Young Estonians from around the world connecting with their roots in summer camps
Youngsters from all over the globe will come to Estonia this summer to take part in the language and culture camps to help young Estonians who live abroad to connect with their roots.
The first group arrived in the country last week to take part in the 10-day camps which will take place in June, July and August and have been organized by the Integration and Migration Foundation along with the NPO HeadEast.
In total, 88 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 from 21 different countries will attend the four sessions in Viljandi County and Lääne County.
Marina Fanfora, a coordinator with the Implementation Centre of the Integration Foundation, said: “The aim of these camps for kids with Estonian heritage who live outside of the country is to offer them the chance to learn Estonian while speaking to people their own age in a relaxed camp environment, as well to showcase the country’s heritage and cultural history," adding that the years of experience organizing such courses have shown that these camps help those who live abroad appreciate and hold onto their heritage and their connection with Estonia. “They make friends at the camps, and that helps embed the language skills they learn and makes it easier for them to retain them.”
Teenagers will be coming from Europe, Mexico, the USA, Georgia Russia and the United Kingdom.
The camps are being financed by the Ministry of Education and Research and by the Ministry of Culture through the ‘Countrymen program 2014-2020’.
A total of 381 such youngsters took part in the camps held between 2009 and 2014.
Editor: H. Wright