Research

• Timeframe: 2024 – 2026
• Funding: 50 000 EUR
• Funder: Fundacja Rozwoju Systemu Edukacji
• Grant Holder: Anna Beitane
• Other Skytte staff: Alar Kilp, Stefano Braghiroli, Yurii Kondratyk
• ETIS page

ActIPLEx aims to combat polarisation among young people by: (1) Educating them as to the dangers of polarisation by increasing understanding of the processes involved and fostering awareness of the signs that polarisation might be developing; (2) Providing personal experiences that can help motivate them to work towards positive dialogue in the personal and political situations they face in life; (3) Developing the knowledge and skills that will help them bridge divides in constructive ways.

• Timeframe: 01.03.2025 – 31.12.2025
• Funding: 64 591 EUR
• Funder: Sihtasutus Eesti Rahvusvahelise Arengukoostöö Keskus
• Grant Holder: Stefano Braghiroli
• Other Skytte staff: Anna Beitane, Roberta Erkmaa, Maili Vilson, Ronek Jäär

ETIS page

The project addresses two challenges faced by Moldovan HEIs: 1) increasing integration of digital pedagogies in curriculum development and ensuring the continuous professional development of educators; 2). enhancing EU-related teaching and learning for Moldovan youth while fostering their intercultural competencies and transferable skills. It does so by directly engaging educators and young Moldovan learners. In addition, the project also aims to ensure lifelong learning and access to digital competencies for all citizens and raise awareness among Estonian residents.
The objectives align with the Estonian-Moldovan development cooperation strategy,“Haridus 2030” and “European Moldova 2023”.
The project builds on previous collaborations between UT and MSU (BEst4ME and EST4MORE), expanding activities to new areas and broader audiences to sustain and consolidate past results.

• Timeframe: 2023 – 2026
• Funding: 38 948 EUR
• Funder: Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)
• Grant Holder: Andrey Makarychev
• ETIS page

The project HER-UKR: Challenges and opportunities for EU heritage diplomacy in Ukraine will address the role of cultural heritage in the EU’s external action. A consortium of 15 universities will bring together interdisciplinary expertise on EU foreign policy, Eastern European memory politics and heritage practices. HER-UKR aims to explore the potential of the EU as a values based actor in heritage policies by focusing on three subtopics: 1) EU cultural heritage diplomacy for promoting democracy and European values; 2) conflict prevention with focus on contested heritage; 3) protection and reconstruction of heritage.

HER-UKR will use the principles of engagement of the 2021 EU concept on cultural heritage in conflicts as a framework for the case of Ukraine, where cultural heritage remains highly contested. The project’s objectives are to 1) stimulate research on EU heritage diplomacy; 2) promote excellence in teaching on EU heritage diplomacy; 3) pool expertise on heritage policies in East Central Europe; 4) provide European policymakers with solid research expertise for engaging constructively with Ukraine’s cultural heritage field; 5) monitor new tendencies in cultural heritage policies; 6) develop dissemination tools that increase the impact of the project.

The objectives will be implemented through 8 work packages. WP1 covers project management. WP2 focuses on data collection through 1) mapping EU initiatives in heritage diplomacy and 2) interviews and focus groups with stakeholders and policymakers. WP3 entails the analysis of collected data and preparation of research articles. WP4 concerns education and training: the development of a COIL course, a MOOC, trainings and seminars. WP5 will develop an algorithm for a UKROPEDIA search engine. In WP6 the consortium will formulate policy recommendations based on the insights of WP2-4. Intermediate results will be reported in the HER-UKR newsletter, and through its communication and dissemination strategy (W7).

• Timeframe: 2023 – 2026
• Funding: 68 750 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant Holder: Andrey Makarychev
• ETIS page

The European Union (EU) and its members have long been key supporters of global governance. Yet the rules-based international order and multilateralism are widely believed to be in crisis. The emerging powers and populist forces have contested and put demands on global governance often resulting in a gridlock of international cooperation. The Russian war in Ukraine will likely further undermine the ability to address global problems.

ENSURED, a project with 14 partners from the EU, US and the BRICS, studies how the EU and its members, in a contested world in transition, can transform and defend global governance to make it more robust, effective and democratic. Integrating different literatures on international institutions and EU foreign policy, ENSURED develops a conceptual framework on global governance transformation. It outlines a triangular dilemma in which the EU and its members must make choices between the robustness, effectiveness and democracy of global governance. It also considers, in this respect, different scenarios for multilateralism in a contested world in transition. Through case studies of five policy areas, a quantitative analysis and expert survey, ENSURED empirically assesses and compares the unexploited potential for global governance transformation. It thus highlights areas where global governance transformation is most likely.

Based on this empirical analysis, ENSURED provides support for the EU and its members to lead the transformation and defence of multilateralism. It outlines strategic choices and develops decision support and communication products that the EU and its members can use, such as an online toolkit, policy recommendations and strategic narratives. ENSURED thus advances our knowledge about global governance transformation and provides the EU and its members with the tools to navigate a world in transition.

• Timeframe: 2024 - 2027
• Funding: 112 744 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant Holder: Andrey Makarychev
• ETIS page

What strategies do authoritarian states deploy to control information beyond their borders? While disinformation efforts as foreign influence has received extensive attention, little has been done to systematically dissect information suppression strategies. By analysing the ways in which Russia, China, Ethiopia and Rwanda suppress information, the ARM project will conceptualise, identify and help address information suppression as foreign information manipulation and intervention (FIMI) by authoritarian states domestically, within Europe, and among diaspora communities residing in Europe.

China and Russia are selected as two major powers highly active in managing information as a part of their foreign policy. Ethiopia and Rwanda, though less influential on the global stage, are some of the most engaged African states in transnational repression. Having substantial diaspora populations in Europe, their reach should be analysed and the implications of their information suppression should be understood. By conceptualising information suppression as part of FIMI, the ARM project will broaden the established approach to FIMI, which has traditionally only been focused on disinformation. By delineating the concept of information suppression within the strategic toolbox of authoritarian regimes, we will contribute to the scholarly discussions how autocracies manoeuvre to strengthen their power base. With the identification of the tactics, techniques, and procedures of information suppression, we will make a toolkit, including recommendations on how to combat information suppression operations, taking the risks and vulnerabilities of target groups into consideration. Through the lifespan of the project, we will involve the defender community: key actors within policy and civil society who try to detect, understand, and respond to threats stemming from authoritarian regimes’ suppression of information.

