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September 8th is International Literacy Day, and to celebrate it, Read Hour, a one-hour reading break, is organized. It originated in 2018 from the Finnish Children and Youth Foundation, with the aim of encouraging people to read for an hour every day, in any form. This is part of the Moomin Initiative "Reading, Writing, and Moomins." It is a multi-year international initiative whose goal is to spread the joy of reading and writing worldwide through Moomin stories. The initiative brings together charitable organizations and companies from all over the world (readhour.com/). As part of the Diggiloo project, we, in cooperation with the Finnish Institute and the Tartu Oskar Luts City Library, are also celebrating September 8th with Read Hour. Since Read Hour originated in Finland, there is a strong emphasis on Finnish literature, but the selection also includes…

This Thursday, September 1, two new youth centers will be officially opened, one at the Anne Youth Center (Uus 56, Tartu) and the other at the Lille Youth Center (Lille 9, Tartu). The new centers are aimed at a younger target group, ages 7-11. The opening of the new centers will take place at 12 noon. On the first day, there will be a special program at both centers: you can have your picture taken, play room bingo, participate in various workshops, and enjoy cake in honor of the special day. On September 1, everyone interested, including parents, is welcome to come and see the rooms. The center will be open until 6 p.m. The youth centers for the younger target group are open Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and are located on the second floor of both buildings. With the opening of the new centers, the age range of the existing Anne and Lille youth centers will also increase to 12-19...

The Youth Summer Camp has ended for this year. As every year, the Youth Summer Camp concludes with the Tartumaa youth camps' gathering and the nationwide EÕM gathering. This year, the Tartumaa youth camps' gathering took place for the first time at Valgemetsa Holiday Village, and in addition to young people from Tartu city, youth campers from Elva and Peipsiääre municipalities also participated. During team games and competitions, the winning groups were determined, who then had the opportunity to travel to the EÕM gathering held in Toosikannu. This time, the winners crowned were the Hummuli group, the joint group of Säre farm and Tamme Traube, and the Telia and Tartu Sport group. At the nationwide gathering, participants traditionally competed in volleyball, tug-of-war, relay races, surprise events, recitations, songs, and much more. This year's performers at the gathering included AG and Traffic, among others. This time, there is…

In early July, specifically on July 4-5, 2022, the final meeting of the Erasmus+ KA2 project  „Young Creators Discover 3D“ took place in hot summer Tartu. The project days were held at the premises of the Tartu Youth Work Centre (in the Anne and Lille houses). All three participating countries attended the meeting: Robotikos mokykla (School of Robotics) from Lithuania, Baltijas Reģionālais fonds (Baltic Regional Fund) from Latvia, and Tartu Youth Work Centre from Estonia. The purpose of the project meeting was to hold the final gathering before the project's conclusion. The main focus was on reviewing the fulfillment of project conditions, supplementing and checking reports, and other related tasks. In addition to their work, colleagues also familiarized themselves with the life and operations of the Tartu Youth Work Centre, our colleagues, youth rooms, and the city of Tartu.   The Erasmus+ strategic cooperation project “Young creators…

The Youth Summer Camp has ended for this year. As every year, the Youth Summer Camp concludes with the Tartumaa youth camps' gathering and the nationwide EÕM gathering. This year, the Tartumaa youth camps' gathering took place for the first time at Valgemetsa Holiday Village, and in addition to young people from Tartu city, youth campers from Elva and Peipsiääre municipalities also participated. During team games and competitions, the winning groups were determined, who then had the opportunity to travel to the EÕM gathering held in Toosikannu. This time, the winners crowned were the Hummuli group, the joint group of Säre farm and Tamme Traube, and the Telia and Tartu Sport group. At the nationwide gathering, participants traditionally competed in volleyball, tug-of-war, relay races, surprise events, recitations, songs, and much more. This year's performers at the gathering included AG and Traffic, among others. This time, there is…

Since 1999, August 12 has been celebrated worldwide as Youth Day, which aims to highlight the contribution of young people to the development of society. According to the United Nations (UN), young people are not only the leaders of tomorrow, but are already making important changes in society today. In 2022, the theme of Youth Day will be intergenerational solidarity, with the aim of amplifying the message that cooperation between all generations is necessary to achieve the sustainable development goals set by the UN and to implement the action plan. In this regard, Youth Day carries the slogan "Creating a World for All Ages." The theme also aims to raise awareness of age discrimination. Age-related barriers primarily affect young and older people, revealing...

Young people have changed increasingly over time, yet schools continue to be shaped by adults. This is partly understandable, as school and education play a vital role in preparing individuals for adult life. However, formal education, which is structured around adult choices and labor market demands, may no longer align with young people's own life plans today. For many young people, current adult living standards are no longer attractive, and they therefore wish to apply their personal preferences already in their studies. I believe that the more flexible and diverse the curriculum, the better opportunities young people have to shape their future at an early age. Socialization is also an important component in human development, so young people's...

Lille Youth Centre is open again after its July break, during which the summer youth centre was active! Also, one of the rooms has received a fresher look. Furthermore, the floor is now covered with carpeting to make spending time at the youth centre even more pleasant. In August, Lille youth centre is open from Monday to Thursday from 1 PM to 7 PM, on Fridays from 2 PM to 9 PM, and closed on weekends.    

The team at the Lille Youth Center of the Tartu Youth Work Center is organizing Youth Day for the fourth time this year, which will take place on August 12. This is an international day dedicated to understanding the needs of young people. The event will take place in the courtyard of the Lille Youth Center, where a variety of activities will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. For example, young people will have the opportunity to participate in psycho-bus activities, learn parkour, make leather bags, take photos of themselves and their friends with a photo booth or Polaroid camera, learn about CrossFit and BMX, refresh themselves with finger food from the Youth Café, and much more. According to youth workers Liisi Trummi and Markos Parve, last year's biggest attraction was the rodeo bull, which was ridden several times...