

Those thinking of attending are asked to register in advance by e-mailing r.ivanjan@gmail.com or calling +372 51 88 966.

For further information please contact: Razmik Ivanjan | Chairman, National Association of Armenians in Estonia | Mobile: +372 51 88 966 | E-mail: r.ivanjan@gmail.com

The event is being supported by MISA via the national minority cultural association project competition, which is financed from the state budget via the Ministry of Culture.

For further information please contact: Kristina Pirgop | Head of Partnership Relations, MISA | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee | Telephone: +372 659 9024

Azeri Sunday School opens its doors to visitors

Ragsana Khalilova, the new director of and a teacher at the Azeri Sunday School, is inviting everyone interested to the school’s open day starting at 14:00 on 20 November. At this event, Ms. Khalilova will explain what goes on at the school and present a showcase of Azeri culture.

“Our students will be talking about pictures of Baku, which is the capital of Azerbaijan, and which is also known as the City of Winds,” she said. “It was the first Muslim city in which opera and ballet were introduced, in fact. A lot of people will recognise views of the city from the cult Russian film ‘The Diamond Arm’.”

The students will also be demonstrating what they have learned at Sunday school – they will perform folk dances and recite poems in Azerbaijani.

During the open day, younger visitors will get the chance to draw pictures or make their own plasticine versions of the sights of Baku with students from the school.

“Everyone who comes along will have the chance to try my baklava as well,” Khalilova added. “The honey and nuts I use are brought in from Baku!”

The Azeri Sunday School open day will take place in the school’s rooms at Vilisuu 7 in Tallinn.

Those interested in taking part are asked to register in advance by e-mailing raksana8787@mail.ru or calling +372 5558 1119.

The Azeri Sunday School has been operating since 1989. It was registered in the Estonian Education Information System in 2008. Sunday school activities are led in Estonia by the ‘Ajdan’ Azeri Cultural Centre. The school teaches the language and literature of the country as well as its history and folk dances.

For further information please contact: Ragsana Khalilova | Director, Azeri Sunday School | Mobile: +372 5558 1119 | E-mail: raksana8787@mail.ru

The activities of national minority Sunday schools are financed by the Ministry of Education and Research from the national budget.

For further information please contact: Kristina Pirgop | Head of Partnership Relations, MISA | E-mail: kristina.pirgop@meis.ee | Telephone: +372 659 9024