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1. Governance

2. Cross-sectorial cooperation

Governance

There is no single body responsible for the creativity and culture of young people as the domain covers several policy areas, which have established different division of tasks between different ministries, and between local and central levels.

The main Governmental authority responsible for the creativity and culture of young people in Estonia according to the Government of the Republic Act (passed 13.12.1995) is the Ministry of Culture, where there are two departments relevant to the culture and creativity of youth: the Arts Department and the Cultural Diversity Department.

Other main public actors and foundations of policy fields relevant to creativity and culture:

• Ministry of Education and Research, responsible for youth policy and education policy, where the creativity of young people is one of the goals of the Youth Sector Development Plan 2021-2035.
• the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, responsible for supporting creative industries and technological development.
• Education and Youth Board, a governmental organization resposible for the implementation of education and youth policy.
• Integration Foundation, an independent body established by the government under the Ministry of Culture, responsible for supporting the integration of national minorities in Estonia and cultural diversity.
• Estonian Song and Dance Celebration Foundation, an independent body established by the government under the Ministry of Culture, responsible for the development and organization of national song and dance celebrations, which is a great part of the culture in Estonia.
• Estonian Folk Culture Centre, an independent body established by the government under the Ministry of Culture, responsible for the survival and evolution of Estonian folk culture and intangible heritage.
• The Cultural Endowment of Estonia, a legal person in public law the objective of which is to finance the arts, folk culture, physical fitness and sport, and the construction and renovation of cultural buildings.

The main non-public actors, who represent different interest fields that are tightly connected with culture and creativity:

• Estonian Arts School Union, an umbrella organization for art schools in Estonia;
• Estonian Music Schools Union, an umbrella organization for music schools in Estonia;
• Estonian Dance Hobby Education Union, an umbrella organization for dance schools in Estonia;
• Estonian Science Hobby Education Union, an umbrella organization for science hobby schools in Estonia;
• Estonian Hobby Schools Union, an umbrella organization uniting hobby schools in Estonia;
• Estonian Private Hobby Schools Union, an umbrella organization uniting private hobby schools in Estonia;
• Estonian Amateur Theatre Association, an umbrella organization uniting amateur theaters.

In the means of governance, the listed representative non-public actors represent the voice of their members in the development of each of these fields separately that are connected to culture and creativity. They are all included in the youth policy development process through the Hobby Education Representative Body called HUVE, which mainly cooperates with the Ministry of Education and Research and gives input to different youth policy related topics and documents.

Other NGOs that are connected to the field of culture and creativity and develop their concrete field:

• Union of Dance Education and Arts, an organization uniting educators and artists in the area of dance;
• Estonian Choral Association, an umbrella organization for all choirs and wind orchestras in Estonia;
• Estonian Music Council, a non-governmental organization that serves as a representative body of Estonian musicians.

The distribution of responsibilities between the national and local level

In general, the Ministry of Culture is responsible for the development of policy in the area of culture (including culture and creativity of youth) and for forming the principles of financing culture. Local authorities are responsible for municipal cultural and educational institutions (including hobby schools) and are also financing local activities, initiatives, and non-governmental organizations.

Cross-sectorial cooperation

There is a mechanism established to ensure harmonized policy-making and implementation, which also covers the area of culture and creativity of youth. The central position in this mechanism - approving the propositions to develop a policy document or to change the existing one, monitoring the implementation through approving the action plans and their reports, monitoring the cooperation and in case of need initiating the cooperation - is granted to the Government and the Government Office based on the State Budget Act (see a more detailed description of the mechanisms in Chapter 1.5). The Ministry of Finance also plays a coordinating role in planning, monitoring, and ensuring the division of resources of different financial instruments including the state budget, among all the policy fields.