From January 2026 to March 2027, the Integration Foundation will offer adults with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds living in Estonia the opportunity to participate in study trips starting in Tallinn and Narva. The aim of the study trips is to improve Estonian language skills and strengthen ties with the Estonian state and cultural space.

Content and purpose of study trips

The study trips are aimed at adults living in Estonia who come from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, whose native language is not Estonian, but who wish to learn and practise Estonian in an everyday environment. The plan is to visit cultural sites and museums, entertainment venues, and cultural institutions that offer insight into Estonian culture, customs, and traditions. The programme includes active learning activities both in museums and during bus rides.

Practical information and registration

From January 2026 to March 2027, there will be 36 study trips departing from Tallinn and 24 study trips departing from Narva, each of which can be attended by up to 40 people with a basic level of Estonian language skills. All study trips are one-day trips and usually take place on weekends. Participation is free.

Trips from Narva start at Peetri Square, with additional stops in nearby centres – Jõhvi and Sillamäe – to enable wider participation.

Trips from Tallinn start at Mere pst 5.

You can find all the necessary information and register on the online self-service portal of the foundation, which can be accessed via this link: https://iseteenindus.integratsioon.ee/login

Attention! Only those who have registered in advance can participate in a study trip. In order to ensure the smooth running of the event and to comply with the rules of the donor, we cannot allow unregistered persons to board the bus.

We open groups on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

Destinations and programmes of study trips from Tallinn

·       Tartu: Guided tour to the Estonian National Museum. Tour of Aparaaditehas. Guided tour of the Vanemuine Theatre. A walk on Toomemägi and in the Old Town of Tartu.

·       Narva: Visit to the Narva Art Gallery. Visit to Alexander’s Church and church tower in Narva. A stroll through the Old Town of Narva. Guided tour of Narva Museum.

·       Viljandi: Guided tours of the Kondas Centre and Ugala Theatre. Tour of Viljandi Castle Park and visit to the Estonian Traditional Music Centre.

·       Järva County: Guided tours to A. H. Tammsaare Museum in Vargamäe, the Wittenstein Activity Museum, the Estonian Broadcasting Museum, and the Estonian Dairy Museum.

·       The Onion Route – Guided tours of the Kodavere Heritage Centre, the Old Believers Museum in Kolkja, and the Varnja Samovar House.

·       Western Harju County: Guided tours of the Rummu Quarry, Padise Monastery, Risti Church, and the Arvo Pärt Centre, and a stroll in Keila-Joa Park and along the cliffed coast and near the lighthouse of Pakri.

·       Kohtla-Järve: Guided tours of the Sillamäe Museum, Kohtla Mining Park Museum, a walk at Valaste Falls, and a tour of Maidla Manor and Aidu Water Sports Center.

·       Rakvere: Guided tours of Rakvere Theatre, Rakvere Castle, Vallimägi Hill, and the town of Rakvere.

·       Haapsalu: Guided tours of Ilon’s Wonderland, Haapsalu Castle, Rannarootsi Museum, and the Railway and Communications Museum.

·       Pärnu: Guided tours of the Endla Theatre in Pärnu, Pärnu Museum, and Koidula Museum. Visit to Pärnu Central Library and Pärnu Concert Hall, followed by a walk on the beach.

Destinations and programmes of study trips from Narva:

·       Tartu: Guided tours of the Estonian National Museum, Tartu Toy Museum, and a walk in the Old Town of Tartu.

·       Lääne-Viru County: Guided tours of Rakvere Theatre, Rakvere Castle, Sagadi Manor and Forest Museum, and a visit to Kadrina Church.

·       Southern Järva County: Guided tours of the Estonian Dairy Museum, Olustvere Manor, and the Stroller Museum in Käru.

·       Northern Järva County: Guided tours of the Wittenstein Activity Museum, Järva County Museum, Estonian Broadcasting Museum, and Anna Church.

·       Tallinn: Guided tours of the Estonian Museum of Architecture and the Seaplane Harbour, and a walk around the Balti Jaam Market and Telliskivi area.

·       Valga County: Guided tours of Sangaste Castle, Valga War Museum, and Helme Order Castle and a walk in Tõrva.

