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General information
Citizens Day quiz awaits participants
‘Creative people – successful nation’ is the motto of Citizens Day 2009.
From 23 to 29 November students from years 7 to 12 in general education schools with Estonian and Russian as the languages of instruction and students from vocational schools providing general secondary education are invited to take part in an online Citizens Day quiz. Students can take part in the quiz via the website of the Integration Foundation at www.meis.ee.
The quiz comprises 50 questions in Estonian related to the country’s constitution, its constitutional institutions, human and civic rights, freedoms, obligations and events – all subjects which are related to civic awareness.
Some questions come with links to legal texts and other sources of information, while others are provided with multiple-choice answers. The highest score possible in the quiz is 70 points.
The winners of the quiz will be announced in six categories: students from years 7 to 9, students from years 10 to 12 and students from vocational schools with Estonian or Russian as the languages of instruction, respectively. The schools with the largest number of participating students will also receive prizes. An extra quiz for the winners and the awards ceremony will be held at the end of February to coincide with Independence Day.
This year’s Citizens Day quiz is the seventh to be conducted. As part of the previous six, students have answered a total of more than 300 questions. The explanatory teaching materials accompanying the quiz have proven very popular in social studies lessons.
For further information please contact: Toivo Sikk, Coordinator, Multicultural Education Unit / Telephone:
‘Experience trains us’ project competition comes to a close
As a result of the competition the Integration Foundation allocated a total of 599,669 kroons in support to two projects. The recipients of this support were Tallinn University and the Ristikhein nursery school in Tartu.
The projects are designed to train 50 local government education officials and teachers from preschool institutions so as to prepare them for the intake of children who are third-country nationals in Europe into Estonia’s educational institutions. The in-service training is being offered to the teachers by Tallinn University and the University of Tartu, with the course culminating in a study trip to Denmark and Finland.
The projects will last until June 2009.
For further information please contact: Ave Härsing, Coordinator, Multicultural Education Unit / Telephone:
Members of integrated subject and language studies network to meet on 3 November
The Integrated Foundation has established a network for those interested in integrated subject and language studies which by mid-October already had almost 40 members. Those in the network exchange experiences amongst themselves and also work with European specialists.
The first proper meeting of the network will be held on 3 November and examine the ‘Curriculum Development for Content and Language Integrated Learning’ project (further information about which is available online athttp://clil-cd.ecml.at/ProjectDescription/tabid/929/language/en-GB/Default.aspx).
The materials from the October seminar held in Graz will also be discussed at the meeting, as well as the future tasks of the network and its forms of cooperation based not only on the application of integrated studies in Estonia but also questions raised in the course of the project.
For further information please contact:Edydt Johanson, Coordinator, Lifelong Learning Unit / Telephone:
20 consultation seminars in local governments
A series of one-day consultation seminars will begin in November which will be taking place in a total of 20 local government areas. The seminars are being held as part of the “Defining the role of local governments in implementation of the activities outlined in the Estonian integration programme for 2008–2013” procurement.
The measures, schedule and funding scheme of the Estonian integration programme for 2008–2013 and its implementation plan will be discussed at the seminars. The obligations of different agencies in implementing the programme will be examined separately, outlining the contribution each agency will make and its influence on the results of the programme, focussing on the potential contribution that can be made at the local government level in launching the strategy.
The seminars will provide material for the drafting of specific proposals for changes and additions to the integration programme and its implementation plan (activities whose launch can be delegated to the local government level) and for the development of a potential financing mechanism.
The seminars are being organised by the non-profit organisation the Institute of Baltic Studies, the Geomedia consultation centre and the Praxis Centre for Policy Studies. The project is being financed through the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals.
For further information please contact: Ruslan Prohhorenko, Coordinator, Civic Education Unit / Telephone:
Invitation to take part in the “Language immersion Wednesdays” seminars
The Multicultural Education Unit of the Integration Foundation is organising a series of methodology seminars designed for teachers and directors from language immersion nursery schools.
The series comprises six study days, with a different topic being discussed each day. Every day begins with a visit to a language immersion group at a nursery school and then continues with training.
