BaltHerNet’s 12th summer school “Diaspora Estonian cultural heritage abroad. XII. How to tell the diaspora Estonian story?” is taking place from June 16-19, 2025 in Tallinn, Viinistu, and Rakvere.
This year’s summer school is dedicated to collecting and telling diaspora Estonian stories. In choosing the topics, we’re also keeping in mind the Year of the Estonian Book. How do we tell the diaspora Estonian story to Estonians living in the homeland? How do we handle our history within the terms of the growing info war? What role does the Estonian language book hold in this mission? Projects which involve the collection of stories and bringing them to the general public through specific collection campaigns, academic works, books, exhibitions, art and film projects, digital solutions, and media will be introduced. In addition to representatives of diaspora Estonian communities, employees from Estonian memory institutions, who deal with the aforementioned topics in their day-to-day work, will also be presenting. Academic researchers, artists, filmmakers, exhibit curators, book authors, publishers, journalists, media experts and more will also be speaking.
Participants will meet in Tallinn on June 16th, where we will visit Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom exhibit “Free Winds.” Following that, a bus will take participants to Viinistu. From June 17-18th, lectures and seminars will take place in Viinistu, where we will also familiarize ourselves with Jaan Manitski’s art collection. On the morning of June 19th, a bus will transport us to Palmse manor and then Rakvere, where we will visit local museums and the National Archives. Participants of the summer school will be transported to Tallinn by the evening.
The summer school is organized by BaltHerNet’s diaspora Estonian archives work group, which includes the National Archives, Estonian National Museum, Estonian Literary Museum, and workers from VEMU. Vabamu, Viinistu Art Harbour, and Virumaa Museums Inc. are our partners. Summer school is supported by the Ministry of Education and Research. The annual general meeting of the not-for-profit will also take place during the summer school.
Registration for the summer school starts on April 10th: balther.net