09/08/1998

I am very pleased to be here at this conference, where we will be discussing issues related to the younger generation. It is - after all - the young who will be determining the future of the world at the start of the next millennium. And the world we all live in has been undergoing major changes at an ever-increasing pace.

We in Estonia are particularly aware of this hectic pace. Estonia has spent the last seven years in an environment where everything is happening simultaneously. Laws are being written at the same time as everyday life is being reorganized: the economy, the education system, the health and social care systems.

In this ever-changing world, the role of young people must become increasingly important. And our task is not to create a future society FOR young people, but to create it TOGETHER with young people - that is, with the direct participation of the younger generation.

I would like to propose - to the countries participating in this distinguished forum - to organize in the nearfuture a conferencefor the youth organizations of those states who are in the process of developing a democratic system ofgovernment. This conference could have as its theme the participation ofyoung people - through various structures - in the life of society. I am convinced that such a gathering would benefit not only those states who are in the process of building a democratic system ofgovernment, but also those who already have a long continuous democratic tradition.

In developing Estonian policies and structures in the field of youth matters, we did not have to start from the beginning - we had a Law on the Organization of Youth, which was adopted in 1936, during our interwar independence period. Although this law could only function for four years, due to Estonia's occupation by the Soviet Union, the basis for cooperation between the state and voluntary youth structures had been created.

In our youth activities, the keywords are openness and cooperation. Through our legislation, we have tried to create in Estonia the required guarantees for our children and young people.

We are happy with our out-of-school activities scheme - we have a network of 170 so-called hobby schools, as well as activity circles centered in schools and associations.

Our annual youth information fairs have become a tradition, and we are setting up an information and counseling system for young people.

We have begun activities with juveniles with the aim of preventing under- age crime.

The role of youth associations in society is increasing, as is the role of student

self-governments in the education system. An Estonian Youth Report is currently being compiled for the Council of Europe, and we are actively participating in the European Union's Youth for Europe program.

On the international level, we consider the mobility of young people to be a high priority. We have good contacts with youth structures in Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Belgium, France and Russia. Due to our continued integration process into the European Union, we are particularly interested in the youth policies of all the member states and associated countries.

We do not wish to copy any particular country's youth policies, but are interested in learning everything positive that has been accumulated over the years.

In order to bring this information to as many Estonian young people as possible, we have planned - for February in the year 2000 - a youth information fair with the theme "Global Opportunities For Young People". We would like to welcome delegations from many countries. From our part, we would like to offer an overview of the development of Estonian society and our youth activities.

We are a country with 1.5 million inhabitants, where almost 600 000 are under 30 years old. One of our basic problems is the current low birth rate - only 12000 children were born in 1997, compared to 23 000 in 1990.

We have directed our attention to multiple modes of educating young people. For the development of the state, the various citizens' associations - particularly youth associations - are most important. These are the best democracy-leaming schools, where planning, implementation, and responsibility are learnt.

I would like to thank the representatives of the youth associations of all those countries, who have helped their sister organizations in Estonia with both their experience and with practical help.

One of the cornerstones of youth work must surely be the easy availability of all kinds of information affecting young people, and the existence of advisory services. In Estonia, this requirement is being fulfilled through the "Tiger Leap" program, which was initiated in 1996 and aims to provide Internet access in all Estonian schools by the year 2000. This program not only helps to improve the level of study in schools, but is also simplifying the contacts

between the youth organizations in various countries, and assists in project initiation and implementation.

The increase in contacts between student self-governments - be they in high schools, in vocational schools or universities - is important. In Estonia, we have provisions for such activity in our legislation, and we include the self- governments in our discussions on educational issues. The problem is the lack of experience on the part of the student representatives. For this reason, we are planning an international conference to take place in October, 2000, as a way of exchanging experience between students on their roles in the

development of the school system and in cooperation with fellow students.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I invite you to make contact with the various youth organizations in Estonia. You can find us on the Internet - on the Education Ministry website www.ee/HM and the Youth Information Database www.edu.ee/nip

Looking forward to seeing you one day in Estonia.

Thank you.