Võru, a small town with a strong community

Võru is a small town in the South-East of Estonia, with only about 12,000 inhabitants, yet, it’s a lively place with a strong and active community. Many recent projects and objects have been created by or with, and of course, for the community. The town government is very open to new initiatives by the citizens, welcoming, encouraging, consulting, and co-funding to help bring the ideas to life.

The project team identified the 10 most important community projects in Võru from the past few years, interviewed the project leads, and shared the stories via videos which can be seen HERE.

The 10 projects are divided into three segments with aims to:
●    Show kids and youngsters that their ideas count and help them to realize their dreams;
●    diversify the townscape, create opportunities for people with different interests, encourage-endorse-support various kinds of endeavors;
●    keep the languages and cultures of Võru County.

With and for the kids and youngsters
There is one remarkable establishment in Võru that was dreamed up and pulled forward by young people in the town: a well-designed concrete outside skatepark. Few young boys came directly to the town government with the idea to have a skatepark in the town - they talked about their wishes, showed schemes, a suitable location was found together, the town financed it and so it went. The skatepark is full of kids in the evenings and now an indoor skatepark is being planned. 

The other very special project is the largest football centre and the only full-size field with artificial turf in Võru County. That complex enables hundreds of kids in the area to learn and practice football in the best possible way and of course, also hold local and international competitions for adults. The contributors were many: the local football club, the football association, Võru town, local companies, and the local people.
From the events side, an excellent example is the Children’s Festival, the largest in Estonia. It’s completely based on the kids’ wishes and is happening in collaboration with the local community, mainly as a volunteer effort. 
Also, a good case is a yearly basketball competition meant for young people and also put together by them.

All interests kept in mind
Võru has changed a lot in the past years. Really, a lot. Even so that, the photos and videos made a year or two ago are no good to show anymore. 
Recently, the town set in motion planting a whole park. This is rather rare. Especially, because of what it actually includes and of how all of it was pulled together. It’s not only a beautiful green area, but it’s also a place for socialising and leisure time - there are playgrounds for kids, a parkour park for youngsters, a petanque field for the elderly, and places for sitting and sunbathing for all. And also - it’s a study environment for local schools! The ideas for the park came from locals and the community was also engaged in the planting of the trees - there were 400 volunteers - babies and elderly and everyone in between. 

Another great example from another angle is the local creative house Liiva-ATE that was formed by local artists and craftspeople. At the moment, 14 creatives are working there with various materials and techniques: clay, leather, plants, textiles, wool, precious metals, images, film, texts. Besides the everyday work that the creatives do there, the place is also open to the locals  - there are various workshops, exhibitions, fairs and other events happening.

Probably one of the most popular sports in Võru is disc golf which was brought there by a local enthusiast who was worried about especially youngsters who had to go out of Võru to play. He involved a small group of young people, local governments and many nearby business owners to create a large play area from scratch, located in a picturesque pine forest. The area is immensely popular.

And currently, a huge health and leisure centre is being developed which the locals have wished for some time and to which they can now contribute. The developer had an extensive poll among the citizens and now, their ideas and dreams are being built.

Saving the heritage
Võru County shares its border with Latvia and Russia. As always, in border areas, there is a lot of intertwining, curious sizzling, and changeover going on. In the Old Võro rich and unique cultural areal in Võru County, there are two ethnic groups Võro and Seto people. Võro people speak their own language, which differs from the national Estonian language substantially. There are 50,000 to 70,000 people who speak it, yet, there are not so many children having Võro as their first language and not enough parents who constantly speak it with their offsprings. The local culture is rich, for example, the smoke sauna tradition that is part of everyday life in the area is added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 

In the most South-Eastern corner of Estonia, a small ethnic group of Setos live. Their language is similar to Võro, yet the belief system and traditions related are different. Võru town, as the heart of the county, is in charge of making sure both Võro and Seto culture and language will survive and thrive. 

As sometimes happens, there is the same idea in the heads of different people and that’s how the project “My town, my language” came about. Again, local enthusiasts who know well all the stories of Võru took groups of keen people with them, walked around the town, and told stories, both in Võro and Estonian language. All summer long, new summer awaiting.

Another good example of keeping the Võro language strong is a Language Nest, a program initiated and lead by Võro Institute with the everyday contribution by Võro speaking teachers and parents. The program works based on the method of language immersion, so that only the Võro language is used to speak to small children’s playgroups or at a whole kindergarten. The aim is to introduce and teach the indigenous language, culture, and customs and encourage the parents and other adults to speak the local language and pass the traditions on. 15 kindergartens in the Old Võru area are participating in the project.