No. 21

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Let’s dream Estonia successful!

16 June 2010

Essay

RiTo No. 21, 2010

  • Raivo Vare

    Raivo Vare

    Foundation for State Reform, Member of the Council

The author recalls that the Estonian Human Development Report 2009 was recently deliberated in the Riigikogu as a matter of national importance.

That deliberation, as well as the conference „Estonia after the Euro” organised by the Estonian Cooperation Assembly, the Development Fund and representation organisations of enterprise in November last year concluded with a sad statement that Estonia has in a certain sense lost the dynamism and success capacity that had been characteristic to it so far. Wishing to give an impetus to improving the situation from its part, the Development Fund has launched the process the Estonian Growth Vision 2018 which was given an initial start in the Development Forum in May this year. The aim of this process is not simply to prepare a document but it is intended to provide key persons and institutions in Estonia an opportunity to develop a more independent strategic discussion of the future of the Estonian economy in the course of the formation of the vision. At the same time it is intended to encourage a wider insight into where Estonian economy may develop in new global circumstances, and doing that in depth and independently of the experience and framework of daily activities.

The Growth Vision 2018 has been chosen the working title of the process that has been launched because it is in 2018 that Estonia will celebrate the 100th anniversary of independence and Estonia will hold presidency of the largest international community at present, the European Union. The vision should answer the following questions. First, what are our aims and dreams? That is, which values we wish the society to be based on, what our foreign relations and policies are like, what our aim in the area of education, social welfare, immigration, natural environment and other areas is. The second question that needs answering is the question of in which areas we are “players,” which economic sectors we should develop as a priority, to which markets we should go and through which channels. The third question is, what makes us successful: which business environment we have to develop, which characteristics and skills we need human capital to have, which organisational and institutional organisation and policies we need. And the fourth question is, which human, financial and other capacities we have to develop and what the shortcomings in these spheres are today. The author believes that, once we have answers to these questions, we will be able, through synthesis, to achieve our aims and dreams. Although a vision is always a little bit idealistic, it is a dream to be strived towards to fulfil it.

Full article in Estonian

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