NEWS
National Culture Society project competition
The national culture society project competition came to an end on 27 August. The aim of the competition was to support the promotion of the languages and cultures of national minorities in Estonia.
The projects submitted have been designed to keep people in Estonia informed about national minority culture societies and their activities and to foster cooperation between culture societies in the country.
51 projects were submitted. The results of the competition will be announced in September. Project activities will last until June 2009. They will be financed by the State Chancellery.
For further information please contact:
Kristina Pirgop
Culture and Youth Work Unit
Evaluation of national minority culture societies
In September the Office of the Minister for Population Affairs will be initiating evaluation of the umbrella organisations and members of the umbrella organisations of national minority culture societies applying for base financing. In the course of evaluation the umbrella organisations and their members will be assessed in terms of whether they comply with the conditions for base financing (see www.rahvastikuminister.ee).
Based on UNESCO’s definition of intellectual heritage, activities which directly reflect the nature and characteristics of a national minority will be established as activities related to intellectual heritage as part of base financing. These are primarily language, music, singing, dancing, handicrafts, observance of traditions and customs, knowledge of nature and the world and the organisation and celebration of folk festivities.
In order to be evaluated umbrella organisations must submit a list of their members on the form provided to aleksandr.aidarov@riigikantselei.ee. The form is available from www.rvke.ee.
A committee has been formed to carry out the evaluation, made up of representatives of the Office of the Minister for Population Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and Research, the Integration Foundation, Tallinn City Government and the Network of Estonian Non-Profit Organisations. The committee will review the articles of association, B-cards and 2007 annual reports of the organisations submitting applications and check that their previous agreements have been fulfilled.
Meetings will be held between the committee and representatives of the umbrella organisations until 25 September 2008 for the provision of feedback and the elimination of any shortcomings.
The Integration Foundation will launch a round of applications for the base financing of national minority culture societies in October 2008 in which those organisations which have been successfully evaluated may participate.
For further information please contact:
Aleksandr Aidarov, Adviser to the Minister for Population Affairs
Telephone: +372 693 5257
E-mail: aleksandr.aidarov@riigikantselei.ee
New rounds for the submission of proposals for vocational education institutions “Organisation of additional studies of Estonian for vocational students with native languages other than Estonian”
As part of this programme proposals are awaited from schools with regard to how they wish to organise the provision of additional studies of Estonian for their students. The aim is to ensure that as many vocational education institutions as possible are able to develop their teaching of Estonian in different ways based on the needs of and options open to their students. The format and cost of the teaching have not been prescribed. Some schools may wish to provide bridging courses, others summer schools, while others may prefer to build on their work experience programmes or combine their teaching of professional and language skills. All proposals are welcome. What is important is that they comply with the aims of the programme and the description of the activity. Thereafter, working with both experts and schools, we will begin to organise the language studies.
The Integration Foundation will be accepting proposals from vocational education institutions during the following periods:
- 1 September-31 October 2008
- 1 February-31 March 2009
- 1 September-31 October 2009
- 1 February-31 March 2010
Reviewing the ideas submitted by schools, including input from experts, may take a couple of months (depending on the volume of teaching work and the number of proposals received). Schools may submit a number of proposals. What is important is to know that the amount indicated in the budget will not be transferred to the school’s budget, but that the Integration Foundation will order the required services itself.
We would ask that cooperation proposals be submitted on the allocated form and that these be forwarded to us by e-mail by the due date. The proposal form and a description of the programme activity can be found at www.kutsekeel.ee.
For further information please contact:
Edydt Johanson
Lifelong Learning Unit
Results of the Integration Foundation’s “In-Service and Language Training for Non-Estonian Speaking Unemployed People” project
The main aims of this project, which ran for a total of 16 months, were to assist in reducing the level of unemployment and social ostracism among people with native languages other than Estonian and thereby to raise the levels of employment and integration within Estonian society. Job search training, vocational and Estonian language courses, work experience and professional and psychological counselling were offered to participants in order to achieve these aims. In addition to language courses, information days were also held at which attendees were introduced to the conditions of and possibilities available to them in taking the state language examination and in training to get to know and understand how the Estonian constitution and Estonian citizenship works.
The total cost of the project was 6,128,068 kroons, 80% of which was funded by the European Social Fund and 20% co-funded through Estonian public sector financing.
For further information please contact:
Riina Ring
Lifelong Learning Unit
Development of the Integration Foundation’s information systems
The “Support for the Implementation of the National Integration Programme and for the Capacity-Building of Integration-Related Institutions” project has been won by Columbus IT Partner Eesti AS.
The aim of the procurement was to bring the financial management of the Integration Foundation to a new level, modernising and integrating financial management and accounting processes and guaranteeing the information technology solutions required for their effective operation. Another objective was to introduce an electronic document administration system so as to improve the operativeness and effectiveness of administration.
The updated and modernised financial information system will help to guarantee transparent financial management, adequate financial supervision and effective reporting and control systems for the appropriations and resources administered by the foundation.
The activities of the project are being funded from the resources of EU Transitional Support, the State Chancellery and the Ministry of Education.
For further information please contact:
Inna Pusikova
Citizens Education Unit
Development of a consultation system for the language immersion programme
Stage 2 of training for language immersion programme advisers is set to begin, led by the Open Mind Institute. The training will run from September to November 2008. Regional training sessions will be held in Tallinn and Ida-Virumaa. The training will be attended by 42 future language immersion programme advisers, who have already completed a 6-day training course representing Stage 1.
Development of the methodical counselling concept for teachers will continue under the guidance of the Open Mind Institute.
For further information please contact:
Made Pandis
Language Immersion Centre
Language immersion programme for the 2008-2009 academic year
There are language immersion groups in the early language immersion nursery programme in 27 nurseries this academic year. Newcomers to the programme are Vaivara nursery, the Punamütsike and Tuhkatriinu nurseries in Kohtla-Järve and the Päikseke nursery in Sillamäe. Extensive renovation work is being carried out on the Päikese nursery in Narva, so the language immersion groups are continuing on other temporary premises.
No language immersion groups have been opened at Tallinn’s Muhu nursery again this year although it has joined the programme.
Language immersion classes forming part of the early language immersion school programme are continuing in 14 schools. The first graduates of the early language immersion programme (from five classes in four schools) will receive their diplomas in spring.
Language immersion classes forming part of the late language immersion programme are continuing in 17 schools.
Narva Joala School has merged with Narva School no. 6. Narva School no. 6 is ready to continue with the late language immersion programme.
Due to reorganisation as a classics secondary school, Pärnu Hansa Secondary School is no longer taking part in the programme.
Tallinn’s Karjamaa Secondary School, which recently joined the programme, will launch classes in brand new class rooms.
For further information please contact:
Maire Kebbinau
Language Immersion Centre
“Let’s Read Together” series of large-format picture books
All Estonian nurseries have received the “Let’s Read Together” series of large-format picture books for the start of the new academic year, as ordered by the Ministry of Education and Research. The set is aimed at children between the ages of 5 and 7. They provide material for practising vocabulary and developing speech; material and examples for the revision of certain expressions; impulses for the reproduction and development of words and texts; and the joy of improvisation for nursery teachers in presenting sample and listening texts.
All 14 books in the series are eight pages long. Every page features a picture illustrating the aims of the book. Each book therefore comprises eight pictures (illustrations). The pictures are child-friendly, colourful and rich in detail.
The format of the books allows groups of up to 20 children to read them together (and describe the pictures).
For further information please contact:
Maire Kebbinau
Language Immersion Centre
