The Filiae Patriae Sorority (C!FP) was founded on 27 October 1920 at the University of Tartu, thus being the oldest sorority in Estonia. It operated successfully until 1940 when Estonia was incorporated into the Soviet Union. C!FP along with most other organisations was closed. This, however, could not destroy the spirit of the sorority: the members who left to the West founded chapters in Canada, USA, Sweden, Australia, even Brazil, and those in Estonia pursued the tradition of regular informal meetings. With the help of members from all over the world 14 active young women studying at the University of Tartu re-established C!FP in 1989, almost two years before Estonia regained its independence.


Regular members of C!FP must be of Estonian nationality and study an institution of higher education. From 1920 to 1940 membership grew rapidly from 10 to 380 between. Now we observe similar trends: from 1989 to 1999 our membership has grown from 14 to 270 in Estonia. There are about 650 members in the West.


The current and founding members adhere to the same values: patriotism, friendship, trust, education, high self-esteem and femininity. The main goal of the organisation is to develop oneself and others through an intense network of communication and mutual understanding. As a member of this small society one meets different people and thereby learns to take into consideration the beliefs and manners of others. The sorority wishes to offer its members a "second home" for the duration of their studies. It helps to develop young, independent and caring women, who are able to make up their own minds and be socially active. In spite of the rapid membership growth we have been able to maintain our emphasis on developing friendship and mutual understanding among our members. The sorority also offers a good opportunity for members to overcome the gap between different generations and cultural backgrounds since members of various generations are still active, starting with those who joined in the 1930s and including those who moved to the West and younger members who joined later in the West.


The basic activity of the sorority is weekly meetings. The members and guests give presentations on various topics. A number of festivities are celebrated in particular: the anniversary of the organisations (October 27), Estonian Independence Day (February 24) and Volber (April 30) as well as smaller gatherings connected with state holidays and Estonian student traditions. Currently the acquisition of our own house is the focus of our concerns. It is a cosy wooden building (built in 1912) situated at 4 Struve Street, just opposite the University of Tartu Library. As a developing organisation C!FP has many goals for the future. C!FP aims at being a conscientious member of society: we have tried to help people in need (e.g. by sending clothes to Tartu Children's Shelter). We hope to increase our charitable activities as the main expression of our ideas and principles as applied to society. Another current priority is to establish closer ties with our friendship organisations (Nylands Nation and Hämäläis-Osakunta in Finland, Gästrike Hälsinge Nation in Sweden and C! Daugaviete in Latvia).