·       Viljandi County: Guided tours of the Kondas Centre and the town of Viljandi, including visits to the castle hills and suspension bridge. A walk along the Viljandi urban nature trail.

·       The coast of Lääne-Viru County: Guided tour of the Käsmu Sea Museum. Hike in Altja. Introduction to Võsu and the coastal village. Tour of Vihula Manor.

·       Western Harju County: Visit to Rummu Quarry and prison museum. Guided tour of Padise Monastery and Arvo Pärt Centre. A walk in Keila-Joa Park.

·       Jõgeva: Guided tour of the Betti Alver Museum and Kalevipoeg Museum, followed by a walk around Jõgeva.

The study trips are organised by Õppekeskus OÜ. Additional information: Janus Paurman: email janus.paurman@gmail.com, phone 56604379.

The study trips offer a great opportunity to discover Estonia, learn the language, and deepen your connection with Estonian culture. Come and join us on a journey of language and culture!

The activities have been co-financed by the Swiss Confederation to reduce economic and social disparities in the European Union. 

More than ten years before moving to Estonia, Furkan Öztürk had already found his way here—through music. As a young man in Turkey, he became an avid listener of Metsatöll, an Estonian folk metal band whose songs sparked his curiosity about a country he had never visited. 

Today, Furkan calls Estonia home. He lives here with his Estonian wife, Ksenia, and their two chihuahuas, Sipsik and Punja, building a life that blends his Turkish roots with Estonian traditions. Between discovering Estonia’s bakeries and practicing the language at every opportunity, Furkan shares humorous cultural insights with his growing audience on Instagram.

A Heavy Metal Prelude to the North

Furkan’s connection to Estonia began as a purely emotional one. In the early 2010s, while exploring music beyond his usual hip-hop playlists, he stumbled upon Nordic folk metal.

“I was searching for folk rock and found Korpiklaani from Finland, then I saw Metsatöll,” he recalls. The music stayed with him so strongly that he even reached out to the band on Facebook, asking if they would ever perform in Turkey. They said no—but the seeds of interest in Northern Europe’s culture, its climate, and its languages were sown. “It was very interesting for me because it was so different from what I knew,” he says.

From eBay Turkey to the Silicon Valley of the Baltics

Although Metsatöll was Furkan’s first point of contact with Estonia, it would not be his last. As he started to learn more about entrepreneurship and innovation, the country’s name kept coming up again and again.

By the time he started university in 2017, Furkan had developed a strong interest in entrepreneurship. He was accepted into the Turkish Entrepreneurship Foundation—one of just 40 students selected from around 140,000 applicants nationwide. At the same time, he began attending startup-focused events organised by the United Nations and Google, where one word seemed to echo constantly in conversations about digital progress and new ideas.

“Estonia, Estonia, Estonia,” he heard.

While working at eBay Turkey, an unexpected corporate decision opened a new door. When the company announced it was leaving the Turkish market, Furkan took it as a sign to look abroad. 

“I feel I need different cultures in my life,” he says. “My mother is a Greek immigrant but Turkish, my father is Turkish. Multiculturalism is in my DNA.”

He applied for a European Union project and was accepted into Pärnu Huub, an innovation centre on Estonia’s west coast. In February 2023, he moved to Pärnu from Adana, Turkey, ready to dive into Estonian life.

A metal fan meets his heroes

Shortly after arriving, Furkan finally saw Metsatöll live in concert in his new home town.

“I even met them after the concert and we took a selfie together,” he says proudly. “I don’t know if they remembered me, but who writes from Turkey, right?”

His first weeks in Estonia were full of symbolic moments. On 24 February, he joined the Independence Day celebrations in Pärnu.

“As a Turk, I have a deep respect for the independence of other countries. During the Independence Day celebration, I held a huge Estonian flag for hours. I didn’t understand anything people were saying,” he admits. “But later, my friends told me the announcer had said, ‘Our Turkish friend and our Latvian friend, welcome.’ It was really exciting for me.”

Love, languages, and two tiny dogs

Life in Estonia eventually led Furkan to his wife, Ksenia. Their household is a beautiful blend of cultures. Ksenia has Estonian, Russian, and Ukrainian roots.

