Regional discussions of national plan “Estonia 2030+” begin

Last Monday, the first public discussion on compiling the “Estonia 2030+” national plan took place in the hall of Rapla County Government outside Tallinn. It was the first of the five regional public workshops the objective of which is to introduce the process for compiling the national plan and get feedback according to the specifics and needs of the region. The second workshop took place in Kohtla-Järve last Thursday.

The Minister for Regional Affairs, Siim Kiisler, said that the national plan is a tool in making decisions for the future. “When targeting the state development for the coming decades, the positions in quite a few fields must be thought through and clearly argued,” Kiisler said. “In making such big decisions, we must involve as many interested parties as possible. In addition to the scientists, politicians, and officials, every person in Estonia must have the opportunity to have a say.”

The compilers of the national plan, the Estonian Development Fund, and the Estonian Institute for Futures Studies of Tallinn University give an overview of the Estonian space development vision and the objectives of the state at the seminars. Workshops that take place at the end of each day of discussion give the participants an opportunity to provide feedback and to participate in compiling the national plan.

According to the account manager of the national plan, Kaur Lass, an efficient discussion on regional specialisation and the importance of current county centres emerged at the end of the first discussion. “In order to strengthen the regions, the necessity to increase co-operation between local authorities such as Paide and Türi, for example, was pointed out,” Lass explained.

The next workshops will take place on 3rd November in Haapsalu, 4th November in Pärnu, and 8th November in Tartu. Registration for discussions and additional information on the compilation process of the national plan is available at www.eesti2030.ee.