The Organizing Committee visited Tallinn on 22nd November to check that all the AM arrangements are running smoothly on the spot and to confirm venues for next March. The trip turned out to be inspiring and many of the ideas brainstormed in Finland were concretized. Another important aim was to meet interesting contacts in person and discuss their participation in the program.
After our ferry arrived in Tallinn, we paid a visit to the National Library of Estonia which turned out to be a very beautiful building. It was actually built in the 1980s but looks like a historical monument with its curved forms and artwork. We all agreed to be the main venue for the AM.
Close by the library is the Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom – another Estonian sight. Our meeting there turned out to be a fruitful one because not only we got a venue but also two visiting speakers with whom we discussed the marks of the socialist regime and its impact on older persons’ identity in Estonia today. The museum board was very interested in ENIEC and Vabamu offers us a window to observe and to go deeper into these questions of identity.
Time flew by and before heading back home we visited some potential restaurants for the AM dinner party. We shall keep our choice as a secret for now 😉
At lunch, we also met the director of the Estonian Dementia Competence Center and heard about the conference held in September in Narva and how it influenced their work. We shall hear more about it in March.
Please, if you are planning your trip, keep in mind that on Wednesday at 14h00, we are organizing a tour visit trhought Tallinn! So please, book your flight to be on time for a walk around this incredible city!
The Organizing Committee is on fire now and we are waiting for all the interesting discussions we will have in the ENIEC AM 2020 held in the middle of the medieval city of Tallinn!
See you in March!
Siiri, Tuulikki, Susanna, Inka ja Eva
written by Inka Lehtonen
