On 11 November, Tallinn will host the international integration conference ‘Fragmented World, One Cherished Home’, which will bring together researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners from Estonia and abroad. The conference organised by the Integration Foundation will discuss how to strengthen social cohesion at a time when geopolitical tensions and deepening polarisation are putting people’s trust and sense of belonging to the test. The conference will be broadcast live in Estonian, English, and Russian.
According to Marianna Makarova, programme director of the integration conference, the focus of the conference is on how to hold society together at a time when differing views and tensions are putting cohesion to the test. ‘The strength of a society depends on whether people feel they are part of it and trust one another. In times of tension, it is particularly important to understand what creates trust and what breaks it. At the conference, we will bring together experiences from different countries and research results to discuss how to strengthen cohesion in people’s everyday lives – in communities, in the workplace, and in a common information space,’ she said.
The conference will be opened by Heidy Purga, Minister of Culture, and Dmitri Moskovtsev, Director of the Integration Foundation, and the conference day will be moderated by Anna Karolin.
Speakers include Dietlind Stolle, professor of political science at McGill University in Canada, who will discuss the resilience of democracy and what happens when democratic principles conflict with security, priorities of political parties, or the protection of identity. Silvia Kakembo, deputy CEO of the Swedish think tank Arenagruppen and co-founder of Integrationsbyrån, explains how the experiences of 200 migrants were turned into specific proposals to improve integration policy.
Kristīne Kļukoviča, Deputy Director of the Latvian Society Integration Foundation, will present the social cohesion radar of the Latvian society, while Kristjan Kaldur, expert at the Institute of Baltic Studies, will present the results of the interim evaluation of the Estonian adaptation programme.
Throughout the day, interactions between communities, the media, and the information space will also be discussed – how they can strengthen trust between and when they may deepen isolation and prejudice.
As part of the conference, a debate between Estonia’s parliamentary parties will take place, entitled ‘Votes at the expense of social cohesion?’, moderated by Indrek Treufeldt journalist and lecturer at Tallinn University. The debate will address the responsibility of politicians in creating conflicts between social groups, and the impact of pointed messages on social cohesion. Through the topics of migration, security, and citizenship, an answer is sought to the question of where the line lies between defending one’s own views and disparaging those of others, and how to keep political debate fair while engaging with different groups of voters.
The conference will take place on 11 November at the Hilton Park Hotel Tallinn. Registration for attendance in person has now closed. The conference can be followed via a live webcast in Estonian, English, and Russian.
For a more detailed conference programme, please visit the website of the Integration Foundation.
