NEWS
219 organisations (17 umbrella organisations with 202 member associations) successfully complete national minority culture society evaluation and can apply for activity support for 2009
An evaluation committee working with the Office of the Minister for Population and Ethnic Affairs has assessed the umbrella organisations of national minority culture societies and their member associations in accordance with the directive of the Secretary of State of 23 September 2008 entitled ‘Base financing of the umbrella organisations of national minority culture societies and their members’. 288 associations operating under 20 umbrella organisations were registered for evaluation.
The aim of the evaluation was to find cooperation partners for the state among representatives of different nationalities operating under the auspices of umbrella organisations in order to promote cultural diversity, support national culture societies in preserving and promoting their cultural heritage, develop cooperation between Estonia’s cultural societies and improve the flow of information between members of umbrella organisations.
The umbrella organisations who successfully completed the evaluation now have the right to obtain activity support for 2009 through the round of applications for the base financing of national minority culture societies which will be launched by the Integration Foundation at the end of October. Information about the application round will be posted on the website.
For further information please contact:
Iris Järv, Culture and Youth Work Unit
In-service training opportunities for national minority Sunday school teachers
The Centre for Educational Programmes of the Integration Foundation is launching a training course for teachers from national minority Sunday schools entitled ‘Teaching in a dialogue between yourself and a child’ in association with the in-service training centre of Tallinn University’s Open University. On the course the teachers will be able to build on their pedagogical and language teaching knowledge, develop their skills in organising linguistic and cultural cooperation and prepare themselves to work with children of different ages and those with special educational needs. The course will run for a total of 120 hours, with the first session being held on 26 and 27 November.
In November the Centre for Educational Programmes of the Integration Foundation is organising a culture and study trip to Hiiumaa for teachers from national minority culture society Sunday schools. They will see the sights of the island and learn about the culture of its people. A training session on psychological drama will also be held as part of the trip.
For further information please contact:
Zoja Tint, Centre for Educational Programmes
Integration Foundation provides 650,000 kroons for promotion of national minority languages and cultures
The national culture society project competition came to an end in October. 51 projects were submitted which were designed to raise awareness of the activities of national minority culture societies and/or promote cooperation between societies. Support was designated to 22 of the projects.
As part of one of the projects to be funded, the Ukrainian Cultural Centre’s “Promoting Ukrainian Culture IV”, an exhibition of icons and toys from the country will be organised in Tallinn and master classes held in traditional Ukrainian ceramics, including toys and toy instruments.
The “Ukrainian folk songs in Estonia and for Estonians” project of the folklore ensemble Žurba will highlight the similarities between Estonian and Ukrainian folk music and see the presentation of both Ukrainian folk songs in Estonian and Estonian folk songs in Ukrainian.
The competition was financed by the State Chancellery. The projects will be carried out until June 2009.
For further information please contact:
Kristina Pirgop, Culture and Youth Work Unit
Russian-language schools to receive additional Estonian literature materials for secondary students
Secondary schools with Russian as the language of instruction are set to receive additional materials for the teaching of Estonian literature this November in the form of ‘Contemporary Estonian literature: a collection of worksheets for secondary students’. The collection contains extracts from the work of young Estonian authors published between 2000 and 2007 and accompanying exercises. The texts were selected and the tasks compiled by Leili Sägi from the Russian Secondary School in Pärnu, Diana Joassoone from Annelinna Secondary School in Tartu, Annelii Juhkama from the Tallinn High School of Humanities and Natali Happonen from the Vocational Education Centre in Tartu. The teaching materials provide an overview of the diversity of modern Estonian literature, enabling students to improve their functional reading skills and skills in Estonian by working with literary texts.
For further information please contact:
Ulvi Müürsepp, Centre for Educational Programmes
Language immersion programme teachers learn new methodology skills
November will see the continuation of Russian-language methodology training for subject teachers (20–21.11), basic immersion methodology training for class teachers (12–13.11) and advanced methodology training for class teachers from schools which joined the language immersion programme in 2000 (25–26.11). The Tallinn and Ida-Viru County groups will also continue their training on immediate feedback (the ‘5-minute observation’).
For further information please contact:
Made Pandis, Language Immersion Centre
Matters related to the way in which parent–teacher meetings are conducted (the structure of such meetings, the role of the immersion teacher as group teacher, et al) will be discussed and the different plans for child–teacher meetings will be analysed as part of ‘Parent–teacher meetings’, the November training course for kindergarten teachers. The course will be held in Tallinn on 12 November and in Jõhvi on 14 November and presented by trainers from the Language Immersion Centre.
For further information please contact:
Svetlana Belova, Language Immersion Centre
Language immersion kindergarten and school teachers to witness Welsh immersion programme at work
From 2 to 7 November a group of language immersion kindergarten and school teachers, parents and Language Immersion Centre workers will be on a study trip in Cardiff, Wales, to find out more about Welsh language policy and the Welsh-language immersion programme. They will meet students, teachers, education officials and parents.
For further information please contact:
Svetlana Belova, Language Immersion Centre
Training of language immersion programme advisors reaches final stages
Everyone who completes the second stage of training for language immersion programme advisors will be issued with a certificate of graduation. In the course of the training, those taking part introduced practice exercises in their kindergartens and schools. The action plan for the launch of the counselling system and a description of the role of the advisor are being developed in parallel with the training, under the guidance of the Open Mind Institute. The advisory concept of the language immersion programme is also being refined.
Regional information days for schools and kindergartens will be held prior to the launch of the counselling system.
For further information please contact:
Made Pandis, Language Immersion Centre
Language immersion programme strategy 2008–2013 almost complete
The language immersion programme strategy 2009–2013 is nearing completion in the Language Immersion Centre. Development of the strategy has involved the programme’s steering committee, the heads of the educational institutes that have joined the programme, employees of the Language Immersion Centre, experts on the language immersion programme and representatives of local governments.
