News archive

Estonian Public Broadcasting showcased the visual heritage of Estonians abroad in a new TV-series on ETV2. There were eight episodes, each 30 minutes long with a focus on a particular topic ranging from escape and politics to cultural activities and family life. 

The archive of the Lithuanian Encyclopedia, also known as the Boston Encyclopedia, has been recognized as an object of documentary heritage of national significance and entered into the Lithuanian National Register of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Memory of the World Program (Registration No. 83). The archive of the Encyclopedia is housed in the Lithuanian American Cultural Archives in Putnam, Connecticut, USA.

The Lithuanian Diaspora Institute at VMU has received the archive of Algis Kabaila (1925-2021), the first Honorary Consul of the Republic of Lithuania in Australia and an active member of the Lithuanian Australian Community. Kabaila’s son, Peter Rimas Kabaila, donated the archive to the Institute.

KLAM – Canadian Latvian Archive and Museum has experienced a great loss with the passing of Ženija Vītols.

After a serious illness, Rutt Hinrikus, a recognized literary scholar, emeritus researcher of the Estonian Literary Museum and the grand old lady of collecting biographies of the Estonian people, passed away.

On September 23, 2023, a Lithuanian-born Venezuelan journalist Jūratė Statkutė de Rosales passed away. The 93-year-old journalist was also a scholar of Baltic prehistory.

During the long, hot summer days, EstoCast has kept up its pace by bringing you the latest scorching interviews and discussions with fascinating individuals. If you’re new to our podcast, EstoCast is also ideal for those simply curious about many topics and searching for something fresh, exciting, inspiring, and educational to listen to. If you’ve ever wanted the latest Estonian books, music, art, history, science, and other key news and cultural topics in a convenient on-the-go format, EstoCast is perfect. VEMU (Estonian Museum Canada), Estonian Music Week, and Eesti Elu (Estonian Life) newspaper have continued success with their joint venture, published biweekly. EstoCast alternates between English and Estonian every other episode so that there’s something for everyone; those wanting to learn or practice either language also have the perfect chance for that! EstoCast’s journey to success continues steadily, with our listener base consistently growing with each episode as we branch out into an even wider variety of topics. We have both an established fanbase and also new listeners biweekly. The podcast is now a year and a half old and well past the halfway point in our second season. In the past few months, we’ve upgraded our recording gear and technology to bring our followers an even better and more immersive listening experience. We have 33 live episodes ready for your listening pleasure, spanning topics from literature to music the latest cultural issues to world-class athletes. Over the past few months, we’ve expanded our discussion topics to include professional athleticism and sports, exercise, local history and urban planning, and the fascinating world of improvisational music. We’ve had great, fun guests in the studio, such as Kirke Karja Trio, who touched upon how trust functions in music and the importance of it following their stint at Estonian Music Week 2023, Estonian-Canadian athlete Aleksa Gold, who discussed the stress of top-level competition and the mindset of a professional athlete, established rhythmic gymnast and former trainer Siina Kasekamp who talked about the path to becoming a trainer and what it entails, and urban planner Eric Sehr who discussed local Toronto history, the future of the local cityscape and much more. We also continue to focus on bringing the stories of people in our diaspora Estonian communities in Canada and worldwide. There is never a dull moment with EstoCast! A good portion of our listener base is in Canada. It continues to grow steadily, with the United States, Estonia, Brazil, and Sweden continuing to round out the top 5 countries. We’ve gained more listeners in all corners of the earth, mainly Australia, Spain, the Philippines, and Norway. EstoCast is taking over the world, one listener at a time! Our current most popular episode remains “Chef Paul Lillakas Shares His Path to Becoming a TV Chef”, followed by “An Interview With a Bookworm – a discussion with VEMU/Estonian Museum Canada chief archivist Piret Noorhani,” and “The Sonic Universe of Kara-Lis Coverdale.” As for platforms, our listeners have been tuning in essentially via Spotify, followed by Apple Podcasts and our very own podcast website. We’re proud of how far we’ve come and continue working hard to grow our reach in the vast sea of podcasts! As mentioned, Season 2 is well underway, and we have many more exciting and captivating guests. The next English episode will feature EstonianCanadian traveller and athlete Markus Pukonen, who will detail his amazing 8-year-long trip around the world, and the next Estonian episode will include local Estonian-Canadian marathoner and fitness educator Elli Kipper with her discussion of her road to exercise and where she is today. There’s a lot to tune in for; check us out! Hosts Vincent Teetsov and Kati Kiilaspea, along with occasional guest hosts, will continue to take you through the exciting world of Estonian culture. You can find EstoCast here on major streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music and at our website: https://estocast.buzzsprout.com/ Happy listening! Kati Kiilaspea

The autumn edition of the Baltic Heritage Network quarterly newsletter is now available. In these pages, you will find information about our past and future events, new publications, and what is happening across the globe within the diaspora research and archive communities.