• Timeframe: 01.08.2025 – 31.12.2025
• Funding: 57 500 EUR
• Funder: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Grant Holder: Andrey Makarychev
• ETIS page

The main objectives of the project are:

1) To integrate social media – based channels of influencing the Russophone public opinion in Estonia into the broader structure of Russian “apparatus of security”;
2) To identify and expose the variety of “language games” and patterns of silencing issues of substance in Russian and pro-Russian online media;
3) To understand the mobilization potential of pro-Russian narratives and imageries.

Research hypothesis: The current shift from ideology to the “common sense pragmatism” of the everyday life in Russian and pro-Russian propagandistic narratives is grounded in two talking points: denial of threat coming from Russia and normalization of the war in Ukraine. Being the two sides of the same coin, they are meant to subvert the normative foundations of Estonian foreign policy, particularly towards Ukraine.

The general theoretical background of the research is grounded in two mutually reinforcing concepts. One is popular geopolitics that looks at how geopolitical narratives circulate among non-elite public, including discourses reproduced and promoted by the online media (both traditional and new / social). Vernacular security is an analytical approach that looks at the sphere of the popular (including non-professional knowledge, imaginations, visions, and perceptions of multiple insecurities) through locational lens.

This project differs from others in several respects. First, the objects of research are manipulative mis- and disinformation flows circulating in Estonian online media sand produced by vloggers and YouTube influencers who position themselves as “locals”, i.e. citizens or residents of Estonia. Second, unlike the bulk of academic literature in this realm, the project looks at the spheres of popular geopolitics and vernacular security not as mere constellations of diverse narratives reflecting non-elite perceptions of international politics, but primarily as weaponizable instruments with significant subversive potential.

• Timeframe: 2024 – 2027
• Funding: 33 048 EUR
• Funder: Erasmus+ France Agency
• Grant Holder: Eva Piirimäe
• Other Skytte staff: Juhan Saharov, Liisi Veski
• ETIS page

Objectives: At a time of widening divides and the unprecedented return of war to Europe, Europeans urgently need to clarify the changing uses and misuses of words. By enquiring into the historical semantics on a truly European scale and developing easily accessible material on key contested notions in several European languages, LexiECO aims to sharpen the eye for key semantic issues underlying domestic and international debates and thus to help us better understand European diversity. Implementation: A first set of 20 entries on key notions, each comprising 6+ constitutive articles illustrating semantic gaps between Europeans and giving keys to overcoming them, enriched by educational materials, in an online display conceived on a truly European scale, destined to last and be further expanded. A printed volume of selected contributions. A series of workshops and a communication campaign to train users to use the resources developed (including outreach to policymakers).

Expected Results: LexiECO will increase the skills and knowledge of Europeans to better understand the shifts and gaps of meanings of key notions on a truly European scale, from Spain to Ukraine. It will provide a set of open-access resources where users may easily find clarifications about central yet ambivalent concepts, backed up by multilingual analyses. This is to our mind a vital precondition for overcoming incomprehension given the spectacular changes in European political vocabulary over the past decades.

• Timeframe: 2025 – 2027
• Funding: 88 188 EUR
• Funder: Swedish Institute
• Grant Holder: Dmytro Khutkyy
• Other Skytte staff: Maili Vilson, Thomas Luke Pritchard
• ETIS page

Organised by Linköping University and the University of Tartu, STRIDE empowers early to mid-career professionals in public administration, policymaking, and civil society to drive democratic change. The programme focuses on democratic governance, digital transformation, and leadership, offering insights from Sweden and Estonia—global pioneers in digital government and democracy.

Participants will explore critical topics such as AI ethics, surveillance, institutional trust, and digital inclusion, gaining practical tools to strengthen governance and policymaking in their home countries. The programme combines engaging online modules with an immersive onsite experience in Sweden and Estonia, featuring expert-led lectures, study visits, and hands-on workshops. Participants will also benefit from a strong professional network, fostering cross-border collaboration with peers across the region.

The programme targets a new generation of changemakers building a more inclusive, and resilient democracy.

• Timeframe: 2023 - 2025
• Funding: 100 000 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant Holder: Piret Ehin
• Other Skytte staff: Stefano Braghiroli, Maili Vilson, Kristina Muhhina
• ETIS page

The Rejuvenating Democracy in the EU (REPAIR) Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence will improve teaching and research in the area of EU Studies by analysing and seeking solutions to a wide range of contemporary challenges to democratic politics and governance in the European Union. This includes citizens’ growing dissatisfaction with the performance of democratic regimes, diminished trust in political institutions, eroding support for democratic principles, low electoral turnout, the rise of populist, extremist and Eurosceptic parties and movements, political polarization and radicalization, party system instability, and growing refusal of various political actors to play by democratic rules and accept the results of democratic elections. Given its geographical location in Tartu, Estonia, the Centre will pay particular attention to developments in the Baltic region and Central and Eastern Europe more broadly; it will also focus on democratic and authoritarian tendencies in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood.REPAIR will foster dialogue between the academic world, the public sector, civil society and different levels of education and media by modernizing and expanding EU-focused curricula and courses at the University of Tartu, generating new policy-relevant knowledge about contemporary threats to democracy as well as viable solutions, and launching a comprehensive training program for civics teachers in Estonian schools.

• Timeframe: 2025 – 2026
• Funding: 32 023 EUR
• Funder: Global Engagement Center, US State Department
• Grant Holder: Piret Ehin
• Other Skytte staff: Oksana Belova-Dalton, Dmytro Khutkyy,
• ETIS page

The objective of the project is to reduce the susceptibility of Russian-speaking minorities in Estonia to Russia's state-sponsored disinformation and propaganda narratives. To achieve this, the project will pursue the following lines of action:

1) tracing and detecting Russia’s state-sponsored disinformation campaigns and narratives, as they evolve and are spread in the media and social media, with a focus on narratives that are particularly likely to gain traction and do harm in Estonia, including narratives aimed at undermining democracy and democratic institutions, degrading social cohesion, distorting history, or threatening the security and sovereignty or tarnishing the legitimacy and reputation of Estonia and its allies;
2) exposing and countering such disinformation campaigns and narratives by
a) conducting lectures and workshops on media and information literacy, with a focus on Russia’s state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, to Russian-speaking audiences in Estonia, including students, youth, senior citizens and other interested groups;
b) providing quality content (articles, interviews) on these topics to Russian-speaking media in Estonia
c) writing two analytical reports exposing the patterns and recent developments of Russian disinformation narratives and their spread and resonance in Estonia, including in media and social media.

