Eva Truuverk: "Hakkab looma" – the story of Estonia's future
In Estonia, the citizens’ initiative ‘Hakkab looma’ was launched with the aim of involving at least 30 000 people in dreaming about what Estonia could look like in 2050. Within this framework, Global Estonian asked Eva Truuverk, the initiator of the project, how this idea came about, why dreaming is important and what dreams Estonia needs today to be able to realise our potential in 100 years’ time.
Today’s Estonia extends far beyond the borders of our small country. Those of you scattered around the world continue to make a great contribution to Estonia and to making Estonia bigger, and to preserving Estonian identity and the Estonian language and customs in your communities. We invite you all to dream together!
‘Hakkab looma’ – Estonia’s Future Story
As one of the world’s greatest visionaries, Steve Jobs, said, there is more.
This spring things are beginning to happen. Several years ago, the idea began to take shape that Estonia should have its own story of the future – a common dream. Looking at our current information field, we see more and more anxiety. Every day, the horizon of our plans seems to be getting smaller. In recent months, we have reached a point where we only live from the morning news to the evening news.
Speaking to nearly fifty Estonian visionaries recently, one clear message emerged – what we need is positivity in our information space and the hope that the future will come. Marju Lauristin has articulated this need extraordinarily well, “It is a time when old structures and hierarchies are falling apart, while new ones are still developing. In this change, we need to find out which parts of the old we should keep and which parts we can leave behind without trepidation, and what should be nurtured. In ourselves, in Estonia and in the world.”
Looking beyond crises
Our political landscape is all too often dominated by short-term or strictly politically motivated decisions. This undermines the state’s ability to plan the future effectively and erodes society’s trust in institutions. There is no clear common objective that looks beyond today’s crises and serves as the basis for long-term decisions.
This is where the initiative ‘Hakkab looma’ comes in, aiming to collect the dreams of nearly 30,000 Estonians this spring about how they envision life in Estonia in 2050. This is not a regular survey, but a structured discussion format. The assembled dreams will be analysed by Estonian researchers with the help of AI in order to create a comprehensive overview of the expectations and values of the people. The final say and perspective will, of course, remain with the people.
Let’s make the future look like us
Historically, Estonia has been successful when we have had common goals and the resolve to work towards them. This initiative offers us the opportunity to dream big again – to create a common vision of Estonia in 2050 that will carry us beyond today’s crises.
Everyone is welcome to take part in the initiative and start dreaming. Think about the future with your family, friends or colleagues – it can be an eye-opening experience. It is good to write these dreams down in a common information bank, because then the future will look a little more like you.
The virtual gates (hakkablooma.ee) for submitting your dreams are open until the last day of spring, 20 June 2025.
Call for action video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMeqkksfCJo
To dream ECoMermaid Merle Liivand https://youtu.be/P4kPqxNnK00?si=jZPR9c05GyVtcWgT
