Between 165,000 and 200,000 Estonians are estimated to live outside the country right now, accounting for some 15-20 percent of the total number of Estonians worldwide.

With many diaspora communities located throughout the world, both in English-speaking countries and beyond, ERR News, in conjunction with the Integration Foundation (Integratsiooni Sihtasutus), has launched a weekly Global Estonian Report which will provide a weekly window into Estonian communities and culture from all over the globe.

Application round open to support publications of Estonian communities abroad

A new grant program was opened this week to support and strengthen the sustainability of periodical publications of Estonian foreign communities. Each applicant can submit one application (the maximum grant amount is €7,000).

The application round is financed by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and organized by the Integration Foundation. The deadline to apply is April 8.

Estonian-language newspapers and magazines were essential in providing news and information to newly arrived Estonian refugees in disapora communities around the world after World War II.

Although disapora publications have moved primarily to digital, newspapers and magazines still in print to this day include: Eesti Rada (Germany, 1945), Vaba Eesti Sõna (USA, 1949), Meie Elu (Canada, 2002 - a merger of two newspapers from the early 1950s), and Rahvuslik Kontakt (Sweden, 1957).

Estonia has the eighth most powerful passport in the world

The Estonian passport is the eighth most powerful passport in the world, granting visa-free access to 187 countries and territories, according to the 2024 global ranking of the Henley Passport Index.

In 2023, Estonia was ranked 12th, with its passport offering visa-free access to 181 countries and territories. The year before, the country was ranked tenth, with the same number of countries accessible.

A memorial to the mass flight of 1944 to be erected in Pärnu

September 2024 will mark the 80th anniversary of the Suurpõgenemine (mass flight to the West in 1944), when 80,000 Estonian citizens were forced to flee ahead of the second Russian occupation. 

Those war refugees went on to form the Estonian diaspora communities in countries around the world such as Sweden, Canada, the United States, and Australia.

On the initiative of Estonians abroad, a memorial to the mass flight of 1944, created by sculptor Elo Liiv, is planned to be opened in Pärnu on September 21 this year. The memorial will be erected on the left bank of the Pärnu river near the Kesklinna bridge. Around 10,000 of the 80,000 refugees fled through Pärnu.

The Suurpõgenemise '44 committee of the Estonian World Council (ÜEKN) is heading the initiative.

Upcoming Events

Grants and Scholarships (March-April, worldwide)

There are currently a number of grants, competitions, and scholarships open that are specifically intended for the Estonian diaspora and Estonians living abroad.

Apply now and help preserve Estonian identity, language and culture wherever you happen to live!

ESTO SKI (March 7-10, Mont Tremblant)

ESTO SKI is headed back to Mont-Tremblant to celebrate its 60th anniversary. Join us on the French-Canadian slopes from March 7 through March 10, 2024.

Organized by the Eesti Spordiliit USAs.

Language Roulette: virtual conversations (March 12, online)

Language Roulette (Keelerulett) invites you to practice Estonian online! We meet virtually on Zoom in the format of short conversations. We chat in Estonian for a limited time in a random group. A positive and open atmosphere guaranteed.

Language Roulette is organized and hosted by the Integration Foundation.

Language Cafes (every Tuesday and Thursday, Tallinn)

Informal but organized gatherings, often called language cafes (keelekohvikud in Estonian), have become increasingly popular as a means of learning and practicing Estonian in a relaxed, independent environment.

Organized by the International House of Estonia.

What is Global Estonian?

Global Estonian is an online portal, in Estonian and English, and network for Estonians and friends of Estonians around the world.

Managed by the Integration Foundation, Global Estonian brings together news, events, culture, organizations, support programs, learning opportunities and a wealth of other information from Estonian communities abroad, all in one central gateway.

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