Culture societies of national minorities can apply for base-line funding
A new simulation game opens the background of cultural integration
More than 600 public sector employees have undergone specialised Estonian language learning courses
Culture societies of national minorities can apply for base-line funding
The Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture announced an application round for the baseline financing of national cultural societies to support with more than 313,100 euro the activities of cultural organisations of national minorities through umbrella organisations.
There are 244 attested national cultural societies and umbrella organisations in Estonia. The objective of the umbrella organisations of the cultural societies of minorities is to introduce the uniqueness of cultures and to support the national cultural societies for the purpose of preserving, promoting and introducing cultural heritage. The cultural societies and umbrella organisations communicate to the society the idea of a multicultural Estonia and develop cooperation with each other as well as with Estonian cultural societies.
Only umbrella organisations and their member organisations that have been attested by the Office of the Minister of Population and Ethnic Affairs in 2008 or by the Ministry of Culture in 2009 can apply for baseline financing. The list of attested societies and umbrella organisations is available here!
Applications must be submitted to the competition by 2 February. The requirements of the competition are available on the MISA homepage.
The project competition is financed by the Ministry of Culture within the framework of the Estonian Integration Strategy 2008−2013.
For further information, please contact Kristina Pirgop, Culture and Youth Work Unit, Coordinator, tel 659 9024, e-mail kristina.pirgop@meis.ee.
A new simulation game opens the background of cultural integration
The Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) initiated the development of the “Sources” simulation game that may be used as a learning tool in understanding the ideas of cultural integration.
The game is primarily designed to be used at the upper secondary school level during regular lessons but it is also ideal for a younger age group. The game can be utilised in work with students or during adult refresher courses.
The game lasts for about 90 minutes and the optimal number of players is 6−30 people.
“The game allows for discussion on the most important aspects of cultural integration and to see them from a new viewpoint. What the players gain from the experience are new perspectives and a wish to examine integration topics more deeply in future,” explained Maarja Mänd, the Coordinator of the Language Immersion Unit of MISA.
“This is the most significant difference of a simulation game compared to common teaching methods. Although the players will not gain a thorough and complete overview of the various aspects of cultural integration by simply playing the Source game, playing this game will definitely improve the understanding of the theoretical discussions and debates in society on this topic,” added Mänd.
Information days introducing the simulation game will be held on 3 February in Tallinn and on 10 February in Narva.
The creator of the game is Ivar Männamaa from the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy and the co-creators are professor Raivo Vetik (Tallinn University) and docent Innar Liiv (Tallinn University of Technology). The design and product development was managed by Tartu Art School. The production of the game is financed by the Ministry of Education and Research within the framework of the Estonian Integration Strategy 2008−2013.
For further information and registration to the information days, please contact Maarja Mänd, Language Immersion Unit, Coordinator, tel 659 9853, e-mail maarja.mand@meis.ee.
More than 600 public sector employees have undergone specialised Estonian language learning courses
In 2011, the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) organised Estonian specialised language learning courses for 604 public sector employees to the tune of more than 155,000 euro.
Face-to-face learning and collective training visits were conducted in 60−120 academic study hours during 27 different training courses. In addition, the employees received individual tuition in the form of in-service training, mentor learning and learning trips.
Medical staff, police officers, rescue workers, teachers and other employees of educational institutions, care workers, employees of youth centres, hobby schools, culture institutions and public sector employees took part in language learning.
“Active learning methods are employed during the courses – for example true to life role play and simulation games because often the participants do not have the courage to express themselves spontaneously. To that end, the teachers create appropriate situations and tasks that encourage more active learning,“ commented Jana Tondi, the Coordinator of the Lifelong Learning Unit of MISA.
“It could be said that during a class the learners mostly speak and the teacher acts in the capacity of a conductor that encourages, instructs and directs and corrects errors only if truly necessary,“ added Tondi.
MISA has been assisting public sector language learning with the support of the European Social Fund since 2007. From 2007−2010, 1,235 participants successfully attended language training and 176 people participated in workforce exchange. The activities were supported with more than 8.9 million EEK.
The activities in 2011 were implemented within the framework of the programme "Language Learning Development 2011−2013" of the measure “Language Learning Development” of the priority axis “Lifelong Education” of the Human Resource Development Operational Programme. The language learning activities will continue in 2012.
For further information, please contact Jana Tondi, Lifelong Education Unit, Coordinator, 659 9069, e-mail jana.tondi@meis.ee.