Seminar schedule
For further information and registration please contact: Svetlana Belova, Coordinator, Multicultural Education Unit / Telephone:
Procurements and competitions
“Intercultural communication” project competition
The aim of the competition is to create an environment at the state and local government level for third-country nationals which support integration by increasing the competence of state and local government officials in the area of intercultural communication. The deadline for applications is 4.00 pm on 11 November 2009.
The competition will support the development and organisation of a training programme for state and local government officials.
Applications can be submitted by private and public legal entities registered in Estonia.
The competition is being financed by the Ministry of Culture and through the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals.
For further information please contact: Ruslan Prohhorenko, Coordinator, Civic Education Unit / Telephone:
“Brainstorming for a more successful Estonia!” project competition
The competition is designed to develop dialogue between citizens of the European Union and third-country nationals residing in the European Union (including Estonian residents with undetermined citizenship) on important social issues. The deadline for applications is 2.00 pm on 16 November 2009.
The competition will support public debates designed for Estonian citizens and citizens of third countries in Europe. Applications for support can be submitted by non-profit organisation and foundations registered in Estonia.
The competition is being financed by the Ministry of Culture and through the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals.
For further information please contact: Kersti Peterson, Coordinator, Civic Education Unit / Telephone:
“Estonian language courses in Harju County” project competition
The “Estonian language courses in Harju County” project competition has been launched. Applications for the competition can be submitted by companies that provide Estonian language training. The deadline for applications is 4.00 pm on 25 November 2009.
The competition is designed to support the integration of citizens of third countries in Europe, including those with undefined citizenship, into Estonian society and to contribute to ensuring a stable rate of naturalisation in the country. The direct objective of the competition is to organise 200-hour language courses in Harju County in 2010 bridging the gap between the A2 and B1 levels.
Applications for support can be submitted by any legal entities that meet the terms and conditions of the competition. These are available on the Integration Foundation website.
The competition is being financed by the Ministry of Culture and through the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals.
For further information please contact: Tea Tammistu, Coordinator, Civic Education Unit / Telephone:
Migration Foundation and Integration Foundation to merge
Press release of Ministry of the Interior
On 29 October the Estonian government approved a bill drafted by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Culture, which will lead to the merger of the Estonian Migration Foundation and the Integration Foundation by 1 January 2010.
“This merger will bring together two very closely related fields and produce a fully incorporated organisation – one which will be able to answer all of your questions about migration and integration issues,” said Minister of the Interior Marko Pomerants. The minister added that the merger also represented a significant cost-cutting measure for the state.
The forecast saving on administrative costs related to the payment of migration benefits is 500,000 croons, which will mainly be made in staff, rent and accounting.
Kert Valdaru, the director of the Migration Foundation, says that what is most important in terms of the merger is the objective in doing so. “It will prevent further doubling-up of tasks and lead to a number of joint solutions, such as support for the teaching of Estonian to non-Estonians and Estonians who have returned to the country.”
Tanel Mätlik, the director of the Integration Foundation, says his foundation boasts more than ten years’ experience in organising integration-based activities, including general and in-service training. “At the same time though, we haven’t been able to support the language learning of Estonians who have returned to the country so far because of the restrictions put in place by funding programmes. Given that Estonian language studies are one of the benefits paid out by the Migration Foundation finances from state budget resources to returning Estonians, that’s one more option we’ll have to work with.”
The newly merged agency will go by the name of the Our People Integration and Migration Foundation. The name expresses the idea of the tasks of the two foundations coming together, focussing on the inclusion not only of Estonians and non-Estonians, but those who have migrated to the country.
One of the functions of the Migration Foundation is representing Estonia within the European Migration Network. This function will be assumed by the Estonian Defence Academy as of 1 January 2010. The academy will itself begin to systematise and intermediate the practical information required for carrying out migration-based studies and research work.
According to the bill, the principal objective of the Integration and Migration Foundation will be the payment of integration and migration-related benefits and gathering the resources required to do so. Further tasks of the joint foundation will be to promote integration processes in Estonia, to coordinate activities related to immigration and emigration, to publish information in this regard and to produce overviews.
The Ministry of Culture will be established by government order as the authority exercising founder’s rights over the Integration and Migration Foundation.
The new foundation will operate out of the current offices of the Integration Foundation at Liimi 1 in Tallinn.
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06.06.2018
