Estonia looks forward to hosting young foreign Estonians at language and culture camps next summer
2018 marks the centenary of the Republic of Estonia, and every Estonian living abroad is being invited to visit the country to celebrate its 100th birthday! Such a visit is one of the best gifts you could give the country. There are plenty of reasons to visit, with all sorts of events planned, including the Estonian language and culture summer camps run by the Integration Foundation (www.integratsioon.ee). We’ve been organising these camps since 2000.
We’re happy to announce that with the support of the ‘Estonia 100’ project, more youngsters living abroad who have Estonian roots will get to take part in the language and culture camps being held in the country in 2018. The camps give people aged 13-18 who have an Estonian background but live outside of the country the chance to study Estonian, get to know local kids their age and learn more about Estonian culture. During the camps, the attendees play sports and go on excursions together and also get the opportunity to see some of the country’s best sights. We want young Estonians living abroad to feel a connection with their homeland and the Estonian language.
The camps enable language practice in an Estonian language environment and encourage the kids to talk to Estonians their own age. They also forge a connection with the country, especially for those who want to come and study here or see their future as being linked to Estonia.
In summer 2018 there will be 5 camps, all of which are being held in an area of outstanding natural beauty:
Camp 1: 25 June-5 July at Venevere Holiday Village Camp 2: 9-19 July at Venevere Holiday Village Camp 3: 23 July-2 August at Venevere Holiday Village Camp 4: 24 July-3 August at Sammuli Holiday Village Camp 5: 6-16 August at Venevere Holiday Village
Taking their language skills into account, we recommend that the youngsters choose their camp so that beginners attend Camp 1 or Camp 3, those with intermediate language skills attend Camp 2 or Camp 4 and those with advanced language skills attend Camp 5
The 2018 camps will be held in one of the most naturally beautiful parts of Estonia, at Venevere Holiday Centre (http://venevere.ee) and Sammuli (http://www.sammuli.ee) in Viljandi County.
The camps provide the following:
•an Estonian-language environment in which to communicate;
•an inviting setting suited to the age of the participants, with the rooms and space required for group activities, sport, catering and accommodation;
•facilities that meet all of the requirements set for camps, including hygiene, catering and accommodation conditions, fire safety, medical assistance, life guards, staff et al.;
•accommodation and three meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) daily; and
•an opportunity for the attendees to maintain a bond with their parents, other family members or guardians.
Registration for the camps is open until 31.03.2018 on the website of the Integration Foundation https://www.integratsioon.ee/k....
If you would like your child to attend one of the camps, please provide us with their details. We will select the applicants to take part based on their Estonian skills, their motivation, how old they are, where they are from, how long they have lived outside of Estonia, whether they have attended camps previously and the travel costs involved.
This year you can apply to take part in two categories:
1) young people whose travel costs will be covered by their parents/guardians; or 2) young people whose travel costs will be partly or fully covered by the Integration Foundation.
Should the second category not be filled, the foundation will fill the remaining places with applicants from the first category. With this new approach we are looking to give youngsters who have already attended camps a chance at greater participation.
We are looking to offer more camp places for youngsters and to give those who have already attended a number of camps the chance for greater participation.
We will select the applicants to take part based on their Estonian skills, their motivation, how old they are, where they are from, how long they have lived outside of Estonia and the number of times they have attended camps before.

Jana Tondi, Director of Language and Cultural Immersion Integration and Migration Foundation http://www.integratsioon.ee/ For further information please contact: Marina Fanfora | Telephone: +372 659 9069 | E-mail:

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