Blog

Today, November 17, is International Prematurity Day, and Anne Youth Center is joining in by calling for outdoor lighting to be turned purple for one evening. One in ten children is born prematurely, before the 37th week of pregnancy. It has become a tradition that on November 17, the evening of World Prematurity Day, the world is lit up in lilac in honor of premature babies, their families, and all their supporters. Lilac is the color of prematurity, marking the beginning of life and symbolizing optimism. The lighting solution for the house is provided by Sound Group OÜ, whose representative Ülari Toots came up with the idea of joining the charity campaign. Margit Kink, director of the Anne Youth Center, did not think twice when the lighting technician made the offer: "I have seen this concern up close in the families of prematurely born children...

A free drama club takes place every Tuesday from 4 PM to 5 PM at Lille Youth Centre. Young people aged 11-19 are welcome to participate. The drama club facilitators, youth workers Liisa Tammoja and Sirli Solom, have studied drama education at the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy and now wish to share their skills and knowledge with young people. Through drama education, the instructors aim to give young people the opportunity to express themselves more freely. Various playful and creative activities take place in the drama club to make participation enjoyable for young people. The instructors emphasize an important point about the club: everything done in the club is correct – there are no wrong answers or ways of acting. Young people Kendra and Jasper, who participated in the first drama club meeting, commented on their experience as follows: "The club was fun, we got to..."

Since October, there has been more hustle and bustle and construction than usual around both the Lille and Anne youth centers. Renovations are taking place both inside and outside both youth centers. A new outdoor pavilion with a roof and walls has been built in the courtyard of the Lille Youth Center, where concerts and youth center outdoor activities can be held in the future. At the beginning of December, the kitchen of the Lille Youth Center will also undergo renovations. Currently, the kitchen area is cramped and does not allow many young people to cook at the same time or, for example, access the kitchen in a wheelchair. The construction work is planned to expand the kitchen area and thus allow more young people to participate in cooking. Renovation work is also underway in front of the Anne Youth Center and on the second floor. A new garbage shed was built in front of the Anne Center at the end of October. Also...

As the days grew darker, youth center staff rolled up their sleeves and, together with young people, built reflector trees. Reflectors hung on these trees can be taken for free by both young people visiting the centers and passers-by. The purpose of the reflector trees is to provide young people and other city residents with reflectors so that everyone can move safely in dark conditions. Reflector trees can be found in the yards of the Lille (Lille 9), Anne (Uus 56) and Ilmatsalu (Järve tee 8) youth centers. The youth centers provide the reflectors for the trees, but unused reflectors from all other passers-by are also welcome. We are also happy to cooperate with companies that have reflectors to offer. Together we can make traffic safer. Let's keep ourselves and others safe!

Jaanika Palm Did you know that Estonian sign language has been recognized in the Language Act of the Republic of Estonia since March 1, 2007? The first paragraph of § 5 of the Language Act (2019) states: "Any language other than Estonian and Estonian sign language is a foreign language." Based on this, and also considering that the goal of Tartu Youth Work Center is maximum accessibility for all young people, during the implementation of the project "Reverse Inclusion in Society", we aim to introduce Estonian sign language, which is used as the second officially recognized state language, and more broadly, the community of people communicating in this language, to a wider audience (young people, and thereby also parents; people working with young people). A sub-goal was to increase societal tolerance between different communities by raising awareness about the sign language community. The project takes place in cooperation with the Estonian...

On November 26-27, the Anne Youth Center will host the Hack@Youth hackathon, aimed at developing digital tools to facilitate youth work. The hackathon is organized within the framework of the Erasmus+ project “Digital Tools for Youth Work” in cooperation with the Institute of Computer Science at the University of Tartu. Representatives from various fields who wish to contribute to the development of digital tools for youth work are welcome to participate, including students and experts from both IT and youth work sectors. The hackathon will take place on November 26-27, starting at 12 PM and ending at 3 PM at the Anne Youth Center (Uus 56, Tartu). Participation in the event is free of charge. During the hackathon, we will carefully observe COVID-19 measures. Participants aged 18+ are required to present a COVID-19 pass, a negative COVID-19 test taken within 48 hours, or proof of recovery. We also provide free rapid testing on-site. The event is supported by the City of Tartu, Erasmus+, and the European Solidarity Corps…

Hello everyone! My name is Anargyros, which is quite difficult to pronounce, so you can just call me Argy for short. An interesting fact about me (or perhaps not so interesting) is that my name has a meaning. Specifically, it means 'no money', seriously. The name is formed from the Greek expressions 'an' (without) and 'argyros' (silver), so combined it means 'a person who has no silver/money'. I come from a small island called Syros, in Greece, located in the middle of the Aegean Sea. I lived in Syros for a little over 17 years before moving to Athens, the capital of Greece, to study informatics at the University of West Attica. That went... Well, actually, it's still going, because during my studies I discovered...

At the end of August, staff members of the Tartu Youth Work Center participated in a 3D printing training in Lithuania and are now bringing 3D printing to youth centers. The training took place within the framework of the Erasmus+ strategic cooperation project “Young Creators Discover 3D”. As part of the project, workshops on 3D printing have been developed for young people, and now groups have the opportunity to come and experiment and discover. During the project, workshops will be conducted for at least one hundred local young people, who will be able to try out the entire 3D printing process themselves and develop their skills to succeed in the future job market. Classes, youth groups, or individuals can register for two-day workshops on the following dates: 1. 10.11 and 12.11 2. 17.11 and 19.11 3. 8.12 and 10.12 4. 15.12 and 17.12…

Walking past the Anne Youth Centre building, it doesn't initially look like a youth centre from the outside. Apart from a ping-pong table, there are no attractions in the yard that would invite young people and Tartu residents to spend their free time there or resemble a youth centre. The Anne Youth Centre's yard has remained unchanged since 1969 and is in urgent need of renovation and modernization. In spring, the staff of Anne Youth Centre decided to submit a project to the participatory budget so that the Anne Youth Centre's yard could finally get a more attractive appearance with the help of Tartu residents. Ideas were sought from the local community and young people on what they would like to see in this area in the future. In addition to the open youth centre, several institutions offering leisure activities operate daily in the building located at Uus 56, and the building…