23 Estonian cultural associations abroad to receive grants from Estonia
As a part of Estonia’s national development plan “Countrymen programme 2014-2020," the country's Integration and Migration Foundation “Our People” is granting a total of 40,000€ of support to 23 selected projects relating to Estonian culture abroad.
According to a press release, the competition, organized by the foundation for the support of Estonian cultural associations abroad, received a total of 41 applications from 14 countries, of which seven projects are slated to receive the full amount for which the applied, and an additional 16 will be receiving partial funding from the foundation.
“The competition is designed to support the preservation of Estonian language and culture among foreign Estonian communities,” Anne-Ly Reimaa, Undersecretary for Cultural Diversity at the Estonian Ministry of Culture, adding that it was also meant to contribute to efforts to keep Estonian culture and awareness of it alive beyond the country’s own borders.
Reimaa noted that projects receiving support this year included a number of events promoting Estonian culture and celebrating days of importance to Estonian people, as well as guest performances by folk dance groups and choirs both in Estonia and abroad.
Among winning projects, the Society for Estonian Culture in Berlin will be receiving funds to support Estonian culture days taking place in mid-April; the Luxembourgish Estonian Society will similarly be supported in the organization of an Estonian cultural heritage day this fall. A grant from the program allowed the annual Estonian Cultural Days in NYC to invite singer Marko Matvere to perform in New York in late March. The Estonian community in Toronto has also received a grant to support the organization of an exhibition as well as accompanying concert and mass in honor of Estonian composer, conductor, and longtime Toronto resident Roman Toi’s 100th birthday.
Other recipients of funding through the competition include “Kaja”, the mixed choir of the St. Petersburg Estonian Cultural Society and the city’s St. John congregation, for its participation in concerts to be held in Rakvere and Väike-Maarja this year, as well as the Stockholm Estonian Mixed Choir, for its participation in the Swedish-Estonian Song and Dance Festival in Haapsalu this summer. The Greek-Estonian Cultural Society will be receiving support for an event promoting Estonian film’s biggest recent success stories as well.
A number of winning projects to be supported by the program are aimed specifically at children and young people as well, including the Estonian School in London’s cinema camp, organized in collaboration with Estonian nonprofit “Kinobuss”, as well as a six-day language and cultural camp being organized in Helsinki this summer for youth ages 7-12 by the cultural association AnnilLa RY.
A total of 41 applications were received from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States; the combined amount of funding for which all projects applied totaled over 130,000€. The full list of winning projects to be fully or partially funded by the program this year can be found on the Integration and Migration Foundation’s website (link in Estonian).
The objective of Estonia’s national development plan “Countrymen programme 2014-2020” is to support the preservation and development of Estonian culture outside of Estonia. The program is being financed by the Ministry of Education and Research as well as the Ministry of Culture.
Editor: Editor: Aili Sarapik