HEIA is 1! On 22 June 2025, we published our first article in HEIA’s new format and began a new adventure. Today we’re doing what birthdays are meant for: cake, gratitude and looking ahead. 🎂🥂
When HEIA launched, the idea was actually quite simple. Australia is enormous. Estonians are scattered across a continent-sized country. Many of us are separated by thousands of kilometres, yet we care about the same communities, traditions, people and stories. HEIA’s job was to help bridge those distances and make our community feel a little more connected.
One year later, together we have:
- published 226 articles;
- featured 36 authors and contributors;
- built an email community of around 700 subscribers;
- reached thousands of readers every month;
- shared stories from Australia and occasionally from much further away;
- got to work with some incredibly talented, wise and wonderful people, online and in person, from every corner of Australia, Estonia and beyond.
Those are lovely numbers. But if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know we have never been terribly interested in numbers for their own sake. The thing we’re proudest of is people.
The readers who write to us with story ideas. The organisations that trust us to help spread the word. The first-time authors who nervously submit an article and discover they have something worth saying. The volunteers who keep communities running. The performers, dancers, singers, teachers, historians, organisers, grandparents, committee members and occasional wonderfully enthusiastic emailers who help make our community what it is. Those are the real story.
Over the past year, we’ve interviewed ministers, ambassadors and community leaders. We’ve covered festivals, concerts, commemorations, archives, camps, choirs, books, technology, traditions and everything in between. But what we’ve really been doing is introducing people to each other and their stories. That has always been the point.
HEIA did not appear overnight. It builds on decades of community effort, from newspapers and newsletters to websites, social media groups and countless volunteers who believed that staying connected matters.
We’re grateful to you. To everyone who reads and writes. To everyone who shares. To everyone who subscribes. To everyone who sends us articles, photos, event notices, supportive emails and the occasional gentle reminder that we’ve accidentally misspelled something. Thank you!
The past year has been powered almost entirely by volunteer effort, goodwill and community spirit.
We are especially grateful to the Estonian Cultural Foundation in Australia, whose $3,000 grant helped make HEIA’s first year possible. For a national media platform, it is a remarkably modest budget, but we have always believed that communities can achieve extraordinary things when people are willing to contribute their time, ideas and energy.
The good news is that, for the year ahead, we have received support from the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Integration Foundation. This will help us strengthen the foundations behind the scenes, keep the lights on, keep the stories flowing and continue bringing community stories to you for some time to come.
But today isn’t really about grants, statistics or strategy documents. It’s about celebrating a first birthday. And celebrating all of you who helped make it possible.
Thank you for walking alongside us during our first year. Here’s to more stories, more connections, more conversations and perhaps a little more cake. Happy birthday, HEIA!
Cheers from Kristi, Mark and Kristel 🥂
Read more
First HEIA article: Nukki featured in Global Estonian newsletter (22 June 2025)
Say hello to HEIA! (24 June 2025)
About HEIA
