Day 11 – International Forums and Conversations

​Today was a great day of excitement and international connections. We headed to the international forum held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ESTO2025. When we arrived we were greeted by old friends from the Foreign Ministry and new friends who had been following me for some time now. The feeling of people around these wonderful people again was somewhat surreal as we have been having conversations over the years but now all in the same area together. These are the people that will help navigate different aspects of Estonian Culture and foster connections all over the world. The first little discussion I went to was for the Chamber of Commerce and Sulev helped me navigate this new world of business and diplomacy in business. It was interesting seeing the different people in this room come together to discuss international business connections, not to mention we were greeted by the Foreign Minister. There was even a photo featured on the ESTO2025 instagram page with me standing next to him, just wonderful. After some time, I wondered back out to the main area and went into the main hall for the big address. It was done in Estonian, however, for us that do not understand it as well as we would like they had real time translation to English using headphones and someone sitting in a booth translating what was being said on stage. This was incredible and a wonderful use of technology to foster inclusivity. Of course the best thing to do is to learn Estonian, but it will not happen in a few weeks unfortunately, however this trip I am learning more and finding myself speaking and understanding more Estonian than I have ever before.

We had our initial introductions from a range of amazing people, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, again, who spoke about Estonian’s and it is important to keep our cultural identity and how all Estonians are diplomats, as well as Estonians don’t speak much, we do much. I love this quote, and it has really resonated with me, because we do. After this we headed off to our mini forum discussions. Mum, Ingrid and I went to the cultural connections one where we spoke about what we are doing in Australia with the Käsitöö group and all things handicraft. We had a lot to offer as we are very active, plus we learned so much from other countries like Sweden, USA, Canada and England. It seems we all face similar yet different challenges. We made some wonderful connections where and this conversation has opened the doors to even more possibilities than we had before. We even had the opportunity to speak with a lovely lady from the Ministry of Culture, who heard what we had to say regarding grants and the possibility of having more time to apply for grants offered from Estonia in foreign communities, like ours. Hopefully this will be useful in the future. After lunch we headed to our second forum, all about kids camps. For those that know me, know that I ran the Estonian Children’s Summer Camp in Australia for 6 years and served on their committee and leadership team for about 20 years. This was a wonderful conversation to be part of and it was fantastic having Sulev and Barbara there as well, who are the current President and Secretary. It was a great collaboration of ideas as people were very interested in what we are doing in Australia and one thing I noticed and felt an abundance of gratitude for during this conversation was how much the Estonian community in Sydney all work together to keep the culture alive, with the camp being the focus and everyone just doing their part from the handicraft group to the dancers and singers. We use our folk costume library to help kids feel engaged in the culture, that we curate at the Käsitöö group and this I feel has become a big aspect of the camp in regards to helping kids and adults alike feel really connected to their Estonian roots. There is nothing like the feeling of putting on some Rahvariide and feeling like a real Estonian person, with the look to match! 

​Once these amazing conversations had finished, we took Ingrid and headed to the material shop we absolutely adore! I had messaged Svetlana earlier to find out when she was opened, and now I knew it would be opened. When we arrived she remembered us from 2 years ago. She was super helpful and really being honest about how much material we needed to make different things. The choices here were endless. I couldn’t even decide on what I wanted to get and what skirts I wanted. It was really hard to make decisions. Mum and Ingrid made some purchases, some wonderful designs and patterns that are going to be added to our Rahvariide Library, I can’t wait! I then sent mum off with about 4 big bags of woollen material and dad and I headed to Abicarn, or their equivalent of spotlight. We decided to take some public transport, although afterwards we worked out it is way cheaper to take a Bolt for the 2 of us. It was an experience either way, taking public transport. They sadly did not have much material left for what I was looking for, but I got some bits and pieces to make some new exclusive products for Estonian Designs AU. Thankfully I have learned how to sew but also have a little secret weapon.

​Once we returned from our adventures, we had a little rest and headed off to dinner with Argo and his family. They invited us to join them after 2 of them had finished an all day practice at the dance festival, or Tantsupidu. I can’t even imagine what it is like to dance 14hrs a day for 5 days straight. This is an incredible achievement and they were only just finished day 1. It was so nice spending time with Argo’s family, it really feels like we are part of their family. They are actually Viv and Rein’s family but we are all pretty much family now. It is so special to be able to have these connections and be part of every day life rather than just a tourist. It was great seeing Eneli and Jasmin, she is always so cute. Jasmin had a new plushy toy without a name and I told her once she should call it Marissa, and by the end of the evening she called it Marissa. It is so special being able to communicate with a 7 year old in some Estonian and we just understand what we mean with things. I was told she asked her parents if I was coming to this dinner, we spent some time together 2 years ago, it was really special. I was getting tired and wanted to go home to bed, and it was getting late. As I was about to leave, Argo proposed marriage to me, using one of Jasmin’s toy donuts as a ring. Of course I said yes, so I may or may not be engaged to an Estonian man. However, dad said he couldn’t because he did not ask his permission (such an old way of thinking) and mum and dad told me after I left he was to scared to ask!
Until tomorrow
Marissa xx