Šveitsi-Eesti koostööprogrammi toetusmeetme „Sotsiaalse kaasatuse toetamine“ juhtkomitee kohtumine 17.02.2025

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Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Programme

Support Measure "Supporting Social Inclusion"

Minutes of the Steering Committee meeting

Date

and time:

17.02.2025

14:00–16:30

Place: State House (Riigimaja), National Foundation of Civil Society

Vabaduse plats 2, Viljandi

Participants:

Members with Voting Rights:

Kärt Kallion Chair, Representative of the Programme Operator,

Ministry of Culture

Olga Gnezdovski Representative of the Programme Operator, Ministry of

Culture

Evelin Liechti Swiss Contribution Office of the Swiss Embassy to

Estonia

Sandra Prince Swiss Contribution Office of the Swiss Embassy to

Estonia

Helena Musthallik Representative of the National Coordination Unit, State

Shared Service Centre

Members without Voting Rights:

Keit Spiegel Representative of the Programme Component Operator

(Component 1), Ministry of Culture

Ülar Vaadumäe Representative of the Programme Component Operator

(Component 2), Ministry of Social Affairs

Anu Vau Representative of the Programme Component Operator

(Component 3), Ministry of Education an Research

Minna Harjo Representative of the Programme Component Operator

(Component 4), Ministry of the Interior

Observers:

Elmo Puidet National Foundation of Civil Society

Evelyn Valtin National Foundation of Civil Society

Margit Tilk Ministry of Culture

Maris Praats National Foundation of Civil Society

Sandra Paulus National Foundation of Civil Society

Agenda:

1. Opening remarks, introduction

2. Progress of the Components, including the special focus on media literacy activities in

Component 1

3. Discussion addressing the approval conditions of the Support Measure:

 sustainability (Component 1 and 4)

4. Communication activities, including discussion on the promotion of the Cooperation

Programme on the Europe Day

5. Presentation of annual report 2024

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Item 1. Opening remarks, introduction

The meeting was opened by Chair Kärt Kallion, who welcomed the participants to the

second meeting of the Steering Committee. She encouraged everyone to actively and

openly share their insights and thoughts during the meeting, thus strengthening the

implementation of the support measure. She also informed participants that the meeting

would be recorded to facilitate the preparation of minutes.

Tiina Oraste, Executive Director of the National Foundation of Civil Society, welcomed the

participants to Viljandi and explained that National Foundation of Civil Society is located

here because four years ago a decision was made at the state level to spread the

organisations throughout Estonia and the National Foundation of Civil Society was moved

to the centre of the country, Viljandi. However, the Foundation's expertise comes from all

over Estonia as its staff work in different regions. Tiina Oraste wished everyone a successful

meeting and expressed her hope to see the participants tomorrow at the Kick-off Event of

the Social Innovation Activities of Component 4.

Evelin Liechti welcomed the participants and provided an update on the Swiss-EU

negotiations, which also include the next contribution. She noted that the negotiations

were concluded in December, but now the voting process in Switzerland should start. She

highlighted the importance of raising public awareness at this stage, as many citizens still

lack clarity on how the contributions are used. Therefore, efforts are being made to present

the results and improve understanding.

Item 2. Progress of the Components, including the special focus on media

literacy activities in Component 1

Programme component operators presented the update on the implementation of the

components. The presentation started with Component 2, followed by Components 3 and

4, and ended with Component 1. The current stage and the workplan for 2025 were

presented.

17-02-2025_slaidid_

eng.pptx

Each presentation was followed by a short discussion.

Questions and discussion on presentations

1) Component 2.

SCO asked about the conditions for the implementation of the activities to be adopted

by the ministry - whether expenditures could not be made until these conditions are

approved and whether the conditions need to be adopted every year. Ülar Vaadumäe

explained that implementers can make expenditures before the conditions are adopted,

but at their own risk. These conditions cover the whole period of the support measure,

but each year a more detailed action plan and budget are adopted. This process is

easier and much faster than developing and adopting the conditions themselves.

