Baltic Prime Ministers Mark 30th Anniversary of Baltic Way in Riga
Prime Minister Jüri Ratas celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Way together with Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš and Lithua-nian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis in Riga on August 23. The three prime ministers participated in an informal meeting of the Baltic Council of Ministers, where topics on the agenda included international cooperation as well as major joint projects such as Rail Baltica and the planned synchronization of the Baltics’ power grids with that of Central Europe.
Tartu Named European Capital of Culture 2024
On August 28 it was an-nounced that Tartu has won the bid to be Estonia’s Euro-pean Capital of Culture in 2024. The two cities competing for the bid were Tartu, Estonia’s second largest city, and Narva. The title of the European Capital of Culture 2024 will be awarded to three cities: one Austrian city to be announced in November; one city from an EFTA/EEA country, candidate country or po-tential candidate for EU membership to be announced in September; and Tartu.
Estonia Refuses to Recognise Presidential Election in Abkhazia
Estonia and 14 other countries have refused to recognise the legitimacy of “so-called presidential elections” held on August 25 in Abk-hazia, which is in Georgian territory, but is a de facto and partly-recognized republic. Since the Russo-Georgian War of 2008, Georgia has maintained that both South Ossetia and Abkhazia are under Russian occupation. Joint statement in English: https://bit.ly/2U2IBZe
Estonian World Council New Book Maps Activities Worldwide
A new book compiled by the Estonian World Council and available in September gives an overview of Estonian activities in the 11 countries united by the World Council. The book, containing facts and visual material in Estonian and English, is a gift to Estonia on the occasion of its centenary and will no doubt make for valuable archival material.
New Tallinn School of Music and Ballet to be World-Class Facility
The new Estonian national school of fine arts will be named the Tallinn School of Music and Ballet and will merge three former schools – Tallinn Music High School, Tallinn Georg Ots Music School and Tallinn Ballet School. The new school will be built in Tallinn at Pärnu maantee 59. The building’s winning design will be by Atelier Thomas Pucher (Austria) and will accommodate world-class facilities for study, practice and performing. Construction is set to begin in 2020 and the school will open its doors on September 1, 2022.