• Timeframe: 2025 - 2026
• Funding: 99 975 EUR
• Funder: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Grant Holder: Piret Ehin
• Other Skytte staff: Dmytro Khutkyy, Oleksii Kolesnykov
• ETIS page

This project investigates how sociopolitical cleavages in Ukraine have transformed during the full-scale war with Russia and what implications these shifts hold for the country’s democratic future. Traditionally, Ukrainian politics has been shaped by enduring regional, linguistic, and geopolitical divides. Yet wartime dynamics—including mass mobilisation, rising civic identity, and large-scale displacement—have both blurred old boundaries and generated new ones. The study focuses on four key areas: (1) evolving geopolitical orientations, including attitudes toward the West, Russia, and Euro-Atlantic integration; (2) the transformation of regional identities within Ukraine and in diasporas abroad; (3) emerging social cleavages linked to war experiences, such as divides between civilians, servicemen and women, and veterans, IDPs and locals, or diaspora and residents; and (4) attitudes toward democracy, institutions, and regime alternatives. Outputs will include two peer-reviewed academic articles, a final policy report for the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, presentations at international conferences, and public-facing media contributions.

• Timeframe: 2023 - 2029
• Funding: 659 375 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant Holder: Mihkel Solvak
• Other Skytte staff: Andres Võrk
• ETIS page

Through this project, the University of Tartu along with Tartu University Hospital will form the independent Centre for Personalised Medicine (TeamPerMed) which will be a multi-disciplinary centre that integrates expertise in Genomics, IT, Clinical Medicine and Socio-Economic Analysis to create a scalable framework for developing clinical guidelines and clinical decision support (CDS) tools that can be effectively integrated into healthcare systems.
With the guidance from our expert partners, Erasmus Medical Centre and the University of Helsinki, TeamPerMed will seek to become a recognized regional/European leader in using electronic health and genomics data to make discoveries regarding the causes and development of disease.
TeamPerMed will contribute to digital transformation in healthcare by developing tools and protocols that will allow to make better use of health care data in research and treatment. Indirectly, we will contribute to green transformation, as our research results will enable healthcare systems to operate more efficiently. The technology, tools and knowledge developed by TeamPerMed will contribute to Europe’s competitiveness in the emerging personalised medicine sector, improving the quality of healthcare and lives of European citizens and paving the way for the ‘next generation’ of medicine.
TeamPerMed’s achievements will make it a role model for institutional and systemic reforms in widening countries, contributing to the improved R&I culture and closure of gaps in R&I performance among EU member states.

• Timeframe: 2024 - 2030
• Funding: 525 222 EUR
• Funder: Ministry of Education and Research
• Grant Holder: Mihkel Solvak
• Other Skytte staff: Andres Võrk, Helen Eenmaa, Taavi Unt, Bogdan Romanov, Vincentius Martinus Franciscus Homburg
• ETIS page

Artificial intelligence (AI) has a strong and growing potential in helping to address challenges in many societal contexts. The capabilities of AI in interpreting complex data and generating solutions have been amplified through the use of foundation models such as large language models. The Estonian Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (EXAI) focuses on advancing innovative methodologies for (1) leveraging foundation models in building efficient and trustworthy analysis and prediction systems; (2) implementing control mechanisms and guardrails to ensure that the advanced AI systems follow their specification; (3) adapting and enhancing AI systems for improved performance in targeted application contexts; and (4) achieving end-to-end security and privacy assurance of AI systems. We apply these methodologies to advance AI capabilities in key Estonian sectors, including e-governance, healthcare, business process management, and cybersecurity.

• Timeframe: 2025 – 2026
• Funding: 97 155 EUR
• Funder: Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications
• Grant Holder: Helen Urmann
• Other Skytte staff: Andres Võrk, Ene Tubelt, Martin Mölder, Merle Mägi, Allan Allik, Sabina Trankmann, Anneli Saaroja
• ETIS page

The objectives of the study are to provide an overview of the use of preventive measures during the period from May 2017 to December 2023, based on data obtained from the Unemployment Insurance Fund, to assess the set goals, relevance, effectiveness, sustainability, and the desired impact of the preventive measures. Additionally, to test the validity of the hypotheses presented regarding preventive measures (labor market training, support for participation in formal education, training support, and support for obtaining qualifications) and to analyze the specific questions raised for each measure. Based on the evaluation results, to make proposals for improving the measures and to assess the feasibility of these proposals.

• Timeframe: 2025 – 2029
• Funding: 1 499 954 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant Holder: Catherine Helen Gibson
• Other Skytte staff: Roberta Erkmaa
• ETIS page

By the late nineteenth century, the Romanov Empire stretched half-way across the globe, turning inhabitants of the territory stretching from today’s Tallinn to Vladivostok into subjects of one and the same empire. Yet, we know little about whether the population felt any impulse to help one another in times of need. Under what circumstances did people feel compassion towards distant others and how far-ranging did their sympathies extend? What did these solidarities mean, how were they enacted and expressed through ideas, emotions, and lived experiences?

If solidarities could reach across such a multiconfessionally and multiethnically heterogenous empire, how does the Romanov experience enrich our understanding of empire and solidarity as seemingly irreconcilable notions? EMPSOLID applies an unconventional lens to answer these questions. It pioneers a new history of affective practices that, for the first time, focuses on private charity as a method to make solidarities visible and allow us to study them in action. The project’s objectives are to: 1) trace the conceptual history of solidarity in the empire; 2) gather and analyse examples of grassroots private charitable initiatives (benevolent and charitable associations, fundraising campaigns, and private donations) across four regionally distinct Romanov imperial border regions (Baltic provinces, Southwestern provinces, South Caucasus, Turkestan) from 1855-1914 on behalf of beneficiaries outside of the givers’ vicinities; and 3) digitally map flows and networks of donations to generate insights into larger trends and spatial patterns in charitable practices. The project’s ambitious, decentring perspective aspires to envision a long-overdue new spatial history of the Romanov Empire in the long nineteenth century founded on horizontal threads of solidarity linking regions and postulates that these charitable entanglements formed a crucial part of the social fabric holding together nineteenth-century empires.

