The task of the head of the service unit is to shape the existing services supporting integration into an even more user-friendly whole and to contribute to the development and launch of future services.

Viola deeply cares about supporting people’s well-being, both through her work and volunteering. In recent years, she worked in the Child Protection Department of the Estonian Social Insurance Board on topics related to the well-being of children and families, being one of the initiators of the National Child Protection Unit and the services related to it.

In cooperation with the Integration Foundation, volunteers from among Nordea Group’s financial specialists are hosting a series of seminars – ‘E-Estonia, e-services, and preventing financial fraud’ – to support war refugees, thereby aiding them in adapting in Estonia and helping to recognise possible financial fraud.

The next seminar will take place on 13 December in the premises of the Integration Foundation’s Estonian language house in Tallinn.
 
The seminars were developed within Nordea Group’s initiative ‘Community engagement programme for supporting refugees’. The Integration Foundation has made a substantive contribution to understanding the needs of new immigrants within the framework of this project and given communication assistance to reach the target group.

The first events took place on 21 October in the Integration Foundation’s Estonian language house in Tallinn on 16 November online. We received confirmation of the necessity of this initiative based on the participants’ feedback.

The information campaign carried out by the Integration Foundation in October was especially successful this year due to increased active interest and resulted in a larger number of applications to sign a Language Learning Contract than usual.

As of 2019, the state offers free Estonian language lessons for people who wish to become Estonian citizens. In the programme, it is possible to learn the Estonian language until passing the level B1 exam. In addition, the state compensates up to 20 days of unpaid study leave, which allows you to devote yourself to language learning and, for example, prepare more thoroughly for language level exams. Read more about the programme and the conditions for language learning here. To date, more than a thousand people have started language studies, and around 300 of them have received an Estonian citizenship.

In October, the Integration Foundation carried out a campaign to raise awareness of and introduce the programme. The state has introduced the programme on a wider scale every year, but this year, people’s interest has increased, and the foundation has received over 800 new applications in one month. We had to bring in additional in-house staff to offer counsel to such a large number of applicants. To begin language learning, a contract must be signed with the state so the language learning journey can begin in the new year. In addition to language learning, we also offer a preparatory course for the exam on the Citizenship Act and the Constitution, as well as advice and support in the process of becoming an Estonian citizen. It is possible to become an Estonian citizen in just six steps.

The Integration Foundation, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, launched a campaign to introduce the possibilities of the information portal Globalestonian.com and invites you to find Estonian communities and contribute to creating content.

The updated page now has a section called ‘Global Estonian stories’, where every Estonian who is living abroad or who has returned can submit their story to encourage and inspire other Estonians to obtain a wider perspective of the world.

In addition, you can read and subscribe to the Global Estonian newsletter on the portal. It is a monthly newsletter both in Estonian and in English that reflects the most important news of the Estonian and global Estonian communities as well as upcoming events and relevant scholarships and application rounds.

The film Valik (Choice), produced at the initiative of the Integration Foundation’s Estonian Language House in Narva, had its gala premiere at the opening ceremony of KinoFF, a side festival of PÖFF, in Kohtla-Järve. The film is the result of the language learning and integration project of the film academy of the Estonian Language House in Narva and is the first professional feature film created in Narva and by its residents. After the premiere, the film will be screened in Apollo cinemas in various Estonian cities.

In spring 2022, the Estonian Language House in Narva launched a film academy project, in which 38 Estonian language learners were able to hone their language skills in a new way, gaining new knowledge in the field of film and learning acting. They were guided by professionals who have proven themselves in the Estonian theatre and film world. Following the final exam of the film academy, the top 10 got a part in the feature film Valik.

‘The purpose of the Estonian Language Houses is to offer language learners an Estonian-language environment where they can learn and practice communicative language not only in traditional courses, but also through non-formal learning – learning the language and getting to know Estonian culture by various joint activities,’ said Anna Farafonova, the Head of the Integration Foundation’s Estonian Language House in Narva. 

The creative team of the film featured professionals as well as Estonian language teachers and learners. The creation of the film was supported by the Viru Film Fund.

The authors of the idea and screenwriters are Julia Viirsalu, a teacher at the Estonian Language House in Narva, and Krismar Rosin, an adviser at the Ministry of Culture. The film was shot by local filmmakers: director Jelena Pazilina, composer and sound director Dmitri Piibe, cameraman and editing director Sofja Kostenkova, designer Tatjana Sonina, lighting technician Aleksei Zemskov, make-up artist Signe Viilop, producer Julia Viirsalu, and Anna Farafonova, Head of the Estonian Language House in Narva as administrative director.

Anastasiia Pylaeva plays the protagonist. In addition to her, the film also stars Tanel Saar, Aleksandr Zhilenko, Gerhard Saks, Marina Malova, and people who graduated from the film academy of the Estonian Language House  in Narva.

The plot of the feature film Valik is based on actual events from the late 90s and tells the story of a young border guard who must choose between love and the law.

The film will be on the big screens from 27 November. Film sessions will take place in Narva, Jõhvi, Pärnu, and Tallinn.

Additional information, the trailer, and other visual materials can be found at integratsioon.ee/valik.

The Integration Foundation organized a conference 'Together or Apart: Searching for the Middle Ground' in Tallinn on 10 & 11 November. The event brought together internationally recognised experts from Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and of course Estonia. 

The day started with a performance by the tandem choir of the Estonian Language House in Narva. The conference was opened by Ambassador Kairat Abdrakhmanov, High Commissioner for National Minorities of the OSCE, and the opening speeches were given by Minister of Culture Piret Hartman and Dmitri Moskovtsev, the Director of the Integration Foundation.

The conference programme included presentations and panel discussions where experts in the field, researchers, policy makers, and representatives of civil society organisations analysed the processes of segregation, its possible dangers, and consequences.

The Ene Hion Foundation announced the recipient of its annual scholarship on stage – Natalja Mjalitsina, the founder of school for Ukrainians on Räägu Street, a branch of the Lilleküla High School, who was also one of the speakers at the conference. Her surprise was big and sincere. Congratulations and thank you for consistently shaping a civil society that takes multiculturalism into account!

The conference ended with a debate between Estonian politicians, where Jürgen Ligi, Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, Viktoria Ladõnskaja-Kubits, Eduard Odinets, Aleksei Jašin, and Jaak Valge discussed segregation in Estonian education and proposed possible solutions to make the school system more unified. The lively debate was led by ERR journalist Jüri Nikolajev.

You can watch the presentations here, the photos can be seen here.