Join us on the 4th June for the screening of Tuntematon Sotilas / The Unknown Soldier (2017). Part of our new program to expand our reach and diversity in films, this Finnish epic is an adaptation of A film adaptation of Väinö Linna’s best selling novel The Unknown Soldier (1954) and the novel’s unedited manuscript version, Sotaromaani. Telling the story of a machine gun company deployed in 1941 to fight the incoming Soviet army, the story shows the immense toll of war on both body and mind. It is one of the highest grossing films produced in Finland and one of the most expensive!
Luckily you won’t have to pay admittance for the screening and we hope to see you there on Sunday 4th June. Doors open at 5, film starts at 5:30pm.
Kino! at Sydney Estonian House – Sunday June 4
Call out for personal stories of maps
Do you have a personal story and connection to a map of Estonia that you hold dearly?
- A secret map smuggled out of the USSR,
- a hand drawn map of a relatives farm,
- an illustrated map outlining different parish folk dresses, or
- a map of a river whose banks have eroded over the years
f Iyou or someone you know has a map relating to Estonia and would like to share your story please get in touch with Lachlan Bell. The stories will be compiled into a short film outlining our connection to map-making and memory making within the Estonian community and be exhibited at AD Space at UNSW Art & Design in July (date TBC).
Participants ideally live in NSW and have time on a weekend to meet in person to record or call over the phone/computer as backup. Participants will be fully credited and acknowledged in the final work.
If this interests you and you would like to make contact please email Lachlan at lachlanbell@eesti.org.au
In Memorium – Liia Miller (nee Illisson)
Passed away on Mother’s Day 2023 in Shoalhaven Heads NSW at just 80 years of age.
Born in Tõrva in Estonia in September 1942.
A private remembrance will be held on Friday 19th May 2023 at Shoalhaven Heads. Any condolences can be sent to email lesliegmiller@gmail.com.
She was a loving and always young at heart mother and grandmother who was still snow skiing in her mid 70’s and is survived by her husband Leslie Miller 2 sons Brendon and Angus and 6 grandchildren Joanie Jack Kevin Michael Elizabeth and Catherine.
- Daughter of Harald and Ella Illisson.
- Sister to Aita, Saima and Virve.
- Aunty to Kalev, Hiie, Lindy and George.
- Great Aunt to Jasmin, Rohan, Aili and Dana and Ailis children Rae and Jasper.
Studied at Sydney Girls High school and earned a Phd in Histology at Sydney University.
Was a member of Estonian Sorority Filia Partria and attended many Estonian dances, balls and festivals when she was younger.
Enjoyed walks, scrabble, playing cards, Indian dancing, the theatre, living on a yacht, snow skiing, orchids, family get togethers especially Christmas as the reigning matriarch and much more.
Will be fondly remembered.
Puhka Rahus.
Kooskõlas National Rehearsal & Choir Launch May 20 & 21 May 2023
Kooskõlas choir is officially reforming and the Launch of the choir will take place on 20 May at Eesti Maja at 18:00. The Kooskõlas committee would like to invite you to take part and support the choir in their quest to go to Laulupidu in 2025!
DATE
Saturday 20 May 2023 6:00 PM – 10:30 PM (UTC+10)
LOCATION
Estonian House
141 Campbell Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
This night promises to entertain you with Kooskõlas performing. There is dinner provided as well as a free first drink as provided and supported by Sydney Eesti Selts.
There is also an opportunity to financially help as we have put together an exciting Silent Auction with the support of Eeski with a three night stay, plus many other great items.
Ticket sales can be purchased via Trybooking using the following link
We look forward to seeing on the 20 May
Kind Regards,
Pille Püvendi
Kino! movie night in Sydney – Apteeker Melchior (2022) May 7 @ 5pm
Join us on the 7th May for a screening of “Apteeker Melchior (Melchior the Apothecary)”. Released in 2022, this medieval crime thriller follows the story of Melchior, a young Tallinn pharmacist who has to uncover the secret behind a terrible wave of murders and secrets that threatens to wreck the entire Christian world. When the famous Knight of the Order who freed the Baltic Sea from pirates is murdered, Melchior is ordered to investigate. It is the first instalment of the Melchior trilogy, based on the novels by Indrek Hargla.
Movie: “Apteeker Melchior (Melchior the Apothecary)”
Date: Sunday, 7th May 2023
Time: Doors 5pm, Movie starts 5.30pm
Location: Sydney Estonian House, 141 Campbell St, Surry Hills 2010
Follow us on Instagram @kino.sydneyeesti for updates and more!
