LIVE ⟩ Integration experts discuss cultural diversity

Photo: Integratsiooni sihtasutus

The Integration Foundation calls everyone for the integration conference entitled «Cultural diversity – An Obstacle or an Opportunity in Shaping a Cohesive Society?». You can attend the first day of the conference via live-stream at the Postimees web portal.

The integration conference, organised by the Integration Foundation and the Ministry of Culture, will bring together renowned researchers and practitioners from Estonia and other countries for the eleventh time. This time, the experts will focus on the issues arising from the diversity of cultures within communities and nationalities – cultural diversity.

«A turbulent world and a changing economy pose more and more challenges to the cohesion of societies. What are the lessons learned that can help to alleviate polarisation and societal tensions? How to maintain cohesion in an increasingly diverse and changing society? How is it possible to stay in a shared information and value space when it is ever easier to live in a digital bubble? These are just some of the issues that we will be discussing at this year’s conference,» said Dmitri Moskovtsev, Director of the Integration Foundation.

The conference will be opened by Minister of Culture Heidy Purga. Afterwards researchers and practitioners from Estonia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, and other countries will discuss current issues from the perspective of cultural diversity, such as tensions in society, the changing information space, migration trends, countries’ policies, and election campaigns.

«Recognized experts will share their experiences and answer questions. There will be an opportunity to meet, for example, JJ Green, a correspondent of the WTOP radio station operating in Washington, who provides daily reviews of US and other countries' policies. You can also listen to the observations of Bridget Kendall, the first female head of the oldest college of the University of Cambridge, who has immediate experiences from the time when the Baltic states regained their independence,» said one of the conference organizers, Marianna Makarova, Head of Research at the Integration Foundation.

The presentations and discussions will be complemented by a debate between Estonian politicians.

The first day of the conference can be attended at Hestia Hotel Europa in Tallinn or via live-stream, the second day only on-site.

The speakers and the programme of the conference can be found on the website of the integration conference at www.integrationconference.ee

PROGRAM

Cultural diversity – an obstacle or an opportunity in shaping a cohesive society?

14 November 2024

09.30 – 09.45 Opening words

• Heidy Purga, Minister of Culture

• Dmitri Moskovtsev, Director of the Integration Foundation

09.45 – 11.15 Discussion: Cultural diversity – the life jacket for democracy?

• Dr Agnese Cimdina, Head of Diversity & Inclusion practice in the Baltics, PwC Latvia

• Dmitri Teperik, National Centre of Defence & Security Awareness

• Dainius Babilas, Department of National Minorities, Lithuanian Government

11.15 – 12.00 Fireside Chat: Cultural diversity and migration, conflicts and peace – observations from the USA and the world

JJ Green, national security correspondent at WTOP, Washington USA

13.00 – 13.10 Cultural diversity in numbers

Terje Trasberg, Estonian Department of Statistics

13.10 – 14.30 Political debate of Estonian parliamentary parties

• Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, Estonian Reform Party

• Tõnis Lukas, Isamaa

• Raimond Kaljulaid, Social Democratic Party

• Vadim Belobrovtsev, Estonian Centre Party

• Mart Kallas, Conservative People's Party

• Juku-Kalle Raid, Eesti 200

14.30 – 14.45 Keynote: Cultural Diversity and values

Pavol Kosnáč, director of the DEKK Institute in Bratislava, Principal Investigator of World Value Survey in Slovakia

15.10 – 15.50 Keynote: Societal cohesion and various dimensions of integration

Prof. Marju Lauristin

15.50 – 17.20 Discussion: Information space, culture space, values space – how to bridge them in era of digital bubbles?

• Prof. Bridget Kendall MBE Hon FBA, University of Cambridge

• Prof. Maria Murumaa-Mengel, University of Tartu

• Dr Solvita Denisa-Liepniece, IREX, Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences

• Claudia Schröter, film producer

17.20 – 17.30 Closing the day