• Timeframe: 2025 - 2029
• Funding: 76 000 EUR
• Funder: Estonian Research Council
• Grant Holder: Catherine Helen Gibson
• Other Skytte staff: Heiko Pääbo, Janet Laidla
• ETIS page

The Entangled Borderlands project aims to shed light on the intertwined histories of Romanov imperial border regions from 1860–1917 that have been neglected in traditional historical studies. It will do so by examining perceptions, ideas and concepts, and personal experiences of intra-imperial entanglements, as they were represented on maps, understood intellectually, and experienced in urban spaces. In doing so, it aims to clarify the intertwined histories of imperial border regions that have been rendered invisible in mainstream historiographies and to set a new research agenda for seeing these interconnections as constitutive of the very fabric of the Romanov Empire, rather than just a byproduct. The project also aspires to interject a Baltic perspective into ongoing discussions about the decolonisation of the imperial past in the region and methodologically advance approaches for writing a more polycentric history through uncovering various forms of horizontal entanglement

• Timeframe: 2025 – 2026
• Funding: 49 255 EUR
• Funder: Sotsiaalkindlustusamet
• Grant Holder: Doris Pavlov
• Other Skytte staff: Sabina Trankmann, Kristiina Vain, Helen Urmann
• ETIS page

The aim of the study of the effectiveness of support services for family-based substitute care is to analyze the accessibility, effectiveness and development opportunities of these services in Estonia, based on the perspectives of foster families, local governments, support service providers and international practices.

• Timeframe: 2025 – 2027
• Funding: 99 100 EUR
• Funder: Haridus- ja Teadusministeerium
• Grant Holder: Helen Urmann
• Other Skytte staff: Marvi Remmik, Ene Tubelt, Mary-Ann Kubre
• ETIS page

The objective of the project is to develop a concept, monitoring methodology, and measurement tools for assessing young people's participation and satisfaction in youth work and hobby education, in order to study the field more systematically. In addition, the first survey on participation and satisfaction in youth work and hobby education will be conducted based on the methodology developed during the project.

• Timeframe: 2024 - 2026
• Funding: 59 447 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant Holder: Martin Daniel Hayford
• Other Skytte staff: Helen Urmann
• ETIS page

The main purpose of Come Stronger project is to promote elderly men’s well-being and decrease loneliness. The population of Finland and Estonia is ageing. Cultural services are not fully able to respond to the needs of older people. The fact is however, that culture produces well-being and improves health. Men use several cultural services less than women. Men also feel lonely and depressed more often.

The project develops new service products directed by museums to elderly men (for example inclusive exhibition, lectures, remote museum activities between Finland and Estonia).

• Timeframe: 2024 - 2027
• Funding: 59 389 EUR
• Funder: Fundacja Rozwoju Systemu Edukacji
• Grant Holder: Anna Beitane
• Other Skytte staff: Helen Urmann
• ETIS page

The project aims to advance university community engagement in Europe by the means of creating a peer-to-peer learning Alliance for Community Engagement where university staff are brought together and empowered to fixate their engagement initiatives on the real needs of the community. This goal will be achieved by building the capacity of university community-engaged staff and equipping them with an innovative platform, practical tools and dynamic training to transform their community engagement strategies into more effective and strategic course of actions.

• Timeframe: 06.02.2025 – 06.12.2025
• Funding: 55 575 EUR
• Funder: Ministry of Social Affairs
• Grant Holder: Sabina Trankmann; Mari Puniste
• Other Skytte staff: Helen Urmann, Triin Taal
• ETIS page

The study, based on judicial and child protection practice, focuses on the identification of child domestic abuse and its impact assessment in child protection and civil proceedings concerning children, and provides an overview of the current situation and practices. Where gaps or inconsistencies in current practices are identified, the results of the study will provide a basis for the development of more precise guidelines, recommendations and, where possible, assessment tools for social and law enforcement professionals to assess the occurrence and impact of domestic abuse on the child, to provide the child with the necessary assistance and to take decisions on parental rights of care and contact in cases of domestic violence.

The main objective of the study commissioned is to find out how child protection work and civil proceedings involving children identify the presence of child abuse in the family and how the impact of abuse on the child is assessed and taken into account in the resolution of cases involving the child.

• Timeframe: 2025 - 2028
• Funding: 76 000 EUR
• Funder: Estonian Research Council
• Grant Holder: Juhan Saharov
• Other Skytte staff:
• ETIS page

The project studies the role of expert intelligentsia in late socialism, perestroika, and the 1989 revolutions in Soviet Estonia and East-Central Europe. We suggest that state-socialist experts and intellectuals played a crucial role in opening up the political sphere in the socialist states. Drawing on new sources, we presume that the networks built by the Estonian expert community with their East European counterparts progressed into political cooperation in the late 1980s. However, the transnational aspect of expert networks and conceptual spillovers has been previously unexplored. The project presents a novel theoretical approach by exploring the emergence of the transnational expert community and its "languages" from the 1960s to the late 1980s. To this end, the project integrates case studies from 5 countries (Estonian SSR, Lithuanian SSR, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Slovenia) into a single framework. The project will be carried out with an international team of historians.

• Timeframe: 2024 - 2026
• Funding: 11 665 EUR
• Funder: Swedish Institute
• Grant Holder: Dmytro Khutkyy
• ETIS page

The STREAM-U project addresses the challenge of enhancing local governance in Ukraine amidst ongoing conflicts. It aims to strengthen collaboration between local authorities and civil society, focusing on service delivery, resilience, and democratization, particularly in conflict-affected areas like Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv. Expected outcomes include improved democratic governance through digital integration and gender equality, increased participation of underrepresented groups in governance, and enhanced local administrative efficiency. Initiatives like educational courses and mentorship programs target women and LGBTQ+ communities, fostering inclusivity and empowerment. The project aligns with European democratic norms and collaborative models, contributing to Ukraine's EU integration goals by building a democratic, inclusive, and resilient society.

