LIVE at 19.00 from Toronto | Pre-election town hall on diaspora issues
Representatives of seven parties are meeting at the Estonian House in Toronto for a pre-election town hall. They will talk about how the Estonian government can better cooperate and communicate with the existing global community of Estonians to create a strong global Estonian identity, regardless of where they live and what languages they speak.
The discussion starts at 19.00 Estonian time. ERR News is providing a live video link to the event in the YouTube player below.
Participants are:
- Meelis Niinepuu for Estonia 200
- Urmas Reinsalu for Pro Patria/Isamaa
- Imre Sooäär for the Centre Party
- Jaak Madison for the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE)
- Eerik-Niiles Kross for the Reform Party
- Sven Mikser for the Social Democrats
- Andres Herkel for the Free Party
The event is organised by the Estonian Central Council in Canada in cooperation with the union of Swedish Estonians, the Estonian American National Council, the Association of Australian Estonian Societies and the Estonian World Council.
"More than 200,000 Estonians live outside Estonia," the organisers say. "To preserve the Estonian people and culture, no matter where in the world, it is important that the Estonian government and the global Estonian community start an active debate how to stand for the interests and aims of Estonia and Estonian people around the world, and how to help and support each other."
According to Marcus Kolga, one of the community's most active members in Toronto, global Estonians have a lot to offer and plenty of experience in business, culture and foreign policy. The Republic of Estonia could tap into this resource and use it in the future, and also gain e-residents through this network, Mr Kolga argues.
Editor: Dario Cavegn
