The President of the Republic supports many organisations and causes. The history of a number of these goes back many years. For instance, the home beautification movement dates back to the 1930s, during the first era of national independence. The President is also involved in several initiatives due to personal ties – for instance the Institute of Mulgi Culture (in Viljandi County and other parts of south-central Estonia) and the Tiger Leap Foundation, which President Ilves founded.
Patronages
Wednesday, 18 August 2010 13:58
Estonian Home Beautification Association
The objective of the home beautification movement, launched by the President of the Republic, is to make Estonia a better place to live and improve the overall appearance of the country. The Estonian Home Beautification Association holds an annual competition. The President of the Republic presents awards to the winners in August.
Historical research paper competition with awards presented by the President
Each year, the Estonian History Teachers Association holds a competition for school children which is devoted to historical research, with the aim of boosting the younger generation’s interest in history. The competition forms part of EUSTORY (the History Network for Young Europeans). The President of the Republic launches the competition at the beginning of the school year and presents awards to the winners in spring.
Estonian volunteer appreciation event
The Voluntary Service Development Centre organises this event to acknowledge hard-working Estonian volunteers and promote voluntary service. Each year, Volunteers of the Year are selected and the President presents them with letters of commendation.
Estonia National Opera
The Estonia Society, founded in 1865, during what was known as the National Awakening, evolved into the professional Estonia Theatre. The Estonia National Opera is currently one of the country’s leading theatres.
Estonian Male Choirs Association
The Estonian Male Choirs Association, founded during the restoration of Estonian independence, and uniting men’s and boys’ choirs, has initiated and continues to organise many nationwide projects, ranging from the ceremonial flag-raising on Independence Day to the formal observance of Mother’s Day.
Institute of Mulgi Culture
This institute is engaged in the study, preservation and promotion of the culture of the Mulgi region in Viljandi County and part of Valga County, and the Mulgi dialect.
Tiger Leap Foundation
The objective of the Tiger Leap programme is to raise the quality of education in Estonian schools through the more effective use of information and communication technology. The programme was launched in 1996 when Toomas Hendrik Ilves – then serving as Ambassador to the United States of America – and Minister of Education and Research Jaak Aaviksoo initiated a discussion on the use of new technology in schools.
Noored Kotkad (Young Eagles)
The Noored Kotkad are the Defence League’s voluntary organisation for boys. This patriotic youth organisation teaches Boy Scout skills and principles.
Carolin Illenzeer Fund
The aim of the Carolin Illenzeer Fund is to collect financial and social assistance resources to support the children of the members of the Estonian Defence Forces who have either died in combat or in service, or who have been heavily injured. The guiding principles of the foundation are kindness and good will in order to help cover schooling costs or hobby education fees for the children of the members of the Estonian Defence Forces who have fought for their country.
Lennart Meri Conference
The Lennart Meri Conference is one of the biggest regional forums on foreign and security policy issues for the Nordic Countries and the Baltic States, attended by the leading analysts and politicians from Europe and other regions of the world to discuss important foreign policy topics and seek solutions to pressing security problems. The conference is organised by the International Centre for Defence Studies and the Lennart Meri European Foundation. The first Lennart Meri Memorial Conference was held in March 2007 in Tallinn. Since 2008 the event has been called the Lennart Meri Conference. President Lennart Meri died on 14 March 2006. Lennart Meri was President of the Republic of Estonia from 1992-2001.
Tallinn 2012 EYP jubilee session
At the end of July 2012, around 290 young people from more than 30 different European countries will gather in Tallinn to debate on topics which are important for Estonia and Europe under the guidance of experts and committee chairpersons. The main theme of the 70th EYP session is water and its role in our everyday lives. The discussion will cover both problems with water supply and pollution and water protection in general. The resolutions that pass at the General Assembly will be sent to the European Commission after the session.
Finnish-Estonian Dance Festival Tanssipidot 2012 Tampere
The 3rd Finnish/Estonian Dance Festival – this time going by the title Velisinfonia/ Vennassümfoonia or 'Brothers in Symphony' – is to be held in Tampere, Finland on 17 June 2012. The festival will involve 5000 dancers, musicians and singers, with both countries represented equally. 'Brothers in Symphony' is a dance production about two nations and how Kalev (the hero of the Estonian national epic) and Kalevi (the hero of the Finnish national epic) meet in the middle of the Gulf of Finland. The meeting of these two giants creates a bridge that links the neighbouring peoples. Together they find they have much in common – love for their land and the sea, attractive women, manly men, hot saunas and many of their words. They realise that the peoples of these two beautiful lands should come together as one northern nation. The 3rd Finnish/Estonian Dance Festival is being organised by Folklore Suomi Finland and the Estonian Folk Dance and Folk Music Association. The Estonian Folk Dance Centre, the Estonian Song and Dance Celebration Foundation and the Association of Finnish Youth Clubs are also contributing to the event.
"New Challenges of Human Rights" conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Estonian Institute of Human Rights
This annual conference reviews different issues of human rights in the context of our changing world, focusing on human rights and security and human rights and the Internet. The Institute of Human Rights is the first and oldest independent organisation in Estonia that actively and systematically protects human rights. The institute was founded on 10 December 1992, International Human Rights Day. President Lennart Meri had initiated the founding of the institute and was its first patron.
