Letter of support for participation in the call for proposals "Children's Rights and Participation Call for Proposals" (CERV-2024-CHILD)

Pikk 61 / 15065 Tallinn / Estonia / +372 612 5008 / [email protected] / www.siseministeerium.ee

Registry code 70000562

Estonian Methodist Church

05.03.2024 No 8-3/11-1

Letter of support for participation in the

call for proposals "Children's Rights and

Participation Call for Proposals" (CERV-

2024-CHILD)

The Ministry of the Interior supports the Estonian Methodist Church's application, which will be submitted together with Latvian and Lithuanian partners to the European Union's Call for

Proposals "Call for Proposals on Children's Rights and Participation" (CERV-2024-CHILD). We consider it very important and necessary to support children's mental health (prevention of

problems and ensuring children's general wellbeing) and to organise training on this topic. This is about supporting the development of the relations between the church and its congregations with local communities and the state.

During the outbreak of Covid-19, as assessed by the experts, the mental health of both adults and children was affected by the restrictions on mobility and the long periods of distance

learning, which, due to the isolation of communication, led to mental health problems, which have a long-lasting impact, particularly on children and young people. In Estonia, a number of ministries have supported training courses, mainly for the prevention

and resolution of psychological problems, which have also been organised by denominationa l higher education institutions here.

We believe that the Estonian Methodist Church has the capacity to carry out the role of coordinator of the project on supporting children's mental health and, as the implementers of the project activities, the sub-organisations and structural units of this church also have previous

experience in the field. From the state's point of view, it is about alleviating the psychologica l problems of both the local population and the Ukrainian war refugees living here in the post- crisis period. It is about addressing the vulnerabilities of society from both a problem-solving

and a preventive perspective. The planned activities of the Estonian Methodist Church support positive processes in our

society in any case, which is why the Ministry of the Interior considers these activities necessary and worthy of support.

Yours Sincerely,

Ilmo Au Head of the Religious Affairs Department