August brought diligent helpers, once again, from Estonia to Toronto. Tiiu Kravtsev and Kaia Ivask from the National Archives organised VEMU’s document archives, including the Estonian Central Council in Canada’s extensive archive. Riina Reinvelt from the Estonian National Museum continued the systemisation of Tommy Tomson’s sizeable collection of photos, which she began last year. Krislin Kämärä, the coordinator of the team of curators that works on VEMU’s future permanent exhibit, arrived at the end of August to start in on research at VEMU archives. Work meetings about the permanent exhibition took place, in which Krislin, Tiiu and Riina joined. We’re thankful to our guests for their dedication and the Global Estonian program for their financial support. Aimar Altosaar and Marge Tiidus, both former directors of the State Archives and on the road to the Kotkajärve Forest University, could also stop by VEMU for a visit. Eli Pilve from the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory got acquainted with VEMU’s activities and collections after Forest University. Hille Viires from Montréal brought archival material. Piret Noorhani and Kerly Ilves spent two days in Collingwood choosing items for VEMU’s archives from Ene-Liis Martens’ collection.

The Baltic Heritage Network summer school, the eleventh which has been organised thus far, took place this year from June 26th-29th. Founded in 2008, the Baltic Heritage Network promotes collaboration between cultural institutions which focus on preserving and researching the cultural heritage of the Baltic Diaspora. This includes organising events such as conferences, seminars, and summer schools. Each summer school takes place in a different location with a different theme. This year’s took place in Värska, Võrumaa, investigating the theme of “My Estonian Roots”. Before travelling to Värska, summer school participants gathered at the Noora, the new National Archives of Estonia building in Tartu. There, the group heard a lecture by Tõnis Türna, who spoke about conducting genealogical research and any restrictions one might run into when requesting materials. Birgit Kibal then gave a tour of the building before the group began their bus journey to Värska. When the group arrived in Värska, there was a screening of the show “8 mm elu”, which investigates film footage of the Estonian diaspora, along with a Zoom discussion with the show’s editor, Maarja Merivoo-Parro. A clip was also shown examining the legacy of Estonians on the island of Gotland in Sweden. The Baltic Heritage Network Annual Meeting kicked off the second day, followed by a packed schedule of presentations and discussions. While new members are joining BaltHerNet, financial opportunities and support have decreased simultaneously. Nevertheless, the BaltHerNet team always manages to tackle any work that comes their way, the results of which we can be proud. The morning presentations investigated Estonian diaspora archives. Though unable to attend in person, Maie Barrow spoke with the group over Zoom about the work done within the Estonian-Australian community and its archives. There was also a presentation by Keila Kopvillem on the EstonianCanadian archives of VEMU and using the collections for genealogical and personal research. Madli Wiiburg Walfridsson spoke about the Estonian archives in Sweden and efforts being made in preserving and gathering data about the photo collection. After lunch, Fred Puss from the Estonian Biographical Centre spoke about genealogical research, sharing examples from his work and his family history. Tiina Tael from the Estonian National Museum investigated letters from Setomaa in the museum collections. Marin Laak from the Estonian Literary Museum shared material from Ilmar Laaban, Gunnar Neeme, and Abel Lee collections. Janis Tobreluts from the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church archives discussed transferring church archives from the Estonian diaspora to the Saaga collection of digitised archives. A discussion regarding cooperation in Estonian cultural heritage in diaspora followed these lectures. Participants included Kadri Linnus and Marin Mõttus from the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heidy Eskor from the Estonian Institute, and Piret Noorhani from Baltic Heritage Network and VEMU. Many organisations pursue similar projects and programming, and the project leaders are often the same cultural workers. Collection campaigns could be organized through competitions in supplementary schools and educational institutions in the Estonian diaspora to create connections between different generations and communities. BaltHerNet could also greatly benefit from new, young energy. There are many exciting possibilities for meaningful collaboration in the future. Programming for the evening was a viewing of the television show “Sinu uus sugulane” (Your New Relative) and a discussion with the show consultant Fred Puss. The series is similar to the British show Who Do You Think You Are, which has been on the air for several decades. In each episode of “Sinu uus sugulane”, a public figure in Estonia finds new relatives – other wellknown people – that they did not know about before. The third day of summer school investigated the collection of stories. Mari-Ann Remmel from the Estonian Literary Museum spoke about local lore and its role in shaping identity. Tiina Kirss from the Association of Estonian Life Stories introduced the association’s collection and explored how a biography is not just the story of an individual but a story about the individual, ancestors, and family. Marju Meschin from the Institute of Estonian Memory talked about the work of EMI and the plans to celebrate the upcoming anniversary of the Great Escape. Piret Voolaid, the director of the Estonian Literary Museum, spoke about collecting Estonian school lore in Canada and how former and current students and teachers across generations in Toronto remember their school days. After lunch, VEMU’s Piret Noorhani screened the film Meie Tartu, and, following the film discussed VEMU’s plans for the future. Aune Valk from the University of Tartu presented findings from a survey investigating Estonian identity. Following this presentation was a discussion about Estonian identity in the diaspora, moderated by Aune Valk with Riina Kindlam, Tiina Kirss and Lea Kreinin. On the last day of summer school, the group was taken on a tour of Setomaa, thanks to tour guide Helen Külvik, beginning in Värska’s orthodox church. After learning more about traditions and history at the Seto Farm Museum, the group was treated to a performance by a Leelo choir. Although time was running short, the bus was still able to make quick stops at Vana Jüri Seebikoda (soap store) and at Seto Atelier Gallery in Obinitsa, where the group was treated to a singalong with Evar Riitsaar and Kauksi Ülle. Instead of summer school next year, Baltic Heritage Network will be organising a conference in Vilnius – which means our Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts will also join in. Keep up with BaltHerNet news via the newsletter: https://www.balther.net/balthernet/balthernet-newsletters/ Keila Kopvillem Birgit Kibal