“We live in a very multicultural home,” Furkan laughs. “Sometimes we speak Estonian, sometimes Russian, sometimes English. She has even started learning Turkish. For me, adaptation comes from respect for the language and history of the country you live in. That’s why I knew I had to start learning Estonian myself, too.”

Their journey has not been without its humorous hurdles. Moving from the spontaneous culture of Turkey to the structured rhythm of life in Estonia required some adjustment. Furkan admits that the Estonian “planning culture” was quite a shock.

“In Turkey, if I see you on the street, I might invite you for tea in two hours. Here, everything needs to be planned. Even for things like going to the hardware store, Ksenia will ask, ‘Why are you telling me this now? We have to make a plan!’” he laughs.

Practicing Estonian in everyday situations

Now living in Tallinn, Furkan is fully committed to building his life in Estonia. He recently passed his A1 Estonian exam with a high score and is moving on to A2, noting that the grammar—adding endings to words and using vowels like “ö” and “ü”—is surprisingly similar to Turkish.

To learn the language, Furkan joined the Settle in Estonia adaptation programme after hearing about it from a Turkish friend, and he quickly came to see it as one of the most valuable steps in his adaptation journey.

“The language courses are not always open—but when you get in, the programme is really helpful and it’s free of charge. The teacher was amazing.”

He insists on using Estonian in everyday interactions, such as ordering at a café, even when locals switch to English to help him. “I try to continue in Estonian,” he says.

“One time I said kohvik instead of kohv,” he laughs. “The cashier was like, ‘What?’ Then I said, Vabandust, üks kohv, palun.”

Building a life

Beyond formal courses, Furkan believes true integration is ultimately a matter of attitude.

“You have to be confident,” he says. “If you don’t make the first step yourself, you will always be a tourist here.”

When learning about Estonian history, something caught his eye. “Sweden was here, Germany was here, the Soviet Union was here—but even through all of that, Estonia protected its language. That is really important. Of course, other languages have had an influence, but Estonians have preserved their own. I respect that a lot.”

He follows Estonian media to stay up to date with the news and spends much of his free time learning about the country’s history. He even listens to Estonian radio. And while Metsatöll will always have a special place for him, he has also started to enjoy other Estonian artists, such as An-Marlen.

Forests, safety, and friendly police

What surprised Furkan most in Estonia was not technology—but calmness.

“When I moved to Pärnu from Turkey, the air felt so fresh,” he says.

On his second day after arriving, he saw police officers near the forest and decided to ask if the area was dangerous.

“They said: ‘Dangerous? No. You can walk everywhere, even at night.’”

In Turkey, people would be much more cautious in these kinds of situations. 

“My friend in Pärnu didn’t even lock his door,” Furkan says. “I was shocked.”

An Instagram bridge between cultures

In the meantime, Furkan has become something of a cultural translator on Instagram.

He creates short videos about his discoveries in Estonia and gives international memes a Baltic twist. “People message me that they love my content because it is relatable,” he says. “Someone from Italy even told me they want to come back to Tallinn because of what they saw on my Instagram account.”

However, he is careful not to offend anyone with his content. “I always ask my Estonian friends if the videos I am planning to share are respectful?”

His goal is simple: to help people understand each other. “I feel I have a responsibility,” he says. “This is a small country. We have to protect it together.”

From metal music to belonging

Today, Furkan’s life in Estonia is far from that of the student in Turkey who once sent hopeful messages to his favourite band on Facebook. Whether he is hunting for the perfect vastlakukkel in Tallinn’s bakeries, filming a new viral clip about Estonian quirks, or walking Sipsik and Punja through the quiet streets of Tallinn, he is no longer just a spectator of the culture he once admired from afar. He is an active part of it.

From the heavy riffs of Metsatöll to the calm, fresh air of Estonian forests, Furkan has found his own rhythm in the North. He remains a proud Turk, but in the small, resilient nation of Estonia, he has found something equally valuable: a place to grow, a community to protect, and a home to call his own—one cup of kohv at a time.

