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Jaanika Palm Jaan-Raul Ojastu In the summer youth center located on Car-Free Avenue, it was possible to participate in Estonian sign language learning workshops on several days, which were conducted in cooperation with the Tartu Youth Work Center by the Estonian Sign Language Society (EVS) and the Estonian Deaf Youth Organization (EKNO). The aim of the workshops was to introduce Estonian sign language, used as the second officially recognized state language in Estonia, to city residents of all ages, and more broadly, the community of people communicating in this language. A sub-goal was to increase societal tolerance between different communities by raising awareness about the sign language community. There are approximately 4500 Estonian sign language users: these are native and foreign signers who regularly use Estonian sign language either due to work or for other reasons (Laiapea et al. 2002: 4). Estonian sign language...

Grete Sarap From July 9th to August 8th, young people had their very own youth area on Tartu Car-Free Avenue, where many exciting activities took place every day from Monday to Sunday. There were activities for every taste: from creative thinking activities to active sports activities. In between, there were developmental workshops, city-wide games, science exploration, music introduction, etc. Of course, young people could also simply relax, play, communicate with youth workers and spend quality time with peers. The summer activities were favored by pleasantly warm summer weather, which brought many young people daily. Every Thursday, young people could refresh themselves with ice cream and enjoy evening musical performances by various young musicians, bands, and DJs. Many were not aware of the youth centre's year-round activities...

On August 6-7, the Tartu County Youth Work Camps reunion took place at the Tartu County Health Sports Center in Elva. Over 160 young people attended, from both the Tartu Youth Work Camp and the camps of Luunja and Kambja municipalities. This annual reunion, marking the end of the youth camps, gave young people another chance to gather before the start of school, have a good time, and reflect on the past summer of camp. Together, they competed in various sports, including tug-of-war, relay race, free throws, and volleyball. The youth camp groups had prepared their group flag for the reunion and created a unified look, which was judged on-site by a jury. All groups performed with recitation programs and songs, which were also judged by the jury. This year's theme for the recitation programs was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Estonia's re-independence. After the performances, on stage...

This summer, a particularly cool group is also active in the Tartu Youth Work Camp – an international youth work camp group. This group brings together young people from Estonia, Spain, Italy, and France for two weeks, working and spending their free time together. The goal of the Tartu Youth Work Camp is to offer school-aged youth aged 13-19 the opportunity to spend their summer holidays constructively, gaining their first work experience in a supportive and safe environment. The youth work camp group's tasks include several activities. For example, they collectively tidy up the Anne Youth Center and the Annelinn area – raking and collecting trash. Trash lying in green areas in the city center, parks along the Emajõgi River, and along roads is also collected by the youth to make the urban space cleaner and more pleasant. In addition to collecting trash, the youth help Tartu…

On Monday, a public discussion was held, during which the authors of the projects that had passed the first round of evaluation by the expert committee had to briefly explain why their idea was important to the community. This was followed by an evaluation to determine which ideas would proceed to the public vote in October. The evaluation was based on the following criteria: the number of people who would benefit from the idea, its impact on the urban environment, originality (i.e., a novel approach), community cooperation, and the promotion of active lifestyles. The evaluators were the authors of the ideas and experts from various fields. From Monday's discussion, where the participating ideas belonged to the theme group "Parks, sports, and leisure," 12 ideas advanced, including the Anne Youth Center Leisure Park. A total of 25 ideas will advance to the public vote in the fall. This year, 67 ideas were submitted to the participatory budget.

Knowledge Day is a back-to-school celebration held on September 1st in the city centre, where various hobby clubs are introduced to young people alongside entertainment. Each year, nearly 3000 students of various ages, from elementary school children to high school graduates, participate in the event. Various hobby schools and associations from Tartu are present with interactive workshops, with music and dance school performances taking place both in front of and on the stage, and the day concludes with a concert by Liis Lemsalu. This lively event is a tradition with which Tartu celebrates the start of the school year. The event location is once again planned to be the square next to Tartu Kaubamaja, Küüni Street, and if necessary, Keskpark. If the state imposes additional restrictions due to the spread of the virus, all activities will be spread out across the city. Providers of hobby education are asked to fill out a form. As always,…

In cooperation with international partners, the Tartu Youth Work Centre has developed a questionnaire within the framework of the Erasmus+ project “Digital Tools for Youth Work” (“Digivahendid noorsootöö tarvis”). Our innovation project is currently in the mapping phase. In this regard, we kindly ask youth workers to take 15-20 minutes of their time to answer the questionnaire, thereby contributing to the development of digital tools supporting future youth work. In addition to our centre, the participating partners in the project include Europejska Fundacja Rozwoju Człowieka (Poland), Armavir Development Center (Armenia), and Robotikos mokykla (Lithuania). We invite you to actively respond to support the development of digitalization in the youth sector! The questionnaire can be found here: https://lingid.ee/Pf0Da and is open until July 12th. Thank you for your help!

Tartu Youth work camp, Tallinn Student Camp, and Pärnumaa Student Camp, in cooperation with the Government Office's 30th Anniversary of the Restoration of Independence Committee and the Education and Youth Board, are jointly celebrating the 30th anniversary of the restoration of independence of the Republic of Estonia this summer and will carry out activities dedicated to this important date during the 2021 camp summer. In this regard, the Tartu Youth work camp is looking for photos from participants of youth camps during Estonia's independence period (1987-1991), along with an explanation of what is happening in the picture. We will feature the photos on our social media, and current camp participants can re-enact the pictures. If you have a particularly exciting story to tell, please send it to us as well. If you or your parents have interesting photos or stories from participating in the youth work camp during the re-independence period, please send them to maarja.enumae@raad.tartu.ee. Photo source: Foundation's…

On June 17 at 3 PM, the opening ceremony of the Tartu Youth Work Camp will take place in the courtyard of the Anne Youth Center, marking the start of this year's camp summer. The opening ceremony, as the name suggests, will begin with a bang, executed by the Tartu Defense League in the form of a mock battle. Mayor Urmas Klaas will deliver welcoming remarks. Afterwards, participants will get to know their future groupmates better through games, and a camp tree, which this year is a rowan, will be planted in the courtyard of the Anne Youth Center. In addition, a traditional procession will take place. Together, they will move to Town Hall Square, where future campers will take the camp oath and together sing the legendary camp song "Maasika Klaarika" (Strawberry Klaarika). The first shifts will start work on June 28, but most of the work will be done in July. The Tartu Youth Work Camp summer will conclude with…