Kino! showcases a range of voices and languages from our Estonian and broader Finno-Ugric community. Our kino! program seeks to create a fun and engaging platform for people to engage with Estonian film and enjoy the company and thoughts of others. Kino klubi also provides you new access to our extensive collection through a membership program allowing you month-long rentals for free!
Each screening will run start around 5.30pm, doors at 5pm. Entry is free and donations are welcome as a non-profit community organisation run by volunteers all proceeds of from this event go directly back into our community to help support our cultural activities for the next generation of Estonians.
The bar will be open with Estonian-style toasties available for purchase.
Note: All films are subtitled in English.
AESL DONATIONS INVITATION for Mothers’ Day May 2023
As we celebrate Mother’s Day, we are reminded that we all have a connection to motherhood. Whether we are mums ourselves or not, we are all someone’s child. We think about the mothers of today and of the past, as they are the link that connects us to the beginning of everything. Link by link, gene by gene, atom by atom, we carry the past within us.
Many of us can say that we are Estonians, many of us can say that we have Estonian mum, many of us can say that we speak Estonian as our mother tongue. Many of us are proud of this heritage.
A few of us, as parents and children of Estonian heritage, have come together to form the board of the leading Estonian organization in Australia, AESL. Why, you ask? We strive to pass on this rich legacy to our children, so that they too can understand what it means to be Estonian and feel a sense of pride in their cultural roots. What does it mean to be Estonian? How does it feel to be Estonian? To keep, hold on to and share the experience drives us to preserve and promote our Estonian heritage in Australia.
AESL is an umbrella organization for Estonian societies in Australia. While we may not be visible to the public as we do not organize events, we are behind, backing, supporting Estonian initiatives in Australia and represent us on world level. We support initiatives such as the children’s annual camp at Sõrve, Estonian Festival, Estonian language learning, share information and support cities newsletters, also support Estonian archives, which will allow the study of Estonian history in Australia in the future. We want to see our Estonian heritage and culture continue and flourish in Australia.
On this Mother’s Day, we invite you to make a donation so that the good Estonian work can continue. Every donation, no matter how small, counts. As every mother knows, from small things, big things grow.
Please consider making a donation to the area of AESL’s direction that you feel most passionate about.
You can make a donation to the account
Commonwealth Bank; 062 233 10062870;
Council of Estonian Societies in Australia; (ref name and state),
Or send a cheque to
PO Box 6606 Melbourne 3004
payable to Council of Estonian Societies in Australia.
Thank you for your generosity and supporting the future of Estonians in Australia.
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
Sincerely
On behalf of AESL
Sirje Jõgi Rivers
Final Call for Estonian Intern Scholarships Applications – Apply by May 8
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia and the SA Civic Society Endowment Fund invite young Estonians living abroad to apply for a scholarship to complete a professional internship in Estonia.
The scholarship is financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia and the scholarship competition is conducted by KÜSK.
With the help of the scholarship, young people from compatriots get the opportunity to get to know Estonia more closely and integrate into social life here.
The scholarship consists of a basic scholarship and, if necessary, a travel scholarship. The basic scholarship is intended for a full-time internship during two months (or a minimum of 8 weeks), which is paid out once and is 3,000 euros . If necessary, a travel stipend is also paid for one trip from the place of residence in a foreign country (location and address given in the application) to Estonia and back.
Hurry, the application deadline is May 8 at 15:00 (Estonian time).
For more information visit: https://kysk.ee/taotlejale/toetused-vabauhendustele/taotlusvoorud/rks23/
Help Young Estonian Engineers compete at the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge!
In 2020, two ambitious students from University of Tartu had a vision – to create the very first solar car in the Baltics and race in the prestigious Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia.
Although their dream was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, their project persevered, thanks to everyone’s faith and support through their very first crowdfunding campaign here at Hooandja.
It enabled the team to successfully build the first solar car in the Baltics and compete in a solar car race in Morocco.
Now, in 2023, team Solaride is ready to represent Estonia on the world stage, competing against the top engineering universities in the world.
Our goal is to cultivate future talent by providing practical experience and inspiration to a new generation, ultimately popularizing the field of engineering. For these purposes we have organized dozens of workshops in schools as well as external events and campaigns. Solaride program itself has also been a great influence to our own team members from different fields. Until today Solaride has had over 300 student participants who have learned theoretical and practical skills from finance, HR, marketing, engineering etc.
