Led by the Estonian Ministry of Culture, National Minorities Day was celebrated in three cities around the country during the third week of September. The events were held in the capital, Tallinn, as well as Jõhvi and Pärnu.

 

The first event held under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture was the National Minority Youth Council conference ‘National minorities in Estonia yesterday, today and tomorrow’ at the National Library in Tallinn on 22 September.

 

The conference was followed by a theatre and music programme at the Russian Theatre, including a performance by the Russian Puppet Theatre of children’s classic The Silver Hoof. The adults in the audience, meanwhile, enjoyed the Russian Theatre School’s performance of smraH and the Tuuleveski Theatre’s version of Let The Wind Blow. Music was provided by the Chuvash ensemble Taraj Kun and the Estonian-Ukrainian folk group Svjata Vatra.

 

As part of National Minorities Day, a photographic exhibition entitled EtnoFotorism opened in the Solaris centre on the same day. A range of exhibitions by members of national minorities who call Estonia home can also be seen in Tallinn at the Russian Theatre. The exhibitions are open until the end of October.

 

The celebratory events moved on to Tartu on 24 September, where a concert was held in the Vanemuine Concert Hall. Staged by Valga’s Marina Jerjomina, the director of Art Studio Joy, its performers included national minority cultural association groups from Tallinn and Tartu, as well as from elsewhere in southern Estonia. People in Tartu will also enjoy an exhibition as part of EtnoFotorism, this time of the Russian Old Believers, which will be on display in the café and gallery of the Vanemuine Concert Hall until the end of October. 

 

The celebratory events moved on to Tartu on 26 September, where a concert was held in the Vanemuine Concert Hall. There were also book and national handicraft exhibitions as part of the festival, and a display of children’s drawings entitled ‘The colours of the Earth’. Anyone interested was also able to take part in puppet-making, bobbin lace and pearl embroidery workshops. There were also meetings with authors Jelena Skulskaja and Arvo Valton as part of the 2010 Year of Reading. The gala concert held in the evening saw performances by national minority cultural groups, ethnic groups and communities from different parts of Estonia. Special guests at the concert were the folk ensemble Jarytsa from Verhnedviskni in Belarus. Minister of Culture Laine Jänes handed over certificates of citizenship to new Estonia citizens in both Tartu and Jõhvi.

 

24 September was nominated as National Minority Day by then Minister for Population Affairs Paul-Eerik Rummo in 2005. Its roots date back to 1988 when the 1^st Estonian National Minorities Forum was held on 24 September. The forum unanimously declared its willingness to openly support the attempts of the Estonian population to restore their statehood and democracy. It was on this day that the Union of Estonian National Minorities was founded, whose activities are guided by the internationally recognised principles of national minorities and human rights with the aim of developing information-based and cultural cooperation among Estonia’s national minorities.

 

For further information please contact: Sirli Tooming, Chief Specialist, Cultural Diversity Department, Ministry of Culture / Telephone: +372 628 2261 / E-mail: sirli.tooming@kul.ee 

Source: Ministry of Culture