Social Competence

Social competence mean the ability of a person to function adequately on all levels of social life. The State Integration Programme sees the ability of people to organise on the basis of common interests and the availability of objective information and the change of attitudes in the society as a key factor in the formation of social competence.

The overall tasks of the social competence sub-programme are to acknowledge the potential of non-Estonians and consciously include them in decision-making and development programmes, implementation of the concept of a multi-cultural society in Estonia and introduction of the cultures of the ethnic minorities living in Estonia to the public.

In order to develop social competence, the Integration Foundation has been organising the Citizen’s Day Quiz for schoolchildren, which takes place every year on 26 November or Citizen’s Day.

In addition to this, support has in previous years been given to television and radio programmes in the languages of ethnic minorities and the since 2005, the Centre for Educational Programmes has been organising project competitions “Events and Materials about Citizen Awareness and Tolerance.”

In-service training is consistently offered to teachers of social studies and support is also given to the preparation and publication of various teaching materials.

A website has been opened within the framework of the EU Transition Facility project “Promotion of the Integration of Non-citizens in Estonia,” which gives an overview of the conditions for acquiring citizenship and contains information required for application for Estonian citizenship. Here, you will also find the study materials developed within the framework of the project, which in addition to the discussion of the Constitution and the Citizenship Act of the Republic of Estonia also contain an overview of the history of the Republic of Estonia, a small dictionary and examination questions with answers.