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Youth associations comprise youth organizations as well as non-formal youth groups. There are 21 national youth organizations in Estonia and 52 associations dealing with youth and youth work belong to the Estonian National Youth Council. The Estonian Union of School Student Councils functions as the umbrella organization for school student councils, while the university student self-governments belong to the Federation of Estonian Student Unions. More than 200 youth centres exist in Estonia, the activities of which are organized by local governments or non-profit associations. Youth participation bodies function at both county and local government levels.
Hobby schools offer youth hobby education in different fields: sports, music, art, dance, theatre, nature, crafts, technology, etc. Youth work in general education schools and vocational schools is based on extracurricular activities and is primarily organized by the school’s youth work instructor and the school’s student council.
Youth exchanges, events, campaigns, and activities aimed at youth associations, youth camps, youth centres, and hobby schools are organized within the scope of programmes and projects.
Figure 1. Projection of the number of young people and the percentage of youth among the population up to 2016.