Timeframe: 2024 – 2027

Funding: 256 125 EUR

Funder: European Commission

Grant Holder: Dmytro Khutkyy

Other Skytte staff:

ETIS page

The BRIDGE project aims to boost the innovation capacity of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE, Ukraine) with particular attention to research-to-policy transfer over a pressing policy problem: the role of decision support and deliberative formats for citizen participation (citizen assembly) in the reconstruction of housing and infrastructures, destroyed by the Russian war against Ukraine. The project fills broader gaps in public administration theories and practice on how to blend representative and participatory models of democracy during crisis situations to achieve efficient and legitimate policy outcomes in democracies.

To achieve this goal, KSE has partnered with three excellent institutions - Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR, the Netherlands), Berlin University of Technology (TU Berlin, Germany) and University of Tartu (UTARTU, Estonia). Partners bring complementary expertise in developing and studying digital democratic innovations, such as citizen assemblies, and using public governance approaches to research and improve the adoption and diffusion of digital innovations. Hackathons, site visits, peer-to-peer mentoring, online workshops and secondments serve to unleash the Kyiv School of Economics’ potential in three capacity domains: (i) contribution to ongoing methodological and empirical-analytical debates in the academic literature, (ii) bridging the knowledge gap with policymakers and professionals, and (iii) organisational capacity to sustainably secure grants and research funds for KSE’s ongoing organisational development, talent acquisition and preventing brain drain. For maximum effectiveness, KSE will apply acquired knowledge to a pilot study of digital recovery system DREAM and its participatory module eDem, including a design and assessment of a pilot digital citizen assembly on a municipal level.

• Timeframe: 2024 – 2027
• Funding: 45 741 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant Holder: Anna Beitane
• Other Skytte staff: Heidi Maiberg, Oksana Belova-Dalton
• ETIS page

Despite its economic advancements and some critical steps made towards the stabilization through EU integration process with countries holding candidate status for full membership, the region of WB remains prone to instabilities and security threats from both ends internal (specific to the complex regional relations and historical justice/injustice views leading to radical and violent behaviors) and external (specific to the regional fragility and remaining socio-economic difficulties in gaining pace with European societies and its position vis-à-vis current instabilities in world politics).

64 percent of citizens living in the region are satisfied with the security situation in the Western Balkans, according to a survey by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), which was presented on May 24. Organized crime, terrorism, the migrant crisis and fake news represent security challenges for the largest number of citizens.

The survey called #SecuriMeter 2021 was conducted in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo in the period from January 28 to February 19 this year. More than 6,000 people participated in the survey.

The survey showed that citizens see economic crisis, poverty and social exclusion (63 percent), crime, organized crime and vandalism (58 percent), pandemic (53 percent), natural disasters, climatic changes and pollution (29 percent), while for 26 percent of respondents it is the migrant crisis.

When asked what are the most urgent challenges that the region should solve when it comes to security, 92 percent pointed to organized and financial crime, 88 percent to the fight against terrorism, 86 percent believe it is the migrant crisis, and 84 percent point to cyber security. In particular, majority of respondent 69% mention Pandemic and heath security nexus as one of the issues for urgent societal responses.

Acknowledging that politics is a two level game, and that education is the core element of progress in integral development of the region (realizing individual and collective transformation) leading to closer regional collaboration based on resilience to a number of core security threats and relations with the EU, the TRUST project seeks to open up the space for participation of faculties newcomers and persons with fewer opportunities to raise voice and becoming more resistant to up and coming threats in different contents.

• Timeframe: 2025 - 2029
• Funding: 76 000 EUR
• Funder: Estonian Research Council
• Grant Holder: Edgars Eihmanis
• ETIS page

The EUGRIP project studies the national effects of the EU’s green industrial policy in East Central Europe (ECE) as the EU’s “most unlikely” region of decarbonization. Combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, it analyses how the European Commission’s stepped-up regulatory, fiscal and governance capacities since the pandemic have shaped decarbonization in five different ECE states (PL, RO, EE, LT, SK) known for carbon-intensive economies, energy dependence on Russia, and economic and security exposure to the war in Ukraine.

Building on the latest literature on EU economic governance and comparative political economy, the project argues that the effects of the EU’s “new climate governance” depend on national “uses of Europe”, state-business development coalitions and perceptions of European security. Besides theoretical novelty, the project promises timely advice for European and national policymakers on how to speed up decarbonisation by creating new green coalitions.

• Timeframe: 2024 - 2025
• Funding: 29 250 EUR
• Funder: Ministry of Finance
• Grant Holder: Kristiina Vain; Anneli Saaroja
• Other Skytte staff: Pille Gerhold
• ETIS page

The purpose of the framework procurement is to support the fulfillment of the 2030 climate goals in Estonia by creating a partnership between ministries and research consortia in order to support the knowledge-based design of the Estonian climate policies and the achievement of climate goals in Estonia.
Research works are ordered on the basis of mini-competitions.

The purpose of the research work "Developing the Social Climate Fund Plan: Mapping the Target Groups for the Social Climate Fund and Identifying the Most Effective Measures for Improving Their Situation for the Ministry of Finance" is to identify the target groups most in need of help in the context of transport poverty and energy purchase poverty, and to develop the most effective measures to improve their situation.

The purpose of the research work "Developing Metrics for Just Transition and Green Economy in the Context of Green Transition for the Ministry of Climate" is to develop metrics for monitoring the two development directions of green transition - just transition and green economy, including analysis of the suitability and international comparability of the metrics.

The purpose of the research work "Study on Defining Significant Climate Impact for the Ministry of Climate" is to define and delineate what constitutes a significant climate impact that must be considered by the environmental impact assessor and the environmental permit issuer when evaluating the impact of a proposed activity and deciding on the issuance of the permit.

