Kiri

Soome suursaatkond Tallinnas [email protected] 19.12.2023 No 11-3/1780-1 Your Excellency Ambassador Vasara I hope this letter finds you well. I would like to inform you about significant changes regarding the Finnish cultural autonomy in Estonia. As you will know, the Estonian government has actively supported Finnish community in Estonia as a part of wider support for culture of ethnical minorities in our country since Estonia's re- independence in 1991. The Estonian Ministry of Culture, has continuously provided operational grants to the Estonian Finns Autonomy Body. Sadly, recent developments will lead to significant changes in the operation of the Estonian Finns Cultural Autonomy Body. The latest elections for the Autonomy Body, held on October 11, 2023, saw low voter turnout with less than half of the eligible persons casting their vote. This was also the case with previous elections held on October 16-18, 2020, making latest elections the second one with the required quorum not met. Additionally, the number of Finns with Estonian citizenship has remained below 3 000 for the past five years. Under the National Minorities Cultural Autonomy Act, paragraph 28, subsections 1 and 3, the Estonian government has to disband cultural autonomy bodies of national minorities if the permanent population of the minority in Estonia, as recorded in the nationality list, is below 3 000 for five consecutive years, and/or if less than half of the listed voters participate in two successive cultural council elections. As described above, both are currently true in case of the Estonian Finns Cultural Autonomy Body. As set by law, the procedures are now being set in motion to disband Finnish cultural autonomy in Estonia. We advise the Estonian Finns Cultural Autonomy Body to seek support from the Integration Foundation, which provides specialized programs for ethnic minority cultural organizations. Additional details are available from the Integration Foundation. We very much hope that Finnish community will continue to preserve and cherish their cultural heritage in Estonia despite the challenges provided by change of their cultural autonomy status. Yours sincerely, (signed digitally) Eda Silberg Undersecretary for Cultural Diversity Suur-Karja 23 / 15076 Tallinn, Estonia / + 372 628 2222 / [email protected] / www.kul.ee / Registration No 70000941