With all our love, team Solaride, https://solaride.ee/en
Introducing the AESL Board 2023
EXECUTIVE 2023
- President Dr Juho Looveer Juho.Looveer@gmail.com
- Vice-President Sirje Jõgi/Rivers palmstudiosaus@hotmail.com
- Treasurer Ingrid Provan (Victoria) ingridprovan@bigpond.com
- Minutes Secretary Esmee Okamoto
- Correspondence Secretary Iti Connor (Queensland) iti.connor@gmail.com
BOARD
- Dr Siiri Iismaa
- Marissa Pikkat (New South Wales)
- Martin Kurvits (South Australia)
- Tiiu Raabus (Tasmania)
- Manfred Mletsin (Northern Territory)
Special tasks
- PUBLIC OFFICER – Ingrid Provan
- Eesti Päevad Festival 2024, Adelaide – Martin Kurvits
- NAATI certified translator; Annual Booklet – Dr Siiri Iismaa
- Social Media – Marissa Pikkat ; Sirje Rivers
- ÜEKN – Dr Juho Looveer ; [ Sirje Jõgi / Rivers, Iti Connor ]
- Estonian Global Cooperation Commission – Dr Juho Looveer
- Estonian Global Cooperation Communications – Kristi Barrow ; Marissa Pikkat
- Australian Baltic Council – Dr Juho Looveer
- ARCHIVIST – Maie Barrow
AESL Annual Booklet
Please familiarise with AESL Board and organisations actions in 2022 here
Kooskõlas Choir Launch & Fundraising Dinner – Sydney May, 20
Discounted Early Bird tickets on sale now! ✨🥳✨
https://www.trybooking.com/CHEBW
The Australian Estonian Choir, Kooskõlas, has reformed in 2023 and this event is to officially launch the choir to showcase our repertoire to our family, friends and supporters.
🎵 Delicious dinner included in your ticket
🎵 Drinks for sale at the bar
🎵 Silent Auction as well as the Famous Vodka Toss! (Bring your coins!)
✅ Saturday 20 May 2023
⏰ 6:00 PM – 10:30 PM
Sydney Estonian House
141 Campbell Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Mulgi & Embroidery Workshop in Sydney – May 6
✨Mulgi & Embroidery Workshop with the Sydney Estonian Craft Group✨
Saturday 6 May 2023 @ Sydney Estonian House
✨ 9.30am for 10am start, finishes 3.30pm
✨ $30 Visitors & $20 Craft Group Members (includes materials, lunch and afternoon tea)
✨ Teaching of embroidery techniques e.g.: Mulgi embroidery & cross stitch for novice to advanced
✨ A fun day out for all… whether you wish to learn, share your skills or just join us for a chat, all welcome ✨😀✨
• Booking hyperlink: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=1042703&
EACCI 5th Anniversary Celebration – 29th March Sydney Start-up Hub
Everyone is welcome to the EACCI 5th Anniversary Celebration: A Cross-Continental Connection
If you are not already a member, this is a great opportunity to find out more about the Chamber.
The 5th Anniversary of Estonian Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EACCI) celebration is on Wednesday 29 March at the Sydney Startup Hub, 11 York Street, Sydney for this joyous occasion. The doors will open 5.30pm for networking with 6pm start of the program.
Our celebrations will start with a lineup of notable speakers discussing the collaboration between Estonia and Australia, what it is like to do business across those two countries and some of their latest initiatives. We will have a video message from e-Estonian briefing centre and also hear the thoughts of our speakers on what may be the purpose of a bilateral chamber of commerce in today’s world. We will conclude with a cello performance by Karin Kapsi.
Speakers on the night include:
- Ms. Kersti Eesmaa, Ambassador for the Republic of Estonia in Canberra
- Erika Piirmets, Digital Transformation Adviser at e-Estonia Briefing Centre
- Mr. Aivo Takis, Founder and Board Member of Estravel Group
- Mr. Sulev Kalamäe, Estonian Honorary Consul in Sydney
Following the official program, celebrations will continue with casual networking where guests can enjoy refreshments and drinks while exchanging ideas.
Please RSVP by 26th March!
EACCI 5TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION:
A CROSS-CONTINENTAL CONNECTION
5.30pm – 8.30pm on Wednesday 29 March 2023
Sydney Startup Hub, 11 York Street, Sydney
(Dress-code Smart Casual)