Annual Conference of the Estonian Institute of Human Rights "Human Rights and the Freedom of Association"
The annual conference titled "Human Rights and the Freedom of Association" analyses the global developments in human rights that have taken place in 2013. The topics under discussion include crimes against humanity, the role of NGOs, and how to combine counter terrorism measures with the protection of human rights in the real world and in cyberspace.
'Ethical issues related to privacy and data protection – global and local challenges' conference
This conference will look at different aspects of and problems related to privacy and data protection. It will provide an overview of the European principles of privacy protection and the background to the development of related legal culture. During the conference the data protection reform plans put forward by the European Commission will be analysed as well as the potential impact they will have on Estonia and Europe as a whole. The conference is being organised by the Centre for Ethics of the University of Tartu and the Data Protection Inspectorate.
Collection of pictures of our home country
Back in 1912, the Estonian National Museum organised the first competition for the collection of photos of our homeland, in which both professional and amateur photographers could participate. This event plays a special role in Estonia's photo history: attention was paid to domestic photo materials depicting everyday life – ethnographic photography. This also resulted in a hike and shoot photo initiative by Johannes Pääsuke in 1913 and the subsequent exhibition of photos taken of our homeland in 1913, as well as further fieldwork photo shoots organised by museum workers. Within the framework of Cultural Heritage Year, the Estonian National Museum will launch a new photo collection competition to celebrate the passing of a century since the first competition and to record life in Estonia one hundred years on. The purpose of the competition is to involve people in recording everyday life events all over Estonia, including the places where the recorders of the Estonian National Museum do not make it to themselves.
50th Baltic Nations Kommers
The 50th Baltic Nations Kommers was held in Tartu in May 2013. The Baltic Nations Kommers is an annual joint event of Baltic German, Polish, Latvian and Estonian academic student organisations. Until the early 90s the events were held in Germany. Since then the kommers has been organised in turn in different university cities of Germany, Latvia and Estonia with the aim of maintaining traditions, emphasising the value of education and fostering mutual contacts.
International student conference "E-health – integration of IT and medicine"
The international student conference titled "E-health – integration of IT and medicine" was organised by the Estonian Association of Medical Students and MUG Estonia and held at the University of Tartu from 13–15 September 2013. The aim of the conference was to raise the level of general awareness of the growing need for closer integration of the IT and medical spheres and discussion of e-health system developments.
Eesti 2.0
Eesti 2.0 is a non-profit organization that aims to inspire the next generation of Estonians to choose a future in technology by providing students with different technological tools and offering them ideas to apply these technologies.
Family- and employee-friendly company competition
Organised by the magazine Pere ja Kodu and the Äripäev business daily, this competition recognises companies that value a good on-the-job atmosphere and take their employees’ family lives into consideration.
Estdocs – Toronto Film Festival (honorary patron)
The Estonian documentary film festival based at Tartu College in Toronto promotes Estonian documentary film-making in North America.
Life story competition: “The story of my life, my family and stories of past generations”
Organised by the Estonian Literary Museum and the Estonian Life Histories (Eesti Elulood) organisation in connection with the 90th anniversary of Estonian independence in 2008, the aim of this competition is to collect the life stories of Estonian people along with their extended families and forebears.
Estonian Entrepreneur of the Year
The winner of this competition represents Estonia at the international World Entrepreneur of The Year (WEOY) competition.
Estonian Film 100
30 April 1912 (New Style date) is considered to be the birthday of Estonian cinema. On that day at the Illusioon cinema theatre in Tartu the first film by Johannes Pääsuke was premiered. The short documentary demonstrated aerobatics performed over Tartu by the Russian test pilot Sergey Utochkin just a couple of days earlier, on 27 and 28 April 1912. The first Estonian feature film, "Bear Hunt in Pärnumaa", was made in 1914. The most important activities of the Estonian Film 100 project are restoration and modernisation of film heritage, creation of opportunities for cinematography research and comprehension, and popularising and stressing the importance of Estonian films for domestic and foreign audiences.
XXV FIDE Congress
The Estonian Lawyers Association is organising the XXV FIDE Congress to be held in Tallinn from 30 May to 2 June 2012. This event is the most important European law conference. In 2012 Tallinn is also the European Law Capital. The FIDE organisation draws together associations of lawyers specialising in European law from almost every EU member-state, Norway and Switzerland with the purpose of developing and improving European law and thus ensuring the future of the European Union in its entirety.
XXVI SELL University Student Games 2010 (honorary patron)
A regional international university student sport tournament held in Tartu in 2010. University students from Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania take part in the games. The games were first held in 1923 and later became known as SELL (an acronym composed of the first letters of the abovementioned countries in their own languages).
Year of Innovation 2009
The Year of Innovation is a year for new ideas, creative thinking and doing things differently. When the old ways are no longer enough to move forward, it is time to try a new approach – an intelligent and innovative one.
JK Jazz Festival
This jazz music festival, which is held in Canada, showcases Estonian jazz. All money raised from the event is donated in support of the ‘Jõekääru’ summer home for Estonian children.
International Year of Forests
The United Nations has declared 2011 the International Year of Forests with the aim of raising people’s awareness of responsible forestry, nature conservation and sustainable management of different types of forests. The year recognises the value of the role people play in forests and the importance of forests to people.
13th Estonian Summer Games
The Estonian Summer Games are held every four years. They are organised on the basis of the development strategy of ‘Jõud’ (the Estonian Sports Association) and in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, the Estonian Olympic Committee, sports associations and local governments.