Speeches
President Toomas Hendrik Ilves on Mother’s Day 12 May 2013 at the Estonia Concert Hall
Fellow countrymen,
Mothers and grandmothers,
Today is the day we – brothers and sisters, fathers and husbands – declare our love and gratitude for you!
We show our respect for the selfless and never-ending warmth and care amidst which we were born, have grown up and lived.
We say thank you, we congratulate you and wish you good health!
At the same time, Mother's Day is the day when all of us as children, husbands and fathers, citizens and state representatives should think of the true meaning of being a mother – the loving, caring and fostering all human beings need from the cradle to the grave.
Maternal nature is about caring for everything that makes life humanely profound and meaningful. This has been given to each mother by nature and is thus genuine. But it is also written in law.
Fellow countrymen,
In the last few weeks we have actively debated a rather sensitive subject in Estonia. We have been talking about those people for whom being a mother and a child has become an economic, physical and foremost mental burden.
We are talking about taking care of our loved ones. We are talking about those families where pain and worry exist alongside joy, where caring for a sick child or old mother or father becomes a full-time job – a job without pay.
This subject is so painful and so important that we must talk about it honestly. We must say how things are.
By doing so we see how discussions are full of traditions, about how it has been customary for Estonian families to act in different times. And also the changes in family models, economic opportunities and options offered by a free society.
12.05.2013
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News
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17.05.2013
President Ilves: digital development must be accompanied by analysis of social changes
Estonia has been a pioneer in the development of e-governance technologies and may also be a pioneer when it comes to giving meaning to the digital society," told the President, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, today at a conference dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the e-Governance Academy, entitled "From E-governance to Open Governance".
16.05.2013
President Ilves: Human Development report shows that Estonia is doing well
The new Human Development Report, published today, shows that Estonia has, in fact, been performing well, said the President, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, at the presentation of the Human Development Report of Estonia, organised at Tallinn University by the Estonian Cooperation Assembly.
15.05.2013
