In collaboration with Tartu Oskar Luts City Library, the Estonian Refugee Council invites everyone to visit the portrait exhibition Voices from Crises: Stories of Displaced People, displayed on Vabaduse boulevard in Tartu from 3rd April. The exhibition showcases the stories of refugees living in Estonia.

Kyrychkove village is located in Dnipropetrovska oblast, where there is a high risk of missile and guided aerial bomb attacks. Olena lives here with her son and two daughters. Before the full-scale invasion, Kyrychkove was quite a big village, but now only 7 houses are still inhabited. There is limited functional infrastructure and no public transport in the village, so to buy food or to access medical services, Olena must take an expensive taxi and go to a nearby village located closer to the highway or to a large town further away.

The project aimed at bringing together different generations while focusing on building and maintaining relationships between two different yet similarly positioned groups—elderly refugees and both refugee and local young people—has successfully concluded. Over eight months, participants met 12 times, engaging in activities such as visiting Kihnu Island, performing theatre, learning about artificial intelligence, preparing traditional Ukrainian cuisine, and much more.

Registration has opened for the "Start Smart" entrepreneurship training, organised as part of the "UPBEAT" labour market programme. The aim of the training is to enhance the competitiveness of young people with refugee and migration backgrounds in entrepreneurship and the job market through learning about artificial intelligence.

The Estonian Refugee Council is launching operations in Syria to support those affected by nearly 14 years of civil war and to contribute to the country’s reconstruction. The Syrian humanitarian crisis remains one of the largest in the world, with 16.7 million people—approximately three-quarters of the population—in need of various forms of humanitarian aid. The Estonian Refugee Council will assist both internally displaced people and those returning home after prolonged periods as refugees.

We launched a donation campaign titled “Three Years Too Many” in February to support vulnerable people in frontline and hard-to-reach areas of Ukraine.We are about to launch four community councils in Armenia with the support of EU funding, enabling people with a refugee background to voice their concerns, advocate for solutions to their problems, and participate in decision-making processes that affect them. Additionally, we are establishing self-help groups to provide mental health support and promote independent living.In Jordan we are standing for the livelihood of vulnerable female-led households by training local women and women with refugee backgrounds from Syria to grow their own food in hydroponic greenhouses. The project has gained recognition as one of the best agricultural projects in Jordan by the country's Ministry of Agriculture.  

From October 2024 to January 2025, the Estonian Refugee Council provided guidance to kindergarten specialists in Ida-Viru County and Tallinn to support the creation of more inclusive learning and developmental environments. As part of the programme, experienced kindergarten educators offered advice on supporting children with a mother tongue other than Estonian in Estonian-speaking groups. The initiative was funded by the British Council in Estonia.

Once the world’s leading humanitarian donor, the United States has now cut 90% of its foreign assistance. This decision has created a humanitarian funding crisis with devastating consequences around the world.

The Estonian Refugee Council launched today a fundraising campaign 'Three Years Too Many,' which will run throughout February and March to raise donations for providing essential aid to vulnerable people in frontline areas.

A new season of the entrepreneurship programme Boost will launch in Estonia at the end of February.In January, more than 400 refugees participated in adaptation support training sessions in Estonia, with over half of them – 224 – attending legal-themed training.With the help of EU funding, we are soon launching four community councils in Armenia to enable people with refugee backgrounds to express their concerns, advocate for solutions to their problems, and participate in decision-making processes that affect them. Additionally, we will form self-help groups for vulnerable refugees.