• Timeframe: 08.08.2025 – 12.12.2025
• Funding: 19 255 EUR
• Funder: SA Hiiumaa Arenduskeskus
• Grant Holder: Doris Pavlov
• Other Skytte staff: Sabina Trankmann, Kristiina Vain, Keit Simmulmann
• ETIS page

The aim of the study is to identify development opportunities and bottlenecks in the silver economy, map the expectations and needs of the target group and existing resources, and make specific target group-based recommendations to entrepreneurs in the region, Hiiumaa municipality, Hiiumaa Development Centre and other support structures.

• Timeframe: 2025 - 2027
• Funding: 57 000 EUR
• Funder: Ministry of Rural Affairs and Agriculture
• Grant Holder: Anneli Saaroja
• Other Skytte staff: Ene Tubelt, Piia Pääso, Merle Mägi, Allan Allik
• ETIS page

The aim of the study is to collect data on the country of origin and the quantities of vegetable protein feeds (rapeseed cake and soybean, maize, sunflower and derived products) imported into Estonia.

• Timeframe: 2025 – 2026
• Funding: 100 000 EUR
• Funder: Estonian Ministry of Culture
• Grant Holder: Veiko Sepp
• Other Skytte staff: Jaanus Veemaa, Ene Tubelt, Anneli Saaroja, Keit Simmulmann
• ETIS page

The subject of the procurement is a service – the mid-term evaluation of the development plan Culture 2030 and, based on the results of the evaluation, the provision of recommendations regarding the content and implementation of the development plan, as well as for planning the next periods of the national budget strategy and the new EU multiannual financial framework period (2028+) in the field of culture.

• Timeframe: 2023 – 2026
• Funding: 137 024 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant Holder: Piia Pääso
• Other Skytte staff: Hanna Laius, Merlyn Randla, Anastasiia Turusinova
• ETIS page

The European Commission stresses on the urgent need for supporting small and remote communities in Europe in their efforts to
meet the EU mid-term decarbonisation targets for 2030. This involves aligning financial incentives with the clean energy transition,
supporting knowledge sharing and building capacity.

LOCAL GoGREEN empower local authorities for accelerating the CET. The project will use an innovative bottom-up approach
delivering need-specific capacity building to local authorities in pilot municipalities in Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Italy and
Spain for integrated climate and energy planning (ICEP). Guidance and best practice sharing will improve the synergies among public
and private stakeholders of the 6 pilots in implementing integrated measures at local level.

Through a coherent Roadmap each pilot will select 3 projects from 5 core priority areas (e-mobility, energy efficiency of buildings,
renewable energy generation, landscape planning for increased carbon absorption, and waste-to-energy), prepare a project pipeline
and develop pre-feasibility studies. A Transnational Expert Group (TEG) will advise the Local Working Groups on the technical,
financial, social, and environmental aspects of the project pipelines. Furthermore, it will facilitate the deployment of targeted
investments provided by the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and IFIs along with being available to nearby
municipalities grouped into territorial clusters for further replication and capitalisation.

Project results will be upscaled through the clusters, the availability of multilingual training platform and the created Transnational Municipal Collaborative Network as
Community of practice, envisaged to be transformed into an EEIG for long-term impact. Targeted communication and dissemination
at local, national and EU level, cooperation with similar LIFE and Horizon projects will ensure visibility, complementarity and increase
shared experiences.

• Timeframe: 2023 - 2027
• Funding: 89 817 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant Holder: Anneli Saaroja; Piia Pääso
• Other Skytte staff: Maie Kiisel, Hanna Laius, Riin Teugijas
• ETIS page

StartSun project will tackle the start-up challenge of establishing energy communities by creating the necessary knowledge, documentation and first experience-pilots thus enabling the further establishment of more energy communities in BSR, using the locally available resources, serving its greater energy independence in electricity sector. The Baltic Sea Region countries have implemented and interpreted the Electricity Market Directive and the Renewable Energy Directive differently. Citizen energy communities and renewable energy communities are two names for energy communities that have been introduced through the directives. This project aims to overcome the Start Up gap, providing Start-Up package for establishing energy communities and will pilot six different types of energy communities and exchange experience between them.

• Timeframe: 2024 - 2027
• Funding: 425 000 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant Holder: Piia Pääso; Kaidi Nõmmela
• ETIS page

The main goal of BlueGreen Governance is to develop innovative land-sea governance schemes based on scientific evidence and societal choices. The current management of oceans, seas and coasts is fragmented across multiple institutional layers and policy areas and based on past experience. BlueGreen Governance pursues an innovative approach to the governance of the seas and coastal areas that:
• promotes integration between institutional layers and across policy sectors with a clear impact on the use of the land and the sea;
• involves and engages citizens in decision-making processes, while at the same time including scientific evidence;
• responds predictively to changing physical conditions as indicated by scientific evidence as well as indigenous and local knowledge and citizen science;
• and uses e-governance tools in support of the previous three points.

With this focus and approach, the project responds to the need for better-informed decision-making processes, social engagement and digital innovation while promoting more harmonious and effective science-policy-society interfaces. The promotion of better science-policy, science-society and society-policy interactions will be embedded in the digital transformation and application of e-governance tools for co-design and service delivery.

BlueGreen Governance will implement and assess these innovative governance schemes in 8 cases across several European regions and sea basins and will draw lessons on how to trigger and facilitate effective institutional change via capacity building. The cases are: Comunidad Valenciana; North Adriatic; the Solent; Western Scheldt; Oslofjord; Canary Islands and Reunion. With this geographical scope, the project will investigate five marine basins (Western Mediterranean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean), including one transnational marine basin (i.e. the North Adriatic case) and one transnational river basin (i.e. the Western Scheldt case).

