Activists Denounce Tallinn's Plan to Close Youth Center
The National Youth Council sent Tallinn city council a letter, asking it to call off a plan that would dissolve Tallinn Youth Work Center and reorganize it under the administration of eight city districts.
Tallinn’s youth outreach centers offer young people a place to go for recreational activities, career services and opportunities. Youth activists assert that it is short-sighted to cut youth services that mitigate social problems during a time when youth unemployment is at record highs.
The National Youth Council said getting rid of Tallinn’s unified youth center, which comprises seven branches, will not save money. Stand-alone district youth centers cost the city 9,600 euros more, according to the 2009 budget, and the difference was even larger this year, the association argued.
Last year, the capital’s unified youth center was able to rake in 51,130 euros of non-city money from domestic funders, while the district centers together received only 4,150 euros. Tallinn Youth Work Center also received another 42,500 euros from foreign supporters, while district centers did not receive any funding, according to National Youth Council chairman Ott Heidmets.
Closing the doors and dividing up Tallinn’s unified youth center would have a negative impact on the coordination of shared resources, Heidmets added. Instead, the National Youth Council proposes that district youth centers in Mustamäe, Haabersti, Kose and Mähe unify under a single umbrella organization.
Tallinn is recognized by the UNICEF as a youth-friendly city.