Võro Institute
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The Võro Institute (võro Võro Instituut) is an Estonian state research and development institution dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the Võro language and culture.
[edit] History
The institute was founded by the Estonian government in 1995 and is located in a Southern Estonian town Võru. The first directors of the institute were Enn Kasak and Kaido Kama. Present director of the institute is Külli Eichenbaum.
[edit] Activities
The Institute is engaged in a wide range of activities to meet the challenges facing lesser-spoken languages, including establishing school programs, conducting linguistic and regional research, preserving place-names and their corresponding stories (mostly by Evar Saar), publishing Võro-language scholarship and school textbooks, and organizing annual language conferences. The aim of these activities is to encourage the Võro people to speak their own language and to preserve their characteristic life-style.