In early April, Vabamu CEO Ivo Lille embarked on a North American visit to deepen Vabamu’s connections with partners and explore new opportunities for collaboration. The trip began at Stanford University, where Ivo received comprehensive overviews of Stanford’s diverse initiatives. These included the work of the David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Alumni Association, Media Preservation Lab, and the Silicon Valley Archives program, as well as internship opportunities, Baltic academic initiatives, and SUCHO’s support for Ukraine.

Ivo also connected with Stanford’s current and former Estonian fellows and Baltic interns, representatives from the San Francisco Estonian Society, and consuls and honorary consuls from the Baltic and Nordic countries. Discussions focused on strengthening Vabamu’s international partnerships and student mobility programs, especially through Stanford’s BOSP initiative. 

A major highlight of the visit was the opening of the Why Estonia? exhibition at Stanford Libraries. The event featured a keynote by Luukas Ilves, a panel discussion, and a guided tour of the exhibition, which traces Estonia’s journey from Soviet occupation to digital society (more info can be found here).

The second leg of Ivo’s visit took place in Los Angeles, where, alongside Honorary Consul Jaak Treiman, he visited the Japanese American National Museum and met with Joes Segal, Executive Director of the Wende Museum. Ivo also joined Estonian community leaders and consular representatives for Ukrainian Easter celebrations and a musical on Jewish suffering in WWII-era Vilnius, hosted by the Lithuanian Consulate.

The final stop was Toronto, where Ivo continued building bridges with local Estonian and Baltic communities. He toured the Ukrainian Museum of Canada and the future site of KESKUS, guided by Ellen Valter. At Tartu College and VEMU, he met with Piret Noorhani and delivered a public lecture on Vabamu’s mission and work. He also visited the “Ehatare” retirement home with actor Margus Tabor, and engaged in dialogue with academics including University of Toronto professor Andres Kasekamp and researcher Kadri Tüür.

Ivo’s packed schedule included meetings with several key figures in Toronto’s Estonian community: Ajay Agrawal, Mihkel Tombak, Katrin Sõmermaa, Kai Kiilaspea, Reet Marten Seher, and Mari Ann Tammark, among others. He concluded the visit by delivering a speech and musical performance at the VEMU fundraising gala, marking the end of a successful and inspiring trip to North America.

Vabamu is thankful to everyone who helped make this visit such a success, especially hearfelt thank you goes to Liisi Esse, Jaak Treiman, Renee Meriste, and Piret Noorhani.