Estonia has built its reputation on digital efficiency, with Tallinn as its showcase. But innovation does not run on technology alone; it requires a safe, prosperous and vibrant social fabric to sustain its energy. Sustaining that edge will take a pivot from both Tallinn and the state — to treat culture, specifically the grass-root night culture, as a primary pillar of innovation.

The current trajectory in Tallinn treats culture as a private commodity or a luxury rather than essential public infrastructure, a move that jeopardizes the city's long-term investments in innovation and creates a serious threat to the country's prosperity and people's wellbeing. Despite 84 percent of Estonians viewing arts and culture as vital for welfare and economic development, 49 percent say that costs of admission is the main barrier to access it. Rising costs and fiscal pressures are decimating the grass-root culture-driven clubs — the critical infrastructure for creativity and innovation. 

The first time I heard of Estonia was when my mum came on a work trip in the early 2000s. Once, at my parents' home in Italy, I found a traveler's guide of Estonia; the book is rather old, there's photos of Viru Square from the 90s — quite a vibe — but for a moment it felt like my hometown and my home today connected. In 2019, I learned that I would have to come to Tallinn as part of my studies in digital governance and public sector innovation. At that point all I knew was that the recommended activity in Estonia was birdwatching.

As a student abroad, the Erasmus network is usually the first social anchor — and often the only one. Integration requires stepping further. In Tallinn that step, for me, was the grass-root culture-driven club HALL. I arrived in September 2021 to study digital governance and, by July 2022, I decided to stay specifically because of Tallinn's club culture scene. Going home for the first time since moving to Tallinn, I met an Estonian lady on my flight to Rome who explained how, in rejection of the hierarchies imposed during Soviet occupation, Estonia built an open, flat form of collaboration in the 90s. That, she said, was a key factor in Estonia's innovation trajectory — what made the state efficient and people's lives easier. Coming from Italian bureaucracy, I knew exactly what she meant.

Evidence suggests that a fundamental condition for this to happen is cultural spaces — particularly grassroots culture-driven clubs that highlight art and music instead of the business model. In these spaces, people from different groups of society interact using a common language: music. There is even a neuroscientific case for this: research on music and the brain shows that rhythm engages the networks tied to prediction, attention and cognitive flexibility. Estonia's history of innovation was fueled by this cultural vitality. Right now there is a new massive push to innovate, but we must ask: are there the cultural spaces left to sustain and fuel it?

Right now, the "doors" are closing. One in two Estonians reports that ticket costs are the main barrier to culture — 11 percentage points higher than the European average. With a quick search one can see that tickets on sale for opera and ballets at the national opera range from €26 to €80. On average, when it comes to culture-driven clubs and grass root venues, a club night costs around €15–20 and early bird tickets for three-day festivals with international lineups and live music acts start around €30 or €40 euros.

When it comes to financial policy, the standard VAT tax rate is the single heaviest pressure on culture-driven clubs. Additionally, more than two thirds of people questioned reported regional inequalities in terms of access to culture as well as artists not receiving fair and appropriate remuneration for their work. This, combined with the lack of structural support, plainly and simply drains the city's spirit. 

However, this must not be a race to the bottom but an open and evidence-based conversation to design structural reforms. The necessary reforms are split across two desks. Two of them — basic income for artists and VAT relief — sit with the state. Two — dedicated cultural spaces and a small tourist tax — rest with the city. The risk right now is that each desk waits for the other. 

• Basic Income for Artists: Following Ireland's example, providing a basic income allows artists to focus on creativity rather than side gigs. This pays off 1.39 € for every euro invested.
• Dedicated Cultural Spaces: We need initiatives like San Francisco's Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST) to provide security on rent and maintenance for culture-driven clubs. 
• Multifunctional Use: We should encourage collaborations between institutions like KUMU or ERM and grassroots culture-driven clubs and record labels, utilizing parking lots or museums for new formats, similar to the Barbican Center in London.
• Fiscal Reform: Lowering VAT and introducing a small tourist tax (e.g., 1.00 €) would provide necessary oxygen to culture-driven clubs and the local population.

When I think back to that flight to Rome, I remember what the Estonian lady told me: Estonia's open and collaborative culture made innovation possible. Recently, Sten Tamkivi — early executive at Skype and former advisor to President Ilves — made a similar point when speaking about AI. He said the real question is not whether we can build advanced systems, but whether we are ready to confront the complex social questions that come with them. Technology alone does not determine the future. The surrounding culture does.

Culture-driven spaces like clubs create exactly those conditions. They are spaces without titles, without rigid hierarchies where people from different parts of society interact through a shared language: music. These spaces train mental flexibility, creativity and collaboration. 

If we neglect these spaces, innovation will not immediately disappear. Startups will still register here. The state's finances may even look strong. But if people come to Estonia for the incentives and build their lives somewhere else, then something essential is missing. We will remain digitally advanced. Yet we will slowly become a virtual state — efficient, but without people.

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