SCO also asked whether the conditions are the same for all ministries and components.

The Estonian counterpart clarified that while some aspects are similar, others—such as

activities, budgets, and partners—differ. Additionally, the lawyers sometimes have

different opinions and therefore the legal interpretations may differ.

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Evelin Liechti asked for more information on the integration of migrants into the social

sector workforce. Ülar Vaadumäe explained that the idea is to provide an entry point

into the sector for migrants. The aim is to create an employment programme that

supports integration, including language learning, professional development, and

working in parallel. SCO advised to get in touch with the Swiss partner, Bern University

of Applied Sciences, as they could provide expertise and approaches to address this

topic.

2) Component 3.

Evelin Liechti asked in which language the webinars for parents will be held, or if there

will be translators. Anu Vau replied that the webinars will be in Estonian, with Russian

and Ukrainian subtitles added to the recorded webinars.

3) Component 4.

It was explained that none of the procurements mentioned in the presentation are not

included in the list of the Procurement Plan because they are below the threshold.

SCO asked for the feedback on the collaboration with the Swiss partner. Minna Harjo

replied that the cooperation has been very useful, thanks to the practitioners who

participated in the online workshop. They were able to identify key issues, and both the

Swiss partner and the Estonian counterpart discussed and suggested potential solutions

to overcome the obstacles. Additionally, the Swiss partners invited their Estonian

colleagues to take part in other joint activities.

4) Component 1.

Keit Spiegel provided further insights into media literacy activities. Previous and

existing media literacy initiatives have mainly focused on younger generations and

teachers. However, there has been little attention - especially on a larger scale - to

older generations, in particular people from different cultural or linguistic backgrounds.

Most of the previous projects have also had a strong regional focus, while with this

support measure we are aiming for national coverage. We are in continuous contact

with the Government Office, and they really appreciate our focus on this target group

and the approach we are taking. Our focus is on libraries as community centres that

are taking on more and more responsibilities and tasks. We also pay attention to the

digital skills of older people.

The SCO emphasised the importance of looking at previous projects and

building on them. Keit Spiegel confirmed that this will not be an entirely new initiative,

but rather an updated and more targeted version of past efforts.

Item 3. Discussion addressing the approval conditions of the Support Measure:

sustainability (Component 1 and 4)

According to the approval conditions the Steering Committee has to discuss the

sustainability of components 1 and 4.

Before the meeting, the file describing the sustainability of components 1 and 4 was

distributed to the members of the Steering Committee:

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Sustainability.docx

Olga Gnezdovski presented the Estonian strategy framework, which ensures that activities

are planned from the outset to be sustainable (please see the presentation under item 2).

The state budget consists of both national resources and foreign funds. Activities that are

not reflected in the strategic documents cannot be funded. Sustainability is therefore

assured, as the activities of the support measure are based on the national strategic

documents, and they are one of the pieces of the puzzle.

SCO explained why the focus is on components 1 and 4. While the outputs of components

2 and 3 are concrete in the form of updated curricula, the outputs of components 1 and 4

are less tangible. For example, activities such as study visits raise questions about how

knowledge from these activities is shared and sustained. The National Foundation of Civil

Society clarified that the participants of the study visits are selected very carefully. They

are selected from different sectors to encourage cross-sectoral cooperation, which is a key

aspect of social innovation. The aim is also to ensure that those who gain knowledge can

implement it in their daily work and contribute to the networks and discussions at national,

EU or international level, integrating social innovation into strategic documents. Minna

added that work is underway on a social innovation strategy up to 2030, which will

hopefully lead to increased funding for the field.

SCO recommended documenting the outcomes of the study trip in order to

preserve and share the acquired knowledge effectively. It was also suggested that

a follow-up survey be carried out, for example one year later, to assess whether and how

participants had applied what they had learned. The National Foundation of Civil Society

proposed that they could post summaries of the study visits on the project's website and

reflect them in podcasts to be produced as part of the project.

