Services for Tartu city's children's day centers will be organized by the Tartu Youth Work Center

June 15, 2022

At the proposal of the Tartu City Government, starting in July, the children's day center service will be merged with the Culture Department of the Tartu City Government. The Tartu Youth Work Center (TNTK) will become the implementer and responsible party for the children's day center services, operating as a sub-institution of the Culture Department.

Children's centers will open their doors starting this autumn in the Anne Youth Center building (Uus 56, Tartu, 2nd floor) and the Lille Youth Center building (Lille tn 9, Tartu, 1st floor). The future premises of the children's centers will be renovated and adapted to be suitable and modern. The existing Anne, Lille, and Ilmatsalu youth centers will continue their activities as usual.

Helen Siska, Head of Youth Work, explained that the decision originated from a sector mapping conducted in the autumn of 2021, which revealed that few young people were utilizing the service and it was insufficiently accessible to the target group. “To improve the quality of youth work and provide diverse support for young people, a holistic approach is necessary. Unfortunately, the current solution has also proven resource-intensive for the city, which is why significant steps need to be taken to develop a better service,” she explained.
The aim of the reorganizations is to ensure young people's access to services and a place where they can go with friends after school, receive necessary support, and have the opportunity for diverse development. At the end of the year, four additional youth workers will be hired at the Tartu Youth Work Center, two of whom will start working at Anne Children's Center and two at Lille Children's Center.

Children's center services will be offered starting in September, five days a week, Monday to Friday from 12 PM to 6 PM. The target group is young people aged 7-12, and all activities are free for visitors. Youth centers, targeting young people aged 12-19, also operate in the same building. This summer, young people from the children's center can participate in the summer activities of the Tartu Youth Work Center, both at the youth centers and on Autovabaduse Puiestee (AVP) in Tartu city center.
More detailed information, guidelines, and activity descriptions will be published in August on the Tartu Youth Work Center website: https://tntk.tartu.ee/.
An open house day will also take place in the autumn, where everyone is welcome to get acquainted with the new service and location.

Further information:
Helen Siska
Head of Youth Work Department
Tartu City Government Culture Department
phone: 736 1365
helen.siska@Tartu.ee

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