Edith Sepp
Head, International Communication Office, Tallinn University Tallinn Univerity’s Summer School differs from other summer schools because, on the one hand, it puts forward the best of Estonian specialists together with teaching high level Estonian language and presents finest aspects of local culture. On the other hand, it integrates into the programme a wide range of internationally claimed academics, opinion leaders and intellectuals from all around the world.
However, the goal of Tallinn Summer School is not only to give an opportunity to the best faculty members from various disciplines. Most important is to bring together the incredibly diverse array of students and academics from all over the world in order to introduce them to different ways of thinking in the most relaxed and most casual manner.
Every year we revise and develop our programme in order to bring in new and relevant topics. In 2009, apart form different languages, creative writing, film making, painting, photography and communication workshops, summer school will delve into the matter of Everyday Life: what are the strategies and performances of social life, the networks of daily rhythms, and the common and minimal aspects of the habitat, the background noise? Key-note speaker is American philosopher prof. Alphonso Lingis.
The second focus is debate on Georgia. Although all agree that democracy, freedom, justice – are good things, but do these words mean different people different things? We seem to understand something, but do we understand enough? Key-note speakers are different academics, e.g. prof. Svante Cornell from Uppsala University, former prime-minister of Estonia, Mart Laar but also Georgian politicians from both ends – coalition and opposition.
Tallinn Summer School is a meeting place for inquisitive minds! Please feel free to obtain more information on our website
www.tlu.ee/summerschools 
