Robert Marrandi is successfully selling Estonian rye bread at his bakery in Florence, Italy, to locals who have grown to love it; Alina Birjuk caught up with Marrandi to find out more about his career in Italy and the Wild Buns Bakery. A longer interview and more pictures can be found on Alina Birjuk’s website. How long have you been living abroad? I’ve been living in Florence, Italy, for more than eight years – maybe too long (laughs). But now my business has grown far beyond my expectations from four years ago when I started everything as a pop-up bakery in Florence – a Scandinavian po ..read more

Estonian scholars are invited to apply for a short-term research fellowship at Stanford University, which will allow successful applicants to make use of Stanford’s collections, academic expertise and networks. The Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom, Stanford University Libraires and the Estonian foreign ministry invite applications for the short-term research fellowship at Stanford University for Estonian scholars, the short-term research fellowship for Estonian security and foreign policy experts and the global digital governance fellowship for Estonian scholars.  The application ..read more

According to the World Happiness Report 2024, Estonia is the 34th happiest country in the world, dropping three places from 2023; Finland is the happiest country in the world for the seventh year in a row. In 2023, Estonia was ranked 31st out of the 137 countries covered by the report. This year, Estonia ranks 34th out of 143 countries. Finland is, again, the happiest country in the world, according to the report, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Israel. The least happy countries, the report asserts, are Afghanistan, Lebanon, Lesotho and Sierra Leone. Lithuania is ranked 19th and Latv ..read more

Statistics Estonia has published the results of the largest and most comprehensive relationship survey in Estonia, which looked at violence against both men and women in intimate relationships and found that 41 per cent of women in Estonia have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime. According to the survey, 39 per cent of women have experienced psychological violence, 13 per cent physical violence (including threats) and nine per cent sexual violence. Young women aged 18-29 are the most likely to have experienced violence, while older women (aged 65-74) are the least likely ..read more

Kaja Kallas, the current prime minister of Estonia, has won the backing of the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom to become the next secretary general of NATO, becoming the first woman and the first from eastern and central Europe to lead the alliance.* Until recently, the favourite to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as the NATO secretary general was the outgoing Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, but Kallas appears to have won over the Germans and Americans, who had a change of heart. It is understood that Rutte was disqualified because of the Netherlands’ dismal record on defence ..read more

Estonian education leaders are bringing good management practices from the private sector into schools through an internship programme set up by the Good Deed Education Fund, the Tallinn Education Board and Fontes Talent Advisory, broadening the world view of both companies and school leaders. This article is published in collaboration with Education Estonia. The HK Unicorn Squad movement introduces girls to technology, robotics and science. The ultimate goal is to reduce the gap between men and women working in the ICT sector. There are currently 154 groups of little Unicorn girls in 92 ..read more

The members of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research – known as CERN – at meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on 22 March, voted to admit Estonia as a full member. The full membership will expand opportunities for Estonian companies, researchers and students to participate in cutting-edge research and development through student internships, organisational work and procurement. “CERN’s industrial procurements are high-tech, and by working with CERN it is possible to develop new skills, products and technologies, helping to bring excellence to business. The requirements for these procurem ..read more

The United States Congress on 22 March passed a government funding legislation, which also includes USD228 million in security aid for the Baltic states. This year, the US has also provided Estonia with USD47.3 million within the Foreign Military Financing programme. “Support from the US has significantly helped Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fast track several military infrastructure and capability development projects. The good news is that the support is slightly higher than last year. This sends a clear signal that the US, the largest ally in NATO, is committed to the security and stabilit ..read more

Estonia is one of only seven countries in the world to meet the World Health Organisation’s air quality standard, according to a recent study. Only Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand meet a WHO guideline limit for tiny airborne particles emitted by cars, trucks and industrial processes, according to a report by IQAir, a Swiss air quality organisation that draws its data from more than 30,000 monitoring stations around the world. Most of the world’s countries – 134 in total in the report – fail to meet the standard for PM2.5, a type of microscopi ..read more

The Estonian e-Governance Academy has partnered with NATO to align Moldova’s cybersecurity with Euro-Atlantic standards and institutions, with the aim of strengthening Moldova’s ability to deal with security threats in the cyber domain. This cooperation will contribute to improving regional stability and security, particularly in the light of the consequences of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine. As part of NATO’s Enhanced Defence and Related Security Capability Building Package, the e-Governance Academy will assess the current situation and growing needs of beneficiaries in the a ..read more