Estonia is undeniably a country with a rich culture. Centuries-old folk culture characterises the personality and way of life of Estonians – we continue to love song festivals, we proudly cherish our sauna culture and, as a modern digital society, we still value closeness to nature. In 2025, however, representatives of 216 nationalities will be living in Estonia, who will weave the customs and traditions of new communities into our (time) history, making us even more culturally rich.
The Cultural Richness Area of the Opinion Festival invites you to participate, think along and discuss! Over the course of two days, we will focus on a sense of belonging, media space, cultural education, accessibility and identity issues, all of which are related to our cultural richness in one way or another.
The first day of the festival will open with a discussion on the visibility and acceptance of different cultures in Estonia, asking what role different cultural symbols and traditions, including Estonian folk culture, should play in the public space. Does a multicultural streetscape support a common identity or could it actually disrupt the current cultural balance? The discussion will be moderated by Elo-Hanna Seljamaa and will be attended by Tanel Meiel, Epp Tamm, Celal Yildirim and Eda Kalmre.
The day will continue on the topic of media consumption and trust of information among people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, focusing on critical thinking and digital competences. The discussion will be moderated by Tatjana Gassova, Head of Russian-language radio and online news at Estonian Public Broadcasting, with Triin Vihalemm, Dmitri Teperik and Victoria Punga participating. The discussion is supported by the Swiss-Estonian cooperation programme.
The third discussion will bring us to adaptation and integration – we will discuss how a sense of belonging is formed, what is the integration path of a new immigrant, and what can the state, communities and each of us do to make a "stranger" become "our person". The moderator of the discussion Johannes Tralla will be joined by Dimitri Moskovtsev, Mart Kallas, Tiit Tammaru, Ain Käpp and Mari-Liis Jakobson.
The first day will be concluded by a second discussion on the media, which will examine whether and how the media contributes to the image of our culture-rich society, which messages are hiding as evil wolves, and which are the golden keys that could open new doors. The conversation will be moderated by Diana Lorents, Head of the Communication and International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Culture.
After an exciting evening cultural programme and a night spent in Paide, we will open the second day by introducing the children of Bullerby, the Lionhearts brothers, Karlsson's on the roof and many other characters to discuss how Ilon Wikland's art and stories about refugee experiences have contributed to the development of an open and inclusive society. We will also explore how the work of Wikland and other authors deals with the themes of war, exile and solidarity, and inspires social initiatives even today. Frederika and Anna Wikland will be joined by Maarja Kõuts and Yelyzaveta Tarazevych, the discussion will be moderated by Olga Sõtnik.
The day will continue on the topic of the accessibility of culture. We will focus on accessibility across the life cycle – people with disabilities, people with temporary trauma, people with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, as well as dignified people or people in childhood want to experience culture. Are differences seen as wealth? Is Estonia ready for this? These questions will be discussed by Eda Silberg, Edmar Tuul, Mari Puuram and Elo Võrk. The discussion will be moderated by Keiu Virro. The discussion will be in sign language and written interpretation.
Culture begins with the written word. We will continue the second day of the festival with the topic of literature and focus on the questions: what kind of picture is formed of Estonian literature outside the Estonian language space and what processes are connected to it? Does Estonian literature follow the same trends as that of a large country or a language with a larger number of speakers? How does substantive translation work take place in the age of artificial intelligence and how can we motivate people to learn languages if we can make ourselves understandable to each other with the help of programs? Moderator Kaur Riismaa will be joined by Adam Cullen, Ilze Tālberga and Kätlin Kaldmaa.
In the penultimate discussion, we will focus on the youngest members of society, i.e. children, asking whether the future of culture lies in them. Knowing that the number of cultural visits by children aged 5–14 has decreased by almost half over the past decade and that school has become an increasingly important bridge to culture, we need to understand how best to preserve culture. Cultural institutions are making an effort to provide teachers with the necessary support, but will this be enough to keep Estonian culture viable for the next decade? The discussion will be moderated by Keiu Virro and discussed with Triin Laasi-Õige, Annikki Aruväli, Ivo Lille, and Karin Sarv.
As the last discussion in the area of cultural richness, NGO Fenno-Ugria brings to us a discussion focusing on kindred peoples. Namely, in recent decades, Finland and Norway have experienced the emancipation of the Sámi and a change in status, and the Sámi languages have been revived again. Based on the example of Finland, we can also talk about the status of Karelians and Ingrians. What does Estonia have to take away from this? We will also talk about the perspectives of the self-awareness, identity and language skills of small Finno-Ugric peoples in Russia. The moderator of the discussion is Barbi Pilvre, Director of the Finno-Ugria Institution, and the participants in the discussion are Hannele Valkeeniemi, Raivo Vetik and Aimar Ventsel.
We welcome everyone interested to think along and share ideas on how culture and its diversity can support mutual understanding and caring. Cultural richness begins with everyone and gains momentum in our everyday thoughts and activities!
You can find us in area number two. See the full programme of the Opinion Festival HERE.
https://www.kul.ee/uudised/kes-me-oleme-kultuuririkkus-kui-eesti-tugevus