The city of good thoughts always has room for new ideas, which is why this spring, the [pre]opinion festival will be held in Tartu for the first time. The festival is now inviting people to contribute to its content and discussions – the open call for ideas takes place on Arvamusfestival’s website from January 8 to 21.
When the Opinion Festival conducted a street survey in Tartu city center, it was found that there are many topics that are important to the locals. For example, new cultural center construction, kindergarten fees, young people’s communication language, higher education financing, and student welfare were mentioned. To ensure that these and other important topics get included in the festival’s program, the festival is looking for potential discussion organizers and compelling topic proposals through the open call for ideas.
Participation leads to a wider audience
To participate in the open call for ideas, visit arvamusfestival.ee website and fill out the form. The condition for submitting an idea is the readiness to organize the proposed discussion. Potential discussion organizers can be any organizations, companies, communities, or other groups that are concerned about the region’s well-being.
Kaspar Tammist, the head of the Opinion Festival, encourages people to share their thoughts. “Participating in the open call for ideas and organizing a discussion is a unique opportunity – it brings your community to a wider audience to find support, solutions, and implementation for your ideas.” Ideas that make it to the program will be selected at the end of January and then work will begin on organizing the discussions. “The most important thing is a good and well-thought-out idea,” says Tammist, emphasizing that the festival team will also help develop the selected ideas.
Heading to Tartu with innovations
The Tartu [pre]opinion festival will take place on May 17-18 in Tartu Keskpark. The event is part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 and is inspired by the lively atmosphere of the Paide Opinion Festival, characterized by exciting discussion formats and topics. According to Kaspar Tammist, the event is special because it is the first time the [pre]opinion festival format is being brought to a bigger Estonian city and also the festival will be held on two days. As a new feature, Tartu residents will also have the opportunity to engage in discussions with opinion leaders across Europe, as the Hybrid European Democracy Festival area will connect with European university cities through digital broadcasts.
