Open Estonia Foundation

The Open Estonia Foundation promotes a number of important open society issues both within and beyond Estonia’s borders, including health care reform, multiculturalism, and strengthening citizen participation in both national and European politics.

The foundation works with many other nongovernmental organizations around the world, as well as other foundations within the network, to share experience and expertise and, more broadly, to promote regional and international cooperation. To that end, it has organized trainings on Internet voting in Mongolia; assisted Kazakh officials in improving services to people with special needs and people living with HIV/AIDS; raised public awareness in both Estonia and Georgia on the conditions of Georgian refugee camps; sponsored a region-wide conference on the Belarusian Diaspora; and developed policy recommendations for promoting the social integration of children with disabilities in Azerbaijan.

The Open Estonia Foundation has also been instrumental in advancing cross-cultural understanding among Estonia’s ethnic populations, particularly between the Russian-speaking minority and the wider Estonian public. In addition, it works to increase citizen participation in EU decision-making through activities such as hosting public debates and initiating media campaigns around EU issues.