The winner of the photography contest was Anne Aaspõllu’s photo “Solar Lighthouse” (“Päikesemajakas”).
Anne Aaspõllu won second place with her photo “The Nights Here are White” (“Ööd on siin valged”) and the third place was shared by Theodor Kangur’s photo “Nighttime Mirror” (“Öine peegel”) and Rait Tuulas’ photo “Forward Together” (“Koos edasi”).
The public choice award of the photo contest went also to Theodor Kangur’s “Nighttime Mirror”, Iti-Marleen Plink’s photo “Quality Time with Family” won the special prize in the student category and Loreida Hein’s “Lightness of the Spirit” was chosen as the favourite of the UT Centre for Ethics.
View gallery of the photographs
Centre for Ethics of the University of Tartu, in cooperation with the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, the Nordic Council of Ministers, College of Foreign Languages and Cultures of the University of Tartu and the Office of the President of the Republic of Estonia, announces the essay and photography contest “Estonia AND the Nordic Countries – Estonia AS a Nordic Country?”
The patron of the contest is President of the Republic of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves.
Take part in the essay and photography contest to reflect on the developments in Estonia during the past 25 years and look to the future: where are we now as a society and in which direction do we want to go?
The authors of the best photographs will receive awards provided by the Office of the President of the Republic of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Sweden in Estonia, the Embassy of Denmark in Estonia, University of Tartu, College of Foreign Languages and Cultures of the University of Tartu, Centre for Ethics of the University of Tartu, publishers Ilmamaa, Varrak, EKSA, University of Tartu Press and the newspaper Postimees.
The authors of the best essays and photographs will be invited to the international conference on Nordic values on August 23, 2016 in Tallinn. The President of the Republic of Estonia will award the winners at the conference.
Postimees is the media partner for the essay contest and the best submissions will be published in Postimees.
This year marks 25 years since Estonia became independent once again. Estonia has made remarkable strides. We are cited as an example of innovativeness and the accomplishment of rapid reforms; we have trustful partnerships both in Europe and elsewhere in the world. But how much change has there been in our values? Have we become more like a Nordic country in 25 years or have we drifted further away from the Nordic values?
The idea of the connection between Estonians and Estonian culture and the Nordic countries is woven deeply into Estonian intellectual history. In the interwar period, many educated Estonians regarded the Nordic orientation as an alternative to countries that had been its primary influences – Russia and Germany. The Scandinavian countries and Finland were considered close enough to reach, while also sufficiently developed to constitute a goal toward which one could aspire politically, economically, and culturally.
Also after the restoration of independence the Estonian politicians have emphasised that Estonia mentally belongs to the Nordic countries.
“I understand Scandinavia, and I believe that in the eyes of Estonians, Scandinavian solutions correspond to a great extent to things as they should be. A well-functioning, clean state. Technologically developed, safe, free of corruption, in other words – Nordic. /…/ Scandinavian countries differ among themselves, too, while also having something in common.” (Toomas Hendrik Ilves, 1998.)
It seems that the time has come to think over how far we actually are today from the goal to become a Nordic country. What is similar and what is different in Estonia and in a Nordic country? What are those Nordic values that we consider important? What are our own values, those that we will never relinquish, whatever the price, and that we might introduce to others?
We invite those people, including schoolchildren, who may feel more at home expressing themselves visually, to participate in the photography contest “Estonia AND the Nordic Countries – Estonia AS a Nordic Country?”
We expect photographs or series of photographs (2–5 photos) that catch something characteristic to the Nordic countries. Along with the photo(s), a narrative or reflective foreword should be submitted, which would encourage thinking about Scandinavian values. The aspects to reflect on are the same as for the essay contest.
• Photographs are submitted on www.eetika.ee. The best photographs or series of photographs with the narrative (up to 500 characters) will be chosen by the jury. • Special prizes for the best writers and photographers have been put up by the Office of the President of the Republic of Estonia, Ministry of Education and Research, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Embassy of Sweden, Embassy of Denmark, University of Tartu, UT College of Foreign Languages and Cultures, UT Centre for Ethics, publishing houses Ilmamaa, Varrak and EKSA, the University of Tartu Press and the daily paper Postimees. Prize fund includes a 500€ giftcertificate from Fotoluks. • People’s choice award will be given based on the results of the poll on Facebook.
• The best submissions will be published in a book. The best photographs will also be posted on the Ethics Web www.eetika.ee.
Terms of the contest