Youth Capital

Tartu’s vision is to be a city where every young person is cared for and valued.

Our new exhibition features the stories of young people in Tartu. See the English version here.

Tartu’s cultural strategy focuses on recognizing and supporting the potential of young people. Our goal is for young people to be not just consumers of culture, but active shapers of city life.

Strategic sub-goals:

• Tartu is a youth-friendly city where everyone has the opportunity to develop their interests and talents
• Various opportunities have been created for young people to explore different areas of life and gain practical experience
• Dedicated and motivated professionals work with young people

In February 2026, the title of “Youth Capital of the Year” was announced as part of the nationwide youth sector recognition competition event, and it was awarded to the city of Tartu. The title of “Youth Capital of the Year” was awarded for the first time in Estonia.

The city of Tartu was selected as the winner, based on the results of the evaluation committee and a public vote, and the award comes with a 30,000-euro development grant to support various activities.

All nominees can be found on the Ministry of Education and Research’s website.

An exhibition has been open on the Tartu Kaarsilla Bridge since July 20, bringing the diverse stories of Tartu's youth to viewers. Among the stories are Saara Liis Jõerand, editor-in-chief of the magazine Värske Rõõk, well-known rapper DEW8, as well as stories from the Tartu City Youth Council and cultural organizers Extended. The exhibition has been created to celebrate the year of Estonia's first Youth Capital.

Tartu is a city where the ideas, initiatives and actions of young people are visible in school, culture, public space and community life. It is precisely because of this that Tartu was awarded the title of the first Estonian Youth Capital in history this year, 2026. The title is awarded by the Education and Youth Board (Harno) with the aim of recognizing municipalities that cooperate meaningfully with young people and create diverse opportunities for them to learn, participate and realize themselves.

Our new exhibition features the stories of young people in Tartu. See the English version here.

Exhibition is opened from 20th of July to 13th of September.

See all of the events of the Youth Capital at the Window of Culture

SPRING AND SUMMER 2026

• Orienteering Course “Estonian-Language Faculty of Law 106”
  • Date: April 28 – August 9
  • About: The University of Tartu invites everyone interested to an exciting orienteering course dedicated to the significant anniversary of Estonian-language legal education. At the end of the event, a raffle will be held among all participants for a variety of fun University of Tartu souvenirs. To increase your chances of winning, let us know after completing the orienteering course that you took part in the event.
• Tartu Sport(y) Family Day at Tähtvere Sports Park
  • Date: May 23, 2026, 12:00 PM–4:00 PM
  • About: Tartu Sport is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a lively family day packed with activity! As part of the Youth Capital program, visitors can look forward to the bike park’s opening competition, a trick demo, boxing exhibition matches, and open breakdancing workshops. The highlight of the day is Limpa’s big kids’ disco, where children can dance to their favorite hits. The event is free for all participants and offers the joy of discovery for sports fans of all ages. More info: tartusport.ee/perepaev/
• Tartu Waldorf Theater High School Troupe’s production of “A Handbook for Young People”
  • Time: May 24 at 7:00 p.m. in the ERM Theater Hall and May 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the chamber hall of the Sakala 3 Theater
  • About: The production won an award at the TARTU 2026 National High School Theater Festival. Tickets from Fienta.
• Recreational Education Open House “Horizon of Interests”
  • Date: June 1.
  • About: An opportunity for students in grades 7–12 to explore what Tartu’s recreational schools have to offer and find a new hobby they’ll enjoy. More info: noortehuvi.tartu.ee
• Tartu Children’s Day
  • Date: June 1.
  • About: A citywide family day featuring artist Inger as the headliner, much to the delight of the young attendees.
• Ukrainian Youth Camp
  • Date: June 7–14.
  • About: An international and supportive camp organized as part of the Youth Capital program, specifically aimed at Ukrainian youth, offering them group activities and a change of pace.
• Stencibility x Youth Capital Street Art Workshop
  • Date: June 11.
  • About: A workshop held at the Turusilla bus station end, where, in collaboration with the Stencibility festival, young people can learn street art techniques.
• Opening of the Pallas Landmark
  • Date: June.
  • About: A new and iconic work of art created by young artists from Pallas University of Applied Sciences will be unveiled in the city.
• Tartu City Day Celebration
  • Date: June 28–29.
  • About: On June 28, soloists from Koolilaul and a surprise headliner will perform. The gala concert on June 29 will conclude with a special song dedicated to the Youth Capital.
• "Tartu Buzz" Youth Area and International Youth Day
  • Date: August 1–16; Youth Day on August 12.
  • About: Daily activities will take place at the youth area of the old-town festival "Tartu Buzz", over the course of two weeks. On August 12, International Youth Day will be celebrated together with young people.
• “KUS?” Festival
  • Date: August 27–29.
  • About: An end-of-summer festival organized by the Tartu 2024 Extended Youth, featuring an open-air hair salon in the city center and lively parties.
• Knowledge Day, or Teadfest
  • Date: September 1.
  • About: The start of the school year in Central Park, featuring creative workshops, a concert, and a major political debate.