The general strategy – that language immersion should be widespread in Estonia as a high-quality programme bringing language and other subject studies together – will be broken down into five more specific strategic objectives.
Regional meetings will be held to perfect the wording of the strategy and finalise the responsibilities of the local governments and agencies involved in the programme in implementing the strategy.
For further information please contact:
Marju Randlepp, Language Immersion Centre
Courses in Estonian as a second language set to begin for tertiary students
The Integration Foundation has launched cooperation with the Estonian Aviation Academy, the Estonian Maritime Academy and the Estonian Public Service Academy to organise additional Estonian language courses for their students who speak Russian as a mother tongue. The courses are designed to help the students develop the professional Estonian skills they will need in the workforce.
Preparations are currently being made for the courses in association with the Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tallinn University, Tallinn University of Technology and the Virumaa College of Tallinn University of Technology, the Estonian Academy of Arts, the University of Tartu and the Narva College of the University of Tartu and Tallinn Health College.
The courses are being organised as part of the ‘Language Studies Development 2007–2010’ programme, a measure of the ‘Lifelong Learning’ priority of the ‘Human Resources Development Plan’ financed by the European Social Fund.
For further information please contact:
Ave Osman, Lifelong Learning Unit
Three youth events scheduled for the next six weeks
A youth conference entitled ‘Are you ready?’ will be held in Viinistu on 31 October and 1 November. 100 young people of different nationalities are expected to attend the event. There will be a general discussion on democracy and the values it entails, as well as workshops looking at the state of youth today and issues that are important to young people: education, the future, relationships, health and addictions and making the world a better place.
The City of the Future game will be played in Pärnu on 12 and 13 November. Students from schools with Estonian and Russian as the languages of instruction will work with officials to find solutions to key social problems. The way in which the game works was developed by the British Council in order to involve residents in community development work.
An inclusion-themed seminar is due to be held in Tallinn on 5 and 6 December for members of regional youth groups. A range of organisations and institutions will be promoting their inclusion activities at the event, during which attendees will be issued with the Estonian National Youth Council’s Inclusion Anthology, reprinted with the support of the European Social Fund.
All three of these events are being organised as part of the ‘Language Studies Development 2007–2010’ programme, a measure of the ‘Lifelong Learning’ priority of the ‘Human Resources Development Plan’ financed by the European Social Fund.
For further information please contact:
Lianne Ristikivi, Culture and Youth Work Unit
6700 Estonian-language and 2000 Russian-language Citizen’s Handbooks issued in September
The fourth print-run of the new edition of the handbook was primarily distributed to general education schools, but also to vocational schools and libraries. The Citizen’s Handbook provides updated information about how the state is run and dealing with state agencies. New topics have also been included in the latest edition, and links are provided to institutions and organisations from which more information can be obtained if required. A significant addition compared to previous publications is a list of key terms, which makes using the handbook much easier.
Publication of the new edition was funded by the Ministry of the Interior and its distribution supported by the Ministry of Education and Research. The book was published by the Integration Foundation.
For further information please contact:
Tea Tammistu, Citizens Education Unit
PROCUREMENTS AND COMPETITIONS
Simplified public tender for the development of professional language subject programmes
The ‘Development of subject programmes for professional language’ tender will see the production of programmes for computer servicing, automatics, car mechanics, electricians and electrical equipment, the organisation of transport, general construction, construction finishing, bakers and confectioners, environmental technology locksmiths and metal industry workers. Each programme will comprise a description of the professional language skill requirements, a list of the minimum required vocabulary and expressions, the study programme and the evaluation guidelines forming the basis for the targeted teaching of the professional language.
The professional language subject programmes will be of support to teachers of Estonian as a second language from vocational education institutions in the effective teaching of professional language so that graduates are able to pass vocational examinations in Estonian and take up work in an Estonian-language environment.
The programmes are being developed as part of the ‘Language Studies Development 2007–2010’ programme, a measure of the ‘Lifelong Learning’ priority of the ‘Human Resources Development Plan’ financed by the European Social Fund.
The procurement competition is open until 17 November.
For further information please contact:
Reet Kallo, Lifelong Learning Unit
Simplified public tender for worker exchanges designed to increase Estonian skills
The aim of this procurement is to create a variety of flexible opportunities for adults with mother tongues other than the national language to learn Estonian to the level necessary for them to be able to cope in their everyday and professional lives.
With the support of the European Social Fund, short Estonian language courses will be held for teachers, police officials, medical workers, prison officers, library workers and public servants who speak languages other than Estonian as well as worker exchanges with colleagues from Estonian-language environments.
The procurement competition is being organised as part of the ‘Language Studies Development 2007–2010’ programme, a measure of the ‘Lifelong Learning’ priority of the ‘Human Resources Development Plan’ financed by the European Social Fund.
The competition is open until 10 November.
For further information about the competition see.
For further information please contact:
Tea Kotkas, Lifelong Learning Unit
Estonian language camp project competition
The project competition for 2009 language camps will be launched in November. Organisations who arrange youth camp exchanges and project camps are invited to take part in the competition. Programme-based projects as part of which camp activities can be conducted all year round will be preferred.
The procurement represents the first part of a two-part competition. The second part will be launched in spring. Organisations which are supported in the first round will not be able to take part in the second round (in spring 2009). A project competition for the organisation of family studies will also be launched in spring.
The competition guidelines will be available from the Integration Foundation website or from the project manager lianne.ristikivi (at) meis.ee once the competition has been launched.
For further information please contact:
Lianne Ristikivi, Culture and Youth Work Unit
