The Estonian Institute (

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

: ''Eesti Instituut'') is a non-governmental and

non-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

based in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

aiming to promote

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

abroad. The institute was founded in 1988/1989 as a shadow

foreign office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

for the Estonian independence movement by

Lennart Meri Lennart Georg Meri (; 29 March 1929 – 14 March 2006) was an Estonian writer, film director, and statesman. He was the country's foreign minister from 1990 to 1992 and President of Estonia from 1992 to 2001. Early life Meri was born in Tallin ...

, later first foreign minister and first

president of Estonia The president of the Republic of Estonia () is the head of state of the Estonia, Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid. Estonia is one of the few parliam ...

after their

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into three differe ...

. Current director of the institute is Katrin Maiste. The Institute currently employs a dozen persons, who work either in the Tallinn main office or branches abroad in Finland (

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, founded in 1995) and Hungary (

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, est. 1998); previously, the Institute had offices in Sweden (1999-2011) and France (2001-2009). Also 3 teachers of the Estonian language and culture work outside Estonia. The contributors include several prominent people of their field as authors of the texts, editors, board members, designers and creators of information technology applications. The basis of the activities of the Estonian Institute as a non-governmental institution is its constitution. The work is directed by the General Meeting and the Governing Board elected for three years. The Board elected in September 2017 includes Katrin Maiste (Chairman), Liina Luhats, and Mart Meri. As of September 2017 the non-profit organisation has 37 members. The Estonian Institute is supported from state budget via the Ministry of Culture. This is supplemented by targeted financing from various sources for specific undertakings. The teaching of Estonian language and culture is organised in close cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Research. The Estonian Institute is member of the European Union National Institutes for Cultur
EUNIC
The Institute’s activities rely on the principles of the code of ethics of Estonian non-governmental organisations.

History

The foundation of the Estonian Institute as civic initiative in the late 1980s derived from the practical need to establish permanent international contacts, which would no longer be controlled by the Soviet authorities. The plan compiled in summer 1988 b
Lennart Meri
listed the tasks of the Institute as follows: developing permanent cultural and educational foreign relations and introducing Estonia abroad. On 4 October 1988, the cultural council of the creative associations whose purpose was to restore Estonia’s independence, decided to found the Estonian Institute. The official permit was granted in April 1989, and thus for the first six months the Institute operated thanks to the work of volunteers and the support of Estonia’s friends. During its first years, the Estonian Institute partly fulfilled the role of a hotbed for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the future Estonian diplomats. The Institute’s information and culture points operated in various places in Western Europe and Scandinavia, and quite a few developed into an embassy of the Republic of Estonia in the course of restoring diplomatic relations. Soon things took their normal course and the Institute focused on conveying information about Estonia and promoting its culture. Supported by the state, it has become a serious institution to carry out cultural politics.

Activities

The aim of the Estonian Institute is to spread information about Estonian society and culture in other countries, further cultural and educational links and organise the teaching of Estonian language and culture outside Estonia. Over the years the Institute has published dozens of information booklets and periodicals about Estonia, compiled web pages, organised festivals, exhibitions, conferences and seminars, received journalists, researchers and lecturers, translators and writers, opened culture and information centres in other countries, granted scholarships, despatched lecturers of Estonian language and culture to universities abroad and supplied the study centres with relevant material. Presently, the institute's main areas of activity are publishing diverse brochures, organising cultural events abroad and maintaining several web sites, which include the online encyclopaedi
''Estonica''
and the Estonian cultural events calenda
Culture.ee
The Estonian Institute also organises conferences, festivals, exhibitions and seminars about Estonian culture, replies to Estonia-related queries, and receives translators, journalists, researchers, writers, and lecturers.

Publications

Information booklets about Estonia
* ''

Estonian Literary Magazine ''Estonian Literary Magazine'' or simply ''ELM'' is an English language biannual literary magazine published in Estonia. History and profile ''ELM'' was established in 1995 and is published by the Estonian Institute. The goal of the magazine i ...

''
Magazine ''Estonian Art''

External links

Estonian Institute's homepage

Estonian Institute in Finland

Estonian Institute in Hungary

Web encyclopedia ''Estonica''

''Culture.ee'' Estonian culture events calendar

References

{{Authority control Organizations established in 1989 Culture of Estonia Estonian language Cultural promotion organizations Foreign relations of Estonia Cultural organizations based in Estonia 1989 establishments in Estonia