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BaltHerNet’s summer school titled “Diaspora Estonian Cultural Heritage Abroad.XI. My Estonian Roots” took place in Setomaa at Värska from June 26-29th. SinceSetomaa is known for its knowledge of traditions and unique, strong identity, wechose this year’s summer school theme, identity and roots, accordingly. Topics suchas researching family genealogy and names, ways to preserve your family history,mapping of tombstones, and family as well as regional heritage was discussed andexplored. We introduced collections related to the theme from both Estonian anddiaspora archives. Setomaa is also unique and different because it’s a border zone. The shuffling ofborders and life in a border zone has created a lasting impact on the people thatreside there. We invited Estonians living abroad, Estonians that have returnedto their homeland, setos, and identity researchers to participate in discussionsregarding the multi-identities of people living in various cultures. Summer school participants met in Tartu on June 26th and visited Noora, afterwhich the charter bus departed for Setomaa. June 27-28 featured presentations,discussions, and documentary film screenings. NGO BaltHerNet’s annual generalmeeting also took place on June 27. On June 29th, we embarked on a road trip toSetomaa and visited Värska Agricultural Museum, Saatse and Obinitsa. Participantswere taken back to Tartu by nightfall. BaltHerNet summer schools are focused on Estonians living abroad and foremployees of Estonian memory institutions who are involved with collecting,maintaining, researching and distributing information about Estonian culturalheritage. They feature lectures, courses, hands-on learning, discussions anddialogue. Experts from various Estonian memory institutes share their thoughts andknowledge about archives, libraries, museums and other topics.You can read a more comprehensive overview of the summer school in the nextnewsletter. In June 2024, we will meet in Vilnius at the BaltHerNet conference. Butfor now, have a lovely summer, everyone! Piret Noorhani

The Estonian Ministry of Culture has declared 2024 the Year of Cultural Diversity. The thematic year will celebrate how this value enriches our lives. We are calling upon you to join in the celebrations — discover and share, value and create, preserve and enrich the cultural traditions of our communities and the whole nation through everything that unites us: from experiences and myths to creative processes and planning the future. SHARE IDEAS Just as cultural diversity starts with every one of us, the year dedicated to this value starts from our ideas. Come and join the team of the Year of Cultural Diversity: please share your ideas on celebrating Estonia’s cultural diversity next year. Initiatives that have already been implemented or have even become a tradition and initiatives that are still planned or inspired by the next thematic year are welcome. The deadline for open calls is the end of June 2023. Please share your ideas via the form below or by regular mail (Integration Foundation, Rävala pst 5, 10145 Tallinn, keyword “2024”). We will review all ideas in July and give feedback by August at the latest. More information about the thematic year and open call will be provided at the meeting with the Year of Cultural Diversity team, which will be held online on 13 June. To participate, please register by noon of 12 June: meeting in Estonian on 13 June at 15-16, in Russian at 16.30-17.30, and in English at 18.00-19.00. CONTACT US The Integration Foundation coordinates the thematic year. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the team of the Year of Cultural Diversity at 2024@integratsioon.ee. We are all part of cultural diversity, and the next year belongs to all of us! How can we celebrate cultural diversity? Share your idea here: https://integratsioon.ee/en/2024

As the dreary and dark winter made way for a bright and cheery spring, VEMU became an increasingly bustling centre of activity and energy. We offered culturally enriching experiences, including everything from a youthful Zumba class to film nights and a riveting photography exhibit. Many of the events featured a focus on sports and movement, as the Republic of Estonia’s Ministry announced in January that 2023 would be the year of movement. So what was VEMU up to this spring?

With any long-term festival, there is always the question of how to differentiate each iteration from year to year. In 2023, the Estonian Music Week team pushed into new territory with its artistic curation, event design, and socialization.

On Tuesday, May 30, and Thursday, June 1, the documentary film “Our Tartu. 50 years of Tartu College”, made by Kaisa Pitsi and VEMU, was screened on ETV2. The film is about keeping Estonian culture far from the homeland.

This spring, Kaunas Magnus University hosted over 150 participants—lecturers, researchers and students from Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Hungary, India, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the United States of America, Georgia, Switzerland, Ukraine—to a discussion on Baltic studies in the contemporary world, the challenges it is facing and the prospects for its future.

On 18 May, artist Maria Kapajeva opened her exhibition “Loose Photos, Odds and Ends” at the National Archives in Tartu by introducing the exhibit in English.

On May 12, the Lithuanian Studies Unit of the National Library of Lithuania organised the 8th annual seminar for scholars and researchers in diaspora studies. Some of the participants were returnees, while others were first-time participants.

On May 12, the National Library of Lithuania invited to a presentation of the book Juozas Vaičkus: Spiritus Movens of Lithuanian Theatre and Cinema by Aušra Martišiūtė-Linartienė (Vilnius: Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore, 2022).

The arrival of springtime has many markers depending on where you reside. In Japan, people await the sakura blossoms of cherry trees. They are an ethereal symbol of the passing of time, representing birth, death, and renewal.