The Settle in Estonia Programme is a free educational programme provided by the Estonian state which is intended to help the foreigners who have arrived in Estonia to adapt and become accustomed to local life more easily. We offer courses for people who have come to live or study in Estonia and have lived here for less than 5 years. For example, war refugees to whom Estonia offers international or temporary protection, as well as people who have come to Estonia to work or do business here or relocate with their family member. The adaptation program The Settle in Estonia Programme is free for participants. We offer language training and other courses to help you cope with everyday life in Estonia. Read more and register: https://integratsioon.ee/en/kohanemine. The adaptation programme is co-funded by the European Union and the state budget.

A record 957 volunteer mentors have joined the Integration Foundation’s Language Friends programme, Keelesõber. They include native speakers of Estonian as well as people with a very high level of proficiency, all ready to support language learners as conversation partners. This is the highest number of mentors registered at the start of the programme in its history.

“An exceptionally large number of mentors have joined Keelesõber this year, and they are willing to dedicate their time to supporting language learners for a three months. This is an extraordinarily generous and valuable contribution that helps Estonian be heard more often in everyday communication,” said Ave Landrat, Head of the Keelesõber programme. “It is a pleasure to see both familiar names and many new participants.”

The Keelesõber programme encourages language learners to speak Estonian and helps them overcome the fear of speaking. “As the number of places is limited, we invite language learners to register at the earliest opportunity,” Landrat added.

The programme is open to adult residents of Estonia who have reached level B1 or higher in Estonian and are able to communicate on everyday topics. Language friends meet once a week or more often for approximately three months, until 14 May, using a communication channel suitable for both participants, such as Zoom, MS Teams or by phone.

Language learners can join the Keelesõber programme via the Integration Foundation’s website from Monday, 9 February, at 7:00 a.m.: https://www.integratsioon.ee/en/language-friends/learners
The number of places available for language learners corresponds to the number of registered mentors.

The matching of language friends begins on Friend’s Day. Preferences indicated in the registration form regarding meeting format, timing, communication channel and interests will be taken into account. Participants are kindly asked to wait for further information from the organisers.

The Integration Foundation has been running the Keelesõber programme for the seventh year. At the start of the previous season, 943 mentors were registered, and over the past six seasons the programme has brought together approximately 7,400 Estonian language friends.

The activities are carried out with the support of the European Union’s 2021–2027 Cohesion Policy and Internal Security Funds and within the framework of Project No. 2021-2027.4.07.23-0006 of Decree No. 80 of the Minister of Culture of 15 March 2023 ‘Conditions for granting support for carrying out activities supporting integration, including adaptation, in Estonian society’.

The Integration Foundation invites learners of Estonian to join the Language Friends programme, which offers an opportunity to practise the language with volunteer mentors. The number of places is limited, and registration opens on Monday, 9 February at 7:00 a.m.

“The Language Friends programme helps language learners speak Estonian more confidently and offers an opportunity to practise the language in everyday conversations in a supportive and relaxed atmosphere. It helps learners to overcome the fear of speaking. As the number of places is limited, we encourage language learners to register at the first opportunity on Monday morning,” said Ave Landrat, Head of the Language Friends programme.

Language learners who have reached level B1 or higher in their Estonian studies are welcome to participate, meaning they are able to express themselves when discussing everyday topics. The learner will have conversations with a mentor on freely chosen topics once a week or more often over a three-month period, until 14 May. A communication channel suitable for both parties will be chosen, such as Zoom, MS Teams or by phone. Adult residents of Estonia are welcome to participate in the programme.

Learners of Estonian can join the Language Friends programme on the Integration Foundation’s website starting Monday, 9 February at 7:00 a.m.: https://integratsioon.ee/en/language-friends/learners. 

Matching language learners with mentors will begin immediately after the registration period ends and may take some time, as the preferences indicated in the questionnaires regarding the format of conversations, time, communication channel and interests will be taken into account. Mentors and language learners are asked to wait for notifications from the organisers.

The Integration Foundation has been organising the Language Friends programme for the seventh year. Over the previous six seasons, the programme has brought together nearly 7,400 language friends.

The activities are carried out with the support of the European Union’s 2021–2027 Cohesion Policy and Internal Security Funds and within the framework of Project No. 2021-2027.4.07.23-0006 of Decree No. 80 of the Minister of Culture of 15 March 2023 ‘Conditions for granting support for carrying out activities supporting integration, including adaptation, in Estonian society’.