News.

The first phase of the amalgamation reform has now been finalized. In the course of the amalgamation negotiations, decision were taken about the formation of new local government units. The achieved agreements determine the number of inhabitants, the territorial configuration and the area of the future urban and rural municipalities. However, now it is...

Sociologist Ivi Proos and human geographer Rivo Noorkõiv discuss in the amalgamation reform blog how the amalgamation reform and the merger of local government units influence village communities and which opportunities communities have to take part in the merger negotiations. What influences peoples attitudes towards rural and urban municipality mergers, why are their opinions so...

On March, 15-16 2017, the annual “Urban and Rural Municipality Days” were held for the 13th time. During the fair-conference like event, many seminars, topical workshops and discussions took place. Although the target group were above all municipality leaders and specialist in the field, also officials from state institutions and the public sector, entrepreneurs...

Geomedia PhD student Bianka Plüschke-Altof will publicly defend her dissertation on the 28^th of December 2017 at 13:15 at the University of Tartu (Oeconomicum, J. Liivi 4-214). Under the title “Images of the Periphery Impeding Rural Development?” the dissertation treats the peripheralization of Estonian rural areas under a new perspective. The current discussion on the administrative...

Tartu city government draws up the new development plan for Tartu 2018-2025. It is constituted on the basis of the development strategy Tartu 2030 and the still valid city development plan until the year 2020. The objective is to specify the central topics for the city’s future and update the action plan. The decisions...

On the 23rd of March 2017 a representative conference on “25 years of social work in Tallinn – how to go on?” took place in Tallinn. At the plenary, Geomedia consultant Rivo Noorkõiv presented on and discussed the topic of “The Future of Social Work – into the hands of citizens?” Estonia is...

On the 30th of November 2016, the general annual meeting the Mulgimaa Development Centre took place in Valma village, Viljandi parish. At the meeting, current development projects and the future development strategy for the historical region of Mulgimaa were discussed. The meeting also included a presentation by Geomedia PhD student...

From 30.-31. March 2017 the spring seminar of Pärnu County’s Municipality Union took place. The central topic was the future cooperation between the municipalities of Pärnu County against the backdrop of losing the county government level and the assignments of new tasks to the local municipalities. The potential changes were...

Recently, the academic journal Sociální studia/Social Studies published a special issue on “Rural Sociology”. The volume gives an overview of recent studies in rural sociology, which cover different aspects of rurality and rural change. Via case studies in Estonia, Finland, the Czech Republic and Spain it shows the challenges that...

On the 31^st of May 2017 the spring seminar by the Union of Pärnu County  municipalities took place. The central topic of discussion was the  future collaboration of local municipalities in Pärnu County due to the  loss of the county government and the new responsibilities of the local  government units....