On September 20th, JCI Estonia selected Ahti Heinla (science and technology), Lasse Lehis (politics and policy making) and Ülle Rüüson (social activism) as the winners of The Outstanding Young Personaward. TOYP ceremony took place at the JCI annual leadership conference on board cruiseship Victoria I. Ahti Heinla is one of the four creators of Skype. He has actively participated in several charitabe projects including Teeme Ära 2008 – a notable environmental project comprising high-end technological solutions with 40 000 volunteers to clean whole of Estonia of illegally dumped trash. Ahti was the author and developer of the software and is a member and supporter of the Estonian Nature Foundation council.
Lasse Lehis is the best known Estonian tax expert. He has laid the foundations for Estonian tax laws, both administrative and executive and is the co-author of the income tax law in Estonia. He is a professor and lecturer at Tartu University.
The committee of TOYP Estonia 2008 award comprised newspaper Postimees editor-in-chief Merit Kopli, director of the Estonian Gene Foundation Alo Murutar, entrepreneur Vahur Kukk, and the president of JCI Estonia Senat Jüri Tümanok.
This year’s TOYP award was supported by the information line for youth 1185.
The Outstanding Young Person award is part of an international programme of Junior Chamber International (JCI). The requirements for TOYP award are candidates excellent achievements in their field and noteworthy benefit for the society at large. There are ten applicable categories, including contributions in politics, academics, culture, religion, ethics, medicine, social and societal activities, and personal development. Every year, ten young people receive the international TOYP award, selected from national winners. From Estonia, two people have been awarded the world TOYP award: Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar (1993) and Tarvi Martens, the creator of Estonian e-elections system (2007).
More information:
Erlend Sild, JCI Estonia TOYP Director 2008. +372 510 0889, e-mail: erlend.sild@ee.henkel.com;
Margus Maksimov, JCI Estonia President 2008. +372 506 3543, e-mail: margusmx@gmail.com;