I’d like to welcome you to our foundation’s annual dinner.
Even making the world a better place begins with small steps. It starts in our communities and the people close to us. Above all, it begins with our children. We are their whole world and in fact, they’re the whole world to us.
The Carolin Illenzeer Foundation might not be the largest charity organization, but to date, it has provided continual support to 72 children over two decades. Even a single child who receives the courage and assistance to make their dreams come true means a better future and a better world for us all.
Because the impact of supporting a child is greater than it initially seems. In doing so, we are affecting the future.
Therefore, I’m particularly pleased that the Foundation focuses primarily on children’s education – something intrinsic to Estonians – and extracurricular activities. Learning, discovering, and creating are the strengths that make us unique. Uniqueness enriches and fosters our culture in turn. And a rich culture enhances Estonianness itself and ensures that we achieve our noblest goal: to preserve the Estonian language and the Estonian people through the ages.
The same applies to our veterans, whom we place in the spotlight during the month of April. Our soldiers’ contributions in distant lands and in wars that on the surface may seem unrelated to us have permanently transformed our own security space. With fearless focus on performing their duties in foreign operations, the members of our military have proven their credibility as soldiers and as allies, and continue to do so today in crises zones around the world.
They demonstrate that our tiny country always looks further than our own surroundings. That we are prepared to shoulder broader responsibility for security. This helped us to cement Estonia’s membership in NATO, the world’s strongest military alliance, and to cement NATO’s strong presence in Estonia in turn.
We will never forget our veterans and fallen soldiers, nor the fact that they’ve made Estonia’s national security stronger than it’s ever been before.
What am I trying to say? First and foremost, I wish to recognize and thank every exemplary person in this space who has supported the Carolin Illenzeer Foundation, our veterans, and our children.
You make the world a better place. You do so through your deeds and the role model they establish.
Tonight, let’s leave the world’s problems aside for a moment and consider everything we have accomplished. Let’s enjoy what we did better today than we did yesterday, and all we’ve done for our children, loved ones, friends, and nation. It will no doubt cultivate good ideas for our next ventures and generate the strength needed to achieve them.
Thank you, friends, and enjoy your evening!