• Timeframe: 2024 - 2026
• Funding: 39 850 EUR
• Funder: Fundacja˛ Rozwoju Systemu Edukacji
• Grant Holder: Piia Pääso; Anneli Saaroja
• Other Skytte staff: Hanna Laius, Ali Haririan, Pille Gerhold, Anastasiia Turusinova
• ETIS page

Higher Education Institutions (HEI) have an important role in the transition towards carbon neutrality and the green economy. HEI will be able to help achieve the goals of the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal (EUA, 2021; UNESCO, 2021). Promoting green skills in higher education will help graduates boost their chances of employment since there is a need for skilled individuals for the new green industry to promote a green economy and sustainable development (Sern et al., 2018).
The green economy is not clearly understood and practised within HEI. Students understand that the curriculum is not developed according to the green economy since it does not provide room for green technologies and the development of green skills. There is a great demand to alter the HE curriculum for the graduates to have the appropriate green skills and competencies and be ready for the changing labour market (Otieno, 2021). According to experts, green jobs require workers from all educational levels. (Cedefop, 2018). The correct training complemented with green skills can make all graduates competent for the green jobs available. Adapting green skills within the HE curricula will help students understand the importance of environmental degradation and climate change and will thus be better prepared for the new green economy (UNEP 2016).
In order to develop these skills, it is important to involve technologies like Augmented Reality (AR) technology (WEF, 2021). AR technology is considered one of the most efficient ways for HE to suggest the introduction of green skills and competencies within all disciplines. The combination of the digital and real worlds allows HE to prepare for the green economy in a playful and visible way (Cabero-Almenara et al., 2019; Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, 2017).
An e-Toolkit and Green HE Strategy will be developed to help build the capacity of HE educators to implement activities on the green economy to improve their green competences and prepare and implement a Green Higher Education Action Plan. Mobile Augmented Reality Games and Digital Escape Rooms will be developed, aiming at the infusion of alternative strategies and methodologies for developing a broad set of knowledge and skills to sufficiently support HEI students to develop the new skills and competencies required by the green economy in the changing labour market.

• Timeframe: 2025 - 2027
• Funding: 77 859 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant Holder: Piia Pääso
• Other Skytte staff: Mariia Chebotareva, Triin Taal, Mari Puniste
• ETIS page

The VERA project intends to tackle the risk of sexual abuse among young adults with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) by intervening on a set of protective factors and by piloting innovative methodologies which can help preventing the risk of (re)victimizaiton as well as support professionals in addressing emerging cases. Current research on the prevalence of sexual victimisation clearly shows that autistic individuals are at greater risk for unwanted sexual contact, violence, and victimisation. On the other hand, individuals with ASD might also be more at risk of acting sexually offending behaviour. Based on the above, the VERA project will address the topic by embedding evidence-based recommendations emerging from research, i.e.: the development of sexual education programme tailored to specific developmental and cognitive level; moving beyond knowledge-based approaches to include skill-building; addressing the triad autistic individuals- carers / families and practitioners / disability workers. Besides education, the project will also work on other axis such as (1) the development of victims support approaches which are tailored to the needs of people with ASD; (2) the empowerment of people with ASD involving them as “safety ambassadors” towards their peers. From a methodological point of view, the project will adopt a behavioural approach and will be based on theatre of the oppresed, VERA responds to the objectives of the Daphne call as it aims to prevent and combat violence against young persons with a disability (ASD) [objective nr.2], as a group at risk, with a specific focus on young women with ASD as victims of gender-based violence [objective nr.1]. The project will also contribute to tackle underreporting as specific efforts will be dedicated to up-skill professionals, informal carers and people with ASD themselves to be able to recognise situations of abuse and to encourage reporting.

• Timeframe: 2025 – 2026
• Funding: 103 466 EUR
• Funder: Education and Youth Board
• Grant Holder: Piia Pääso
• Other Skytte staff: Pille Gerhold, Anastasiia Turusinova, Kristiina Vain
• ETIS page

The aim of the measure is to support Estonian workers and companies with skills necessary to implement green transition principles in businesses and industries, and where the main objective is to offer longer trainings and micro qualification programs. The measure includes the involvement of higher education institutions and vocational schools, as well as different associations.

• Timeframe: 2024 - 2027
• Funding: 250 000 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant Holder: Martin Daniel Hayford
• Other Skytte staff: Sabina Trankmann
• ETIS page

The study will address significant gaps in the understanding of skills deficiencies in Europe – i.e. the extent, causes, and implications of skills shortages and skills gaps. Skills shortages refer to where employers face difficulties recruiting people from the external labour market because applicants lack the skills, qualifications, or experience sought.

Skills gaps refer to the extent to which organisations’ workforces lack the skills required to meet their business goals. There is a tendency to think that skills shortages and skills gaps will disappear over the medium to long term, so they do not require policy interventions. The evidence suggests otherwise. Shortages and gaps do not clear quickly enough, certainly from a policy-making perspective, with negative consequences for individual workers,
companies, and, in aggregate, the economy as a whole. This has the potential to damage organisational performance and productivity. It is thus important to measure skills shortages and gaps, locate where they arise (or are anticipated to arise) with respect to jobs, sectors, and countries affected, and analyse their causes and means of mitigation.

The study will provide a conceptual review of skills shortages and gaps, and devise a means of measuring their incidence and the extent to which they are likely to arise in the future as a consequence of key changes in the economy (notably digitalisation). The study will provide a methodology for identifying the extent, causes, and implications of skills deficiencies in Europe. A series of indicators will be devised, including a Skills Shortage Index, which can be incorporated in a software tool for use by those responsible for labour market skills intelligence at national and pan-European level. The tool will be road-tested by working with those responsible for producing labour market skills intelligence at national level to develop something that provides a valuable addition to that already produced.

• Timeframe: 2023-2026
• Funding: 219 000 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant holder: Anneli Saaroja
• Other Skytte staff: Elis Vollmer
• ETIS page

Buildings are responsible for 40% of Europe’s total energy consumption, and EU policy has prioritised the identification of dwellings and citizens at a higher risk of energy poverty in order to develop effective strategies for building renovation. In accordance with the energy efficiency first principle, building renovation must be prioritized when discussing the overall solution to energy poverty. In so doing, the least efficient building stock should be targeted first and split-incentive dilemmas and market failures should be addressed. Furthermore, addressing EP, like energy transition in general, should be socially just and inclusive. The main objective of the project is to empower and support vulnerable homeowners and renters living in multiapartment buildings through the renovation process. By identifying the main obstacles, and creating trustworthy support services that include homeowners, their associations, and building managers. CEESEN-BENDER will address the above issues within 5 regions in 5 CEE countries: Croatia, Slovenia, Estonia, Poland, Romania. It will be done by targeting Soviet-era multi-apartment buidlings.

