Ambassadors

Andres Roots is one of the world’s best-known Estonian blues guitarists, who lives in Tartu.

Anna Hints is a film director and the creator of “Savusanna sõsarad”, who was born in Tartu.

The humorist and writer Antto Terras was born in Estonia, but has lived in Finland since 1991. According to Antto, Tartu is filled with cultural people who understand what is quality and who is beautiful.

Clifford Goilo is a Curaçao-born, Dutch-based music producer who has worked with global superstars such as Lady Gaga and Jeremy Renner. In recent years, he has created a lot of music with Estonian artists and is a great admirer of Estonia and Tartu.

Daniel Levi Viinalass is a musician who lived in Tartu in his youth.

Eda Veeroja is a sauna woman, tour guide, lore mediator and hostess who is part of Southern Estonian Community Programme.

Ella Kanninen is a journalist and the beloved YLE presenter in Finland and an alumnus of the University of Tartu.

Grete Ahtola has been the head of the Estonian Institute in Finland for many years, later worked in the Estonian EU Presidency team and as a project manager in the Union of Professional Engineers in Finland. Grete is Southern Estonian both in body and soul, born in Räpina, lived in Rannu and Elva, and spent her high school and university years in Tartu.

Henri Karpov (hensugusuta) is a content creator and YouTuber from Tartu, who is also the town’s biggest fan.

Born in Tartu, Ilmi Villacis has worked at both the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, and is currently the CEO of the Finnish Writers’ Union. Ilmi considers Tartu the home of her heart and always spends her holidays in her summer home next to Tartu.

Jaan Aru is an author and a neuroscientist from Tartu, who is a professor at the Institute of Computer Science in Tartu University.

Jalmar Vabarna is a musician and entrepreneur from Setomaa.

Jenni Kavén is the chairwoman of the the Association of Estonia-Societies in Finland (SVYL) and her main job is as the executive Director at the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters. According to Jenni, she has been an ambassador of Tartu since 2006, when she went there to study Estonian language philology and worked at the Finnish Institute and Tampere Maja.

Joel Ostrat is a chef, entertainer and entrepreneur who lives in Tartu.

Kairi Kliimand aka Kairo is a Tartu street artist and a naïve artist.

Kirsi Korpi, who studied medicine at the University of Tartu, has lived in Tartu for 10 years. Kirsi currently works as a cardiologist at Helsinki University Hospital. She established the first sports cardiology clinic at the Helsinki Heart Hospital.

Kristiina Ehin is a poet, prose writer and singer who lives in Tartu.

Kunnar Karu is an alpinist who conquered Mount Everest and is also from Tartu.

Lauri Räpp is a writer and entrepreneur from Annelinn, who likes to tell stories, put them on paper, and travel around the world.

Lili Milani is geneticist and the research and development director of the Estonian Genome Centre in Tartu.

Limpa is the most famous pig in Estonia and a local Tartu dude, whose mission is to bring together different generations through humor, lemonade and occasional burping.

Live, laugh, Limpa!

Mari Kalkun is a singer, songwriter, composer and musician, who is a part of our “Aigu Om!” project.

Marju Lauristin is a prominent Estonian politician and social figure who was born in Tartu and has greatly contributed to the political and cultural development of the city.

Photo: Argo Ingver

Mart Juur is a journalist, humorist and music critic, whose home is in Otepää.

Art professor Mikko Roiga is a Finnish theatre director and producer. Mikko considers the cultural relations between Estonia and Finland to be extremely important – there are many opportunities to develop and deepen relations, you just have to notice the right things and act.

Sandra Raju is a marketer, development coach and sports enthusiast, whose soul and roots are deep in the forests and mountains of Southern Estonia.

Sven Sakkov is the Estonian ambassador to Finland, who was born in Tartu, but has lived in Algiers, Tallinn, the northern border of New York State, Cambridge, Brussels, Washington, London and Helsinki. According to Sven, Tartu offers time, peace and diverse cultural entertainment.

Tõnu Runnel is a designer and photographer who operates in Tartu.

Triin Kask is a start-up entrepreneur and a board member of the Estonian Founders Society, operating in Tartu.

Photo: Krõõt Tarkmeel

Tuul Sepp is an animal ecologist and science populariser who works in Tartu.

Veikko Halmetoja is a gallerist and curator who works in Helsinki and Mänttä. Veikko’s gallery Galleria Halmetoja mainly represents Finnish contemporary art, but has also organized exhibitions of Estonian artists.