On this page

1. Information providers / counselling structures

2. Youth-targeted information campaigns about democratic rights and democratic values

3. Promoting the intercultural dialogue among young people

4. Promoting transparent and youth-tailored public communication

Information providers / counselling structures

Public authorities

Youth information falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Research. The Education and Youth Board (Harno) implements youth policy, including the development and coordination of youth information provision, and manages the system of Rajaleidja (Pathfinder) guidance centres.

Contact points for youth and youth information and counselling structures

Youth information has been recognised as a specific field within youth work since 2001. A separate system of youth information centres existed until 2014, when they were merged with career guidance centres (career guidance was subsequently transferred to the Unemployment Insurance Fund in 2018). As of 2026, there are 18 publicly financed Pathfinder centres (Rajaleidja) operating in all counties, providing information and counselling for young people up to the age of 26.

Dedicated websites for the provision of youth information include:

• Teeviit, the national youth information portal, available in Estonian and Russian, providing thematic content through articles, podcasts, social media campaigns and events for young people aged 13–26. Teeviit was rebranded in 2022–2023 based on youth feedback. In 2025, the Education and Youth Board received the European Youth Information Quality Label from ERYICA.
• Infohunt, a local-level digital youth information platform launched in 2020, managed jointly by municipalities and youth-sector service providers with the support of Harno and the European Social Fund.
• Rajaleidja, the Pathfinder guidance portal.
• Regional youth information portals, such as Tallinna noorteinfo (Tallinn youth information) and Jõgeva Valla Noorteinfo (Jõgeva County Youth Information).

These centres and youth information activities receive annual public funding.

Youth-targeted information campaigns about democratic rights and democratic values

In 2016, the Estonian National Youth Council carried out a publicly funded initiative, supported by the Ministry of Education and Research, connected with the lowering of the voting age to 16 for local elections (first applied in 2017). The initiative offered schools the opportunity to invite young representatives from the National Youth Council to deliver lessons or simulation exercises on voting and democratic participation.

In 2025, the Ministry of Education and Research allocated €160,000 through a dedicated grant scheme to support youth voter turnout and school democracy, targeting young people aged 15–19 in at least three counties. Five organisations were funded from 13 applications to deliver activities including election-themed debates, simulations, applied theatre and election analysis. The grant scheme was established by ministerial regulation and represented a policy response to the finding that upper-secondary-age turnout in the 2021 local elections was approximately 40% (Official elections statistics).

Local awareness campaigns also take place periodically, such as the Tartu City Youth Work Centre campaign „Lase lapsel laps olla” (“Let a child be a child”) in 2020.

Promoting the intercultural dialogue among young people

Cultural diversity is a significant policy area in Estonia, with representatives of approximately 190 nationalities living in the country. The Ministry of Culture, through its Department of Cultural Diversity, is responsible for integration policy. The Ministry coordinates the Sidusa Eesti Arengukava 2021-2030 (Cohesive Estonia Strategy 2030), which replaced the earlier Lõimuv Eesti 2020 (Integrating Estonia 2020) strategy and covers both integration and social cohesion.

The Cohesive Estonia Strategy 2030 aims for a society in which people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds share democratic values, participate actively in social life and feel a sense of unity. Its “Estonia supporting adaptation and integration” priority focuses on intercultural learning and defines objectives including developing adaptation and integration pathways, promoting social contacts across communities, improving Estonian language proficiency and supporting local-level cross-sectoral partnerships. The Strategy identifies two youth-specific activities: supporting cultural and youth work institutions in contributing to integration, and advising schools, local governments and educational institutions on adaptation and integration including through hobby education and youth work.

Beyond the policy framework, several concrete youth-focused initiatives promote intercultural dialogue:

• Integration Foundation Family Stays, an initiative that provides children and youth (ages 7–19) with a mother tongue other than Estonian the opportunity to stay with Estonian-speaking families. The program aims to foster societal engagement and direct contact between peers of different linguistic backgrounds.
• Youth Camp for Estonian Compatriots, aimed at young people of Estonian descent living abroad (ages 18–30), facilitates networking between those living in Estonia and those from the diaspora to explore Estonian culture and identity. The camp is organised by the Integration Foundation.
• The youth work field supports intercultural awareness through international mobility and exchange projects under Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, which enable young people in Estonia to engage in cross-cultural learning, volunteering and solidarity projects. Youth workers are also trained to work with diverse youth groups.

Promoting transparent and youth-tailored public communication

There is no policy framework or set of guidelines specifically on transparent public communication targeting young people in Estonia. The general consultation framework for the public sector, the Kaasamise hea tava (Good practice of inclusion), adopted in 2005 and updated through subsequent government regulations, sets out principles for consulting interest groups — including young people — in policy-making processes, but does not include youth-specific provisions. 

The Youth Sector Development Plan 2021-2035 addresses this gap at a strategic level. It sets the goal of improving feedback to young people on how their opinions have been taken into account in decision-making, and calls for better monitoring and understanding of the actual needs and circumstances of young people. The Plan also envisions the creation of an advisory group at the Prime Minister’s Office and a youth roundtable at the President’s Office to give young people increased opportunities to express their views at the highest levels of governance.

In practice, several youth-tailored communication initiatives have emerged at the national and local levels:

• The Teeviit portal, managed by the Education and Youth Board, delivers information on topics including society, rights and participation through formats designed for young audiences (short videos, podcasts, social media content), working in cooperation with youth volunteers and social media influencers.
• Rakvere City is developing a youth information service standard and a digital platform with young people involved at every stage of the design process, funded through the national “Quality Youth Sector Services” initiative coordinated by the Education and Youth Board and the European Social Fund.
• The Education and Youth Board organises the annual National Youth Work Week (held each November since 2011), which raises awareness of youth-sector opportunities and promotes dialogue between young people, youth workers, municipalities and the wider public.

See also chapter 10.7 for further information on the national development of youth information.

References

• Noortevaldkonna arengukava 2021-2035 (Youth Sector Development Plan 2021-2035) (2021). Prepared by the inistry of Education and Research.
• Sidusa Eesti Arengukava 2021-2030 (Cohesive Estonia Strategy 2030) (2021). Prepared by the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Kaasamise hea tava (Good practice of inclusion) (2005). Prepared by the Government Office.
• Ministerial regulation on youth voter turnout support (2025). Established by the Ministry of Education and Research.
• Teeviit (2018). Managed by the Education and Youth Board.
• Infohunt (2020). Managed jointly by municipalities and youth-sector service providers with the support of Harno and the European Social Fund.