All agreed that the Steering Committee should periodically review sustainability

issues based on implementation progress.

Item 4. Communication activities, including discussion on the promotion of the

Cooperation Programme on the Europe Day

Olga Gnezdovski gave a brief overview of the general communication activities carried out

so far and of the plans for 2025, and presented some initial ideas for the activities during

Europe Day (please see the presentation under item 2).

The SCO suggested translating the info sheet into Estonian, adding that the Bern University

of Applied Sciences is a Swiss partner of the support measure. The graphical layout can be

organised by the SCO.

The side events (such as conferences) are fine for the SCO. However, participation in tents

needs to be discussed again with the Ambassador. The SCO will conduct this discussion

and provide an update. If the response is positive, the Estonian counterpart will start

brainstorming and planning specific activities on how to attract public attention.1

1 On 20 February, the SCO confirmed that Estonian counterpart could proceed with preparations to promote the cooperation programme in a tent on Europe Day.

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Item 5. Presentation of annual report 2024

The draft annual report was distributed to Steering Committee in advance.

2024 Annual Report

SSIP 17-02-2025 .docx

Annex 1 Updated

procurement plan.xlsx

Olga Gnezdovski summarised the information already presented under previous items:

 The year 2024 was primarily focused on organisational matters and on the

preparation and detailed planning of activities.

 Almost no indicator achievements can be reported for 2024, except one output

indicator (in component 3).

 Significant steps towards achieving the indicators has also been made in other

components.

 It is worth mentioning that the partnership with the Swiss partner is progressing

very well.

In presentation Olga Gnezdovski focused on the risks, that were reviewed by the Task Force

of support measure in the end of January 2025. The highest risks (with a medium-high

risk level) are related to the timeframe and the procurement process. The overall risk level

remained the same – medium-low.

The SCO asked for additional information on “political risk”, the impact of which was

assessed as one point lower. The Estonian counterpart explained that the risk was higher

before the Support Measure Agreement was signed, as there was a possibility that the

political agreement could be changed. However, now that the necessary agreements

between the countries have been signed, it is ensured that the support measure cannot

radically change its direction.

The overall feedback from the SCO on the annual report is positive. The main suggestion

for the future is not only to describe the process and current developments, but

also highlight the changes resulting from them.

The SCO inquired about the procurement plan. Most of the procurements listed in the plan

are scheduled to be launched in 2026. However, given the tight timeframe and the

possibility of unsuccessful procurement attempts, this may be too late. Ülar Vaadumäe

explained that the Component 2 procurement is intentionally planned for 2026 to align

with the curriculum modification process. Moving the procurement forward is not possible,

as it depends on these modifications. The goal is to launch a strong and effective campaign

advertising new possibilities and positive changes in the social sector once there are

concrete results to present.

The SCO also asked about the procurement titled “Development and implementation of

new digital tools” under Component 1. It was asked why there are three separate

procurements with the same title and why the last one is so late, suggesting that they

could be merged. Keit Spiegel answered that the Integration Foundation plans its work

carefully and has a lot of experience in this area, thus the procurements have likely to

follow specific stages. However, in order to give a more precise answer, Keit will

seek further clarification from the Integration Foundation.

The SCO recommended considering using the expertise of the Swiss partner, Bern

University of Applied Sciences, in preparing the tendering documents. This could

potentially speed up Switzerland’s review process. The SCO also added that for the review

the technical specifications and selection criteria must be submitted. Additionally, it was

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stressed the importance of ensuring that selection criteria go beyond just the

lowest price, prioritizing quality as well.

The discussion concluded that it is crucial to avoid any delays, so it is important to start

the procurement processes as soon as possible.

After the meeting, the Steering Committee was introduced to the National Foundation of

Civil Society.

Chair Minutes secretary

(digitally signed) (digitally signed)

Kärt Kallion Olga Gnezdovski

Head of Foreign Financing Coordinator of Estonian-Swiss

cooperation programme