The Integration Foundation was founded on 31 March 1998 under the name the Non-Estonians Integration Foundation. Between spring 2008 and the end of 2009 it was known simply as the Integration Foundation.
On 1 January 2010 the Integration Foundation merged with the Estonian Migration Foundation, which was founded on 10 June 1992. The joint institution bore the name of the Integration and Migration Foundation Our People until 15 March 2017.
The Foundation was established by the Republic of Estonia, whose founders’ rights are exercised by the Ministry of Culture.
According to the Statutes, the management of the Foundation is organised and its activities are planned and supervised by a Supervisory Board of up to 13 members. The Supervisory Board of the Foundation had eight members at of 30 June 2016. The Foundation is managed by a management board that has one member.
The purpose of the Foundation is to initiate and support activities that promote the integration process in Estonian society and activities that are related to migration.
Foundation’s responsibility is to ensure that the people who live in Estonia share the same values and form an active part of civil society, and that national minorities have the chance to preserve their languages and cultures.
The purpose of integration is to promote the situation where the representatives of other nationalities living in Estonia and Estonians would enjoy living in the country together – work, study, promote culture, be a part of society and be a full and valuable member. The Foundation will carry out almost 40 activities and organise more than 30 different procurements and competitions in 2010 to develop these opportunities.
The objective of migration is to encourage people to return to their country of origin. The Foundation offers help to people who wish to return to Estonia as well as to those who wish to leave our country. We also support reuniting families of different nationalities.
The purpose of integration is to promote a situation where the representatives of other nationalities living in Estonia and Estonians enjoy living in the country together – working, studying, promoting culture, being a part of society and a full and valuable member of it. In order to provide and develop these opportunities, the Foundation carries out several activities and organises various competitions every year.
In terms of migration, the Foundation is responsible for supporting migration processes. It advises the people who settle in Estonia and people with Estonian roots who return here in issues concerning migration. If necessary, the Foundation also supports returning people financially in addition to giving them advice.
The Foundation proceeds from three important documents when planning its activities:
The activities of the Foundation are financed from state budget funds allocated through the budgets of ministries and foreign sources, incl. EU programmes. Activities are planned in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education and Research and other ministries engaged in the implementation of activities in the area of integration.
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