Charter 2008: making Estonia one of the European leaders in quality of life

A group of non-governmental organisations interested in the key development issues facing Estonia in the long term in addition to its economic growth have adopted a programme document entitled Harta 2008, whose goal is to increase the quality of life enjoyed by the nation.

“Harta 2008 has seen more than 60 non-governmental organisations providing society with a target that looks further than just today, that doesn’t view economic growth as the sole basis for the country’s development and that encourages people to think more about their health, values and attitudes,” explained Raivo Vare, a member of the supervisory board of the Estonian Cooperation Assembly. “Its main goal is an ambitious but achievable one: to make the quality of life we have here in the country among the best in Europe by the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia.”

Leading the public awareness campaign of Harta 2008 is a programme titled What Will Your Life Be Like in 10 Years’ Time? Peep Mühls, the director of the Estonian Cooperation Assembly (ECA), says that everybody in Estonia should stop and think for a second what their life might be like ten years down the line as well as recalling the time when the country regained its independence. “That period of one generation should make a good measuring stick for the strength and maturity of society,” he said. “We’ve achieved a lot so far, but the groups involved in the Harta feel that the political elite have overlooked a number of important areas where things as they stand today are stifling Estonia’s overall development.”

The charter, which will be renewed every three years, will be focussing on four key areas in the country’s development: people and health, education, the labour force and international relations. On this basis the Harta will set out specific Harta Proposals for the representative democratic institutions responsible for advancements in the area in question and for the public.

The parties to the Harta and the ECA have set themselves the goal of developing participatory democracy so as to contribute over the coming decade through dialogue between non-governmental organisations and Harta Proposals to the shaping of Estonia as a tolerant and considerate European society.

The Estonian Cooperation Assembly (ECA) www.kogu.ee is a cooperation network of non-governmental organisations interested in Estonia’s long-term development whose goals are to share and coordinate the views of these organisations and on this basis to produce assessments and proposals regarding issues that are central to the future of the country. More than 60 organisations are currently involved in the Harta process. Neither the ECA nor the Harta process are in competition with any other civic initiative, but rather invite them to cooperate. The activities of the ECA are expressed in its Harta Proposals and the Estonian Human Development Report, which look at the nation’s development from an international perspective. The ECA will be presenting the Estonian Human Development Report 2007 this March.

For further information please contact:
Raivo Vare, Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Estonian Cooperation Assembly
Peep Mühls, Chairman of the Management Board, Estonian Cooperation Assembly
+372 666 4972

Please find Harta 2008 and the visuals of the What Will Your Life Be Like in 10 Years’ Time? programme attached. Editorial boards are welcome to put these materials to the best possible use.