Impact and influence in the Tallinn pilot 

Last year brought many new opportunities for the local community through CENTRINNO project’s Tallinn pilot area. A new learning apiary was established in cooperation with Tallinn Kopli Vocational school and Tallinn’s first public makerspace opened as well. These new possibilities for the community have also influenced the following activities of the Tallinn pilot based in Kopli 93 community hub. 

The 3rd sprint started with a wind generator workshop in collaboration with Distributed Design and Fab City Global Initiative. Between November 17 and 20, a workshop was conducted, drawing participation from a diverse group of more than twenty attendees and engaging over ten local and international stakeholders. Among the stakeholders were public institutions, universities, research groups, EU projects, and various other entities. Leading and coordinating this intensive four-day, 32-hour workshop was Kostas Latoufis, the esteemed founder of Nea Guinea and an active member of the Wind Empowerment network. 

Following four days of rigorous effort and numerous discussions, the culmination of the workshop arrived as the small wind turbine was completed on its final day. The finished product stood at a diameter of 1.2 meters, boasting 0.6-meter blades, operating at a voltage of 12 volts. Notably, it featured eight magnets within a single rotor disc and six coils incorporated into the stator. 

In the Tallinn pilot, impact and influence have been the key starting points for 2023. As the local community is actively participating in the community garden, makerspace and apiary activities, one of the focus areas was to gain regional and national level impact with our events this year. For that, “Soil is gold” week was brought to life – a week dedicated to bringing attention to the situation of the soil, how it affects not only the environment, but our lives as well.  

During the week, the pilot team with the help of the community, recorded 7 podcast episodes, organised both workshops and site visits. In addition to podcast episodes, short forms were also spread as reels, clips and posts, with a reach of over 70 000 in social media platforms. Traditional media such as most prominent national morning shows and radio were also used, having a reach even higher. From this podcast week, the City of Tallinn, the main partner of the Tallinn pilot together with TalTech, decided to continue this podcast as this format was well accepted by both the media and the general public. Thus, our goal of gaining regional impact and influence was well achieved. 

We also continued with engaging and empowering the community. The local repair and maker culture has gotten a significant boost thanks to our makerspace, but to gain a broader understanding of the situation, we have focused on networking. There are many great maker and repair initiatives across Estonia, such as Repair Basement or Mens’ Shed Estonia in Tartu. Tallinn Strategic Management Office is now, under the Circular Economy Pilot Project, establishing 8 new makerspaces, ranging from sewing and general repairs to furniture restoration. The ability to work together in close cooperation with other like-minded repair enthusiasts and policy makers is a result of the maker-repair culture discussion that was started in Kopli 93, under the CENTRINNO project. During the third sprint, we continue to uphold this relevant discussion on the role of makerspaces in boosting the resilience of society and build the network which is very much needed. 

Tallinn is the European Green Capital of 2023. This has also brought us many visits, guests ranging from various ministries of Estonia to international journalists, and colleagues from other cities across Europe. Kopli 93 also has served as a study area for TalTech students, several study sessions have been carried out here. We continue close cooperation with Tallinn Kopli Vocational School, for example in creating workshops such as building an innovative mobile blacksmith station.  

There is a lot on our plate at the Tallinn pilot, but we are most proud of our community, that most recently met for celebrating all the work that has been done during the Midsummer period. Seeing how people enjoy and care about what has been created, offers us a glimpse of the future at Kopli 93 community hub after CENTRINNO – and the way this old factory area of Kopli and Kopli 93 has been brought back to life, has been wonderful to experience so far.