• Timeframe: 2023-2025
• Funding: 167 742 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant holder: Oleksii Kolesnykov
• Other Skytte staff: Piret Ehin
• ETIS page

The project seeks a more profound understanding of modern Ukrainian politics, with a focus on war related political processes and the functioning of democracy in wartime. It examines links between resilience and democracy and identifies 'red lines' that should not be crossed if Ukraine is to continue on a democratic path.

• Timeframe: 2023-2027
• Funding: 177 200 EUR
• Funder: Estonian Research Council
• Grant holder: Eiki Berg
• Other Skytte staff: Shpend Kursani, Ana Maria Albulescu, Kristel Vits, Butrint Berisha, Izzet Yalin Youksel
• ETIS page

Frozen conflicts resemble „no war, no peace“ situations where the adversaries have reached impasse and where no party is willing or able to change the status quo. Actually, conflicts which we term as „frozen“ may not be frozen at all because they manifest certain dynamics that is related to actor-based interactions. While retaining the potential for outbursts, they may descend into renewed violent conflict. But they may also come close to or even achieve conflict resolution. As frozen conflicts are tightly connected with the occurrence of de facto states - territorial contenders supported by external powers, then we aim to situate, explore, and explain the role of de facto states and other actors in shaping the conflict dynamics. This project has an ambition to bring the case-based knowledge together through a cross-case comparison and to explain the conditions leading to certain outcomes. While knowing how trajectories are conditioned we can influence the course of the conflict

• Timeline: 2023-2026
• Funding: 272 895
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant holder: Piia Pääso
• Other Skytte staff: Mariia Chebotareva, Olena Solohub, Anastasiia Turusinova
• ETIS page

Violent behaviors in the domestic context, by men towards their partners and family members, are often associated with life stressors, which are the events in a person’s life that bring about significant anxiety and stress, such as life transitions, loss and grief, experiences of trauma or victimization, loss of a job or career changes, or changes to family structure or among friends. Diminished access to the social determinants of health, including income insecurity, unemployment, inadequate housing and food insecurity, can also cause life stress. Increasing access to specialised victim AND perpetrator services is an important strategy for addressing domestic violence as a prevalent form of gender-based violence.

• Timeframe: 2023-2027
• Funding: 329 424 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant holder: Anneli Saaroja
• Other Skytte staff: Elis Vollmer, Louis John Wierenga
• ETIS page

The REMIT project aims to Reignite Multilateralism via Technology. Multilateralism is under attack and the EU is caught between the U.S. and China. While there are many ways that the decline in multilateralism affects the EU, none is more troublesome than rivalries in technology. Firstly, because of the sector’s impact on economic competitiveness and the size within economies that tech occupies. Secondly, tech is important to national security and future threats, including threats to democratic principles. Thirdly, technology is crucial to the solutions for global challenges. REMIT will create knowledge that generates policy recommendations and strategies that support the EU in reconceptualizing multilateral governance in four crucial policy areas: digital, biotechnology, security and defense, and financial technologies. REMIT researchers create this knowledge by employing the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) to specific subsystems. The policy subsystem is the ACF’s unit of analysis. It is characterized by three components: the policy problem or issue; the scope of actors seeking to influence that policy; and a territorial domain or authority for policymaking. REMIT experts focus on subsystems that emerge from their expertise, analyzing the tensions and debates within each as well as defining the EU’s current role. Knowing the status quo makes the next step possible—to extrapolate ideas and to suggest pathways forward. In innovative scenario testing workshops with EU officials, important regional groupings (e.g., Mercosur, ASEAN, and African Union) and national officials, REMIT will develop policy recommendations that will give a remit to reignite multilateralism via technology. A reigniting that not only reacts to China’s rise as a systemic technology rival or Russia’s rise as a technology abuser or the dominance of large U.S.- based digital platforms, but that sets a clear vision for the future—one in which Europe plays a leading role.

• Timeframe: 2023-2028
• Funding: 44 333 EUR
• Funder: Estonian Research Council
• Grant holder: Liisa Talving
• Other Skytte staff: Ville Tapani Haapanen
• ETIS page

In past decades, Europe has witnessed major quakes that force us to rethink social conflict. A new divide has emerged that splits societies into two opposing blocs, pitting universalistic values against particularism and focusing on issues surrounding globalisation, e.g. European integration, immigration and, more recently, vaccination policy. This project examines the sources of these new conflict lines. It contests the dualistic view that explains the new divide either from the economic or cultural perspectives. Rather, the two dimensions are linked together by political actors that target economically vulnerable people but politicise cultural issues. I call this mechanism affective politicisation. The latter builds on the established notion of affective polarisation, but stresses that key to understanding the globalisation conflict lies in the supply side of the democratic process. By focusing on affective issues and using affective rhetoric, parties cultivate new societal divides.

• Timeframe: 2022-2025
• Funding: 119 688 EUR
• Funder: European Commission
• Grant holder: Hector Charles Pagan
• Other Skytte staff: Mihkel Solvak, Sander Maripuu
• ETIS page

SoBigData RI, with its tools and services, empowers researchers and innovators through a platform for the design and execution of large-scale data science and social mining experiments, open to users with diverse backgrounds, accessible on cloud (aligned with EOSC guidelines), and also exploiting supercomputing facilities. SoBigData RI will render social mining experiments more efficiently designed, adjusted, and repeatable by non-data scientists' domain experts by pushing the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable) and FACT (Fair, Accountable, Confidential and Transparent) principles. SoBigData RI will orient resources from multiple perspectives: e-infrastructures and online services developers; big data analytics and AI; complex systems focussed on modelling social phenomena; ELSEC (Ethical, Legal, SocioEconomic and Cultural) aspects of data protection (as defined by the HLEG-AI); privacypreserving techniques. SoBigData RI PPP will move our RI forward from the simple awareness of ethical and legal challenges in social mining to the development of concrete tools that operationalize ethics with value-sensitive design, incorporating values and norms for privacy protection, fairness, transparency, and pluralism.

Research Professorship in Russian Studies 2023-2024

Limits and opportunities of civic activism in contemporary Russia (2023-2024)

Science diplomacy in the service of Estonia's foreign and security policies (2023-2024)

Countering Disinformation and Increasing Media Literacy among Russian-speaking Communities in Estonia (2022-2024)