In a few weeks from now, Kotkajärve near Huntsville, Ontario, will be abuzz with people who hold being Estonian very dear to them. They will be greeting old friends and introducing themselves to new people as they register for Metsaülikool, where they will participate in a series of seminars and panel discussions in Estonian in an informal setting from August 11th to 15th.
One panel discussion of note will focus on the future of Canadian Estonians.
The discussion will be led by key community leaders Lia Hess (President of the Estonian Foundation in Canada), Liisa Käärid (active Canadian Estonian and lawyer who has lived in Estonia) and Avo Kittask (President of the Estonian Central Council in Canada).
There is much to discuss. I personally feel that the Estonian community needs to come together and take stock of where we are and to debate whether we need a collective blueprint to shape our future. I would hate for future generations 20 years from now to point the finger at us and say that we ‘dropped the ball’, when it came to maximizing options for our children to be Estonian.
I’m sure that many of us have noticed that the number of Estonian-speakers in our midst continues to decline and many organizations, which are feeling the pressure of having too few volunteers, will be forced to somehow adapt or eventually call it quits. Senior Estonian-born members are thinning from our ranks and their passing will have a profound effect on the face of Estonian communities across Canada. Several Estonian societies in smaller cities are on the verge of fading to black, while others have already vanished.
Can the Estonian community learn to more effectively tap into the greater Estonian population to increase the number of active members? From visiting Statistics Canada’s website, I discovered that the 2001 survey results regarding the ‘Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada’ (based on 20% sample data) show that 22,090 responses were recorded for people who indicated that their ethnic origin was Estonian (9, 650 indicated Estonian origin as a single response, while 12,440 included Estonian as one of multiple responses for their origin). Of the 22,090 total responses, 14, 655 were from Ontario.
Since the number of people who consider themselves Estonian or partly Estonian is much greater than the number of people who actually participate in various Estonian community activities and clubs, one can’t help but wonder whether we might have something to offer this invisible segment of the population. Are there services or activities that people of Estonian origin might want that we are not offering?
I would like the Canadian Estonian community to have a strong central organization, which functions as the architect of our common future. The needs of Estonians today are significantly different from our parents and grandparents, who arrived here after World War II. Most notably, we no longer pool our energy into achieving independence for Estonia. The organization most suited to take up the role of being our community’s master builder is the Estonian Central Council in Canada (EKN). This organization has always effectively catered to our political needs and with the support of other key organizations, would be the ideal candidate to now shift its focus to become a leader in planning. Should EKN take up this challenging role, the organization will most definitely need a significantly greater number of volunteers with vision to come forward and lend a hand. Otherwise nothing will happen.
Much work needs to be done. The first logical step is to do research, which is crucial for determining what Canadian Estonians actually want and need from our community leaders. The leading organization would benefit from conducting a well crafted survey of as many Canadian Estonians as possible.
The survey should also serve as a tool to discover untapped resources from amongst the many skilled and talented Estonians living in Canada. Equally valuable would be well-promoted townhall-style meetings, which allow people from all walks of life, both Estonian-speakers and non-Estonian-speakers, an opportunity to voice their opinion.
Once research has been completed, a centrally guided plan of action and a strong promotional campaign to promote the plan to the public would be the next step. A well thought-out volunteer program would help ensure that new volunteers feel appreciated and will hopefully encourage them to stay on as volunteers.
Such a grand scale of activity needs a large group of people with ideas. As the saying goes, if there is a will, there is a way. And if there isn’t a will in our community to make things better, then things will continue to ‘bump along with the current’ as they have been in recent years.
I urge every Estonian to participate in Metsaülikool this year. This is an excellent opportunity for all Estonians who care about what lays ahead to come together to exchange ideas with our decision-makers. Make your voice be heard! For further information about Metsaülikool and how to participate in this panel discussion, visit www.eesti.ca/mu or call 416-421-3812 to register.