The Ministry of Culture plans to launch a campaign aimed at reinforcing positive attitudes toward integration in 2026, which will cost around €275,000.
The initiative’s goal is to show Estonia’s residents that adaptation and integration are long-term processes that affect the whole of society, the tender description says.
Other stated objectives include highlighting the cultural diversity of Estonian society, strengthening positive attitudes toward integration, and fostering closer contact between communities and individuals of different cultural and migration backgrounds.
Julia Amor, adviser at the Ministry of Culture’s department of cultural diversity, said one of the goals outlined in Estonia’s national development plan is a cohesive and inclusive society.
“We know that our shared information space needs strengthening, and that contacts between communities with different cultural backgrounds could be closer,” she said.
Amor said the purpose is to draw attention to these issues and to encourage people to recognize the diversity that exists within and around them.
The exact content and structure of the campaign will be developed by the ministry in collaboration with the selected contractor.
Amor said the campaign is targeted at the broader public, meaning all residents of Estonia. This includes ethnic Estonians and those from other cultural backgrounds, both long-term residents and immigrants.
A study carried out after the Year of Cultural Diversity confirmed the importance of such initiatives, she said.
“More than 70 percent of respondents considered such campaigns necessary. They pointed out that these initiatives support mutual understanding and acceptance, as well as mutual respect. Nearly half of those who had seen the materials published as part of the campaign said they changed something in their behavior as a result — including becoming more aware of Estonia’s cultural diversity and starting to discuss it with others,” Amor said.
—
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!