Ministry of Education and Research

Partner of the School Peace Movement since its early days, starting from 1999.

The Ministry of Education and Research was established as the ministry overseeing the education sector on November 11, 1918, by the decision of the Land Council’s Elders’ Assembly. The ministry has carried its current name, Ministry of Education and Research, since January 2003, although it has previously been known by names such as the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Education. Since 2019, the ministry’s areas of responsibility include education, research, youth, archives, and language policy.

NGO Estonian Union for Child Welfare

The NGO Estonian Union for Child Welfare was re-established on October 2, 1988, and has been a continuous guardian of the principles and values of the Estonian Child Protection Association, which was founded on April 28, 1919. Estonian Union for Child Welfare operates as a non-profit organization in the public interest, with the goals of protecting children’s rights and interests, developing child protection activities, and participating in the development and implementation of child and family policies. In cooperation with its partners, the NGO has been able to launch and carry out many important activities, such as the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the establishment of the children’s ombudsman institution, the submission of additional reports on the Convention on the Rights of the Child to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the implementation of the “Free of Bullying” program and the ” Smartly on the Web ” project, the recognition event “With Children and for Children”, the seminar series “On the Same Side – on the Child’s Side” to improve the competencies of specialists working with children, multidisciplinary network trainings “Cooperating for the Child’s Benefit”, the summer school for child protection workers, traditional annual conferences, the free legal aid project for families “Good Advice for Families with Children”, and the leadership of the School Peace Movement. The message of School Peace is carried by the Child Protection Union’s child rights ambassadors.

NGO Youth Association TORE

Partner of the School Peace Movement since its early days, starting from 1999, and leader of the School Peace Movement from 1999 to 2008 under the name of the Estonian Youth Work Centre.

The peer support activity in schools is a continuous cooperation between mentors and students, focusing on teaching social-emotional skills, personal self-development, and effective coping in various school situations. Peer support activities are inherently youth-engaging and empower young people by unlocking and developing their potential. TORE’s activities are preventive in nature. Adults and young people who have participated in the TORE program help create school joy through their conscious behavior, build and maintain a positive learning environment, and draw attention to any challenges through joint activities, when needed. The TORE system and methodology can be applied to the development of four areas:

  1. The coping and development of the peer supporters themselves;
  2. Being a friend and companion to their peers (noticing and offering help);
  3. Promoting more conscious and skillful cooperation between students and adults;
  4. Prevention above all!

Estonian Union of Student Governments

Partner of the School Peace Movement since its early days, starting from 1999.

The Estonian Union of Student Governments represents over 100,000 students across Estonia through its members, making it the largest youth organization in the country. The Student Union advocates daily for the interests of Estonian student councils and students, both in relations with government institutions and at the international level. For the Union, it is important that the interests and well-being of students and children are prioritized.

Integration Foundation

Partner of the School Peace Movement since 2019.

The Integration Foundation was established in 1998 under the name Non-Estonian Integration Foundation. The founder of the foundation is the Republic of Estonia, and the founder’s rights are exercised by the Ministry of Culture. The mission of the Integration Foundation is to support the development of an integrated and cohesive society as a competence centre in the field.

Foundation Anti-Bullying School (KiVa)

Partner of the School Peace Movement since 2020.

The mission of the Foundation is to create a safe and caring educational journey for Estonian children, helping them grow into happy individuals by preventing and stopping bullying together. To achieve this, the foundation offers schools the scientifically backed KiVa program, which includes effective prevention methods, case resolution models, and monitoring of the situation. Additionally, the foundation provides further training for educational institutions on bullying prevention and actively works on raising awareness in society.

NGO  Vaikuseminutid

Partner of the School Peace Movement since 2021.

Non-profit organization Minutes of Silence (Vaikuseminutid) brings together mindfulness experts who, since 2015, have dedicated their skills to ensuring that practical techniques for supporting psychological well-being are widely used in society as well as in schools.

NGO Estonian Union for Child Welfare program Free of Bullying (“Kiusamisest vabaks!”)

Partner of the School Peace Movement since 2023.

The program “Kiusamisest vabaks!”, which originates from Denmark, in Estonia is led by the NGO Estonian Union for Child Welfare. The program has been implemented in Estonian kindergartens since 2010, schools since 2013, and in daycare groups and nurseries since 2018. In Estonia, the program is carried out with the support of the Ministry of Education and Research. The goal of “Kiusamisest vabaks!” is to prevent risky behavior by shaping children’s values and to increase both mental and physical safety in the learning and growing environment. This includes creating a relationship among children that is respectful and inclusive, fostering an anti-bullying culture where individuals treat each other with tolerance and respect, where children care for one another, know how to protect their boundaries, and intervene to defend a peer who cannot protect themselves in cases of bullying.

Project “Smartly on the Web” (“Targalt internetis”)

Partner of the School Peace Movement since 2025.

The mission of the project is to promote smarter internet use among children and parents. In addition to raising awareness in society about the risks, dangers, and safety of the internet, “Targalt internetis” includes the open platform Vihjeliin (www.vihjeliin.ee) to prevent content that depicts child sexual abuse on the internet. The project is coordinated by Lastekaitse Liit in cooperation with the Education and Youth Board, Tallinn University of Technology, and the Social Insurance Board.