The ministry’s Deputy Secretary General Raivo Küüt says the aim of the competition is to get young people with first languages other than Estonian thinking about what our shared future in the country should be like. “A cohesive society is a guarantee of safety and security,” he said. “Today’s youngsters will shape our future, which is why we want them to share with us their visions and ideas of an Estonia that stick together. Entries can be submitted in any format. The only proviso is that they’re creative, have the potential to inspire everyone in the country and help us all understand one another better. We all want the Estonia of the future to be a cohesive and unified place, so we all need to think about how we can achieve that.”
Submissions are open online at https://siseministeerium.ee/noorte-loovkonkurss until 10 November.
Entries will be judged in two age groups: 14-18 and 19-23. The three best entries in each age group will be awarded a cash prize of 500 euros.
There are no restrictions on the format or genre of entries: essays, journalistic articles, videos (featuring interviews, stories or other content), research, animation, short films, artworks, multimedia pieces and more will be accepted. Entries may be presented and submitted in Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian and/or English.
The works submitted will be assessed by a committee, with the best entries winning prizes that will be presented at an event marking Citizens Day on 28 November. The media partner for the competition is Rus.Postimees, which will publish the details of the winning entries.
The competition forms part of the national Cohesion Plan, the aim of which is to ensure, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, stability and cohesion in society, the prevention of conflict and strong ties between communities. To this end, ministries have agreed on four objectives and the action that needs to be taken over the next 16 months to move towards their fulfilment. These objectives are a shared information and values space, a caring and united country, Estonian-language and Estonian-minded education and a sense of community and togetherness. They stem from the overall aim of the Cohesive Estonia Development Plan 2030 to make Estonia a more inclusive society over the next decade.