FALL AND WINTER 2026

• European Mobility Week
  • Date: September 16–22
  • About: Throughout the week, the focus will be on sustainable mobility and healthy lifestyles in Tartu’s urban space.
• TAVA Light Festival Youth Program
  • Date: Fall.
  • About: Tartu art schools and the twin city of Hämeenlinna will create joint light installations, involving local youth in the creative process.
• Youth Work Week
  • Date: November 9–13.
  • About: A program aimed at promoting youth work.
• Joint Event on Youth Participation
  • Date: Fall 2026
  • Organizers: Tartu City Youth Council, Extended Youth, and Tartu Youth Work Center
  • Description: How are decisions that affect the lives of young people in Tartu made? We invite young people to this event to raise awareness about the work of participatory councils. This is an opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at youth policy, have a say in the city’s development, and find ways to actively shape Tartu yourself.

The City of Tartu is continuously developing its youth support system to ensure that young people have diverse and accessible opportunities. The city collaborates with approximately 150 private-sector partners, through whom extracurricular activities reach ~75% of Tartu’s youth.

The goal in developing these support programs is to maintain a unified and transparent system across all sectors, ensuring that young people have diverse opportunities to develop their interests and talents.

Key developments in recent years:

• creation of a unified support system for extracurricular education (2023);
• introduction of support for coaches (2023);
• increase in the base grant (2024 and 2026);
• increasing salary subsidies for coaches and instructors (2025 and 2026);
• expanding support for extracurricular education for people with disabilities across the entire life cycle (2026);
• introducing salary subsidies for leaders of groups participating in the song and dance festival movement (2026).

In addition, the salaries of teachers at municipal hobby schools have been brought in line with those of education professionals, and the salaries of youth workers with higher education have been raised to the minimum level for cultural workers.

• Youth Work Small Projects Fund
  • Deadline: April 1.
  • About: Legal entities may apply for up to 3,000 euros to organize youth-oriented events, workshops, or camps that support youth collaboration and creativity.
• Empowering Youth-Led Initiatives
  • Deadline: May 16.
  • About: For the first time, Tartu is supporting youth-led initiatives for 13- to 19-year-olds with grants of up to 1,000 euros. This is your chance to make your dream project a reality!
  • More info: Tartu.ee news
• Creative Leap Scholarship
  • Dates: Applications accepted April 27–May 26; internship June 15–July 26.
  • About: Young people aged 14–26 can develop their strengths and discover their creative potential through a 6-week summer internship.
  • More info: tntk.tartu.ee/loomehupe/
• City of Tartu Youth Leisure Survey
  • Dates: March through October.
  • Description: An important survey designed to map young people’s leisure habits and needs in order to further improve youth work in the city.

Tartu is a prime example of a municipality where youth participation is significant and meaningful.

Young people are involved:

• in the city’s policymaking through the Tartu City Youth Council. In the fall of 2025, a new Youth Council was elected. Through intensive and substantive work, the council has selected priority topics and formed working groups that are actively engaging with various city departments and partners to promote youth entrepreneurship and improve internship opportunities, make the urban environment more youth-friendly;
• by contributing to the drafting of the city’s Development Plan in 2024 and the city’s Cultural Strategy in 2025;
• by participating in the participatory budgeting voting process, the starting age of which is 14 (lowering the age limit was a proposal by the Youth Council to the City Council, which was approved). In addition to young Tartu citizens, young people studying in Tartu at general education schools, vocational schools, universities of applied sciences, are also allowed to vote.
• in discussions in city commissions and working groups. For example, members of the Youth Council have had a say with the Spatial Planning Department regarding areas to be created for young people. During the reconstruction of general education schools, members of the Youth Council also had a say with the City Assets Department regarding the needs and mobility preferences of young people within school buildings;
• in the evaluation committee for youth work project grant applications, as well as in the planning and feedback process for research in the youth sector.

The “Tartu 2026 — Estonia's Youth Capital” label is now available for use by all organizations and initiatives whose activities are aimed at young people and support their well-being, development, entrepreneurship, creativity, or sense of community. Using the logo shows that your event or activity is aligned with the spirit and values of the Youth Capital.

You can find the Youth Capital logo here: Tartu Youth Capital (Estonian only)

Check out the Tartu Youth Capital Communication Guidelines (Estonian only).

Let's turn good ideas into reality!