In the fields just beyond Barvinkove, a small town in Kharkiv oblast, the late-summer sun shines over quiet pastures. From a distance, the scene looks peaceful—cows grazing slowly, a young calf nearby, the landscape seemingly untouched. But behind this stillness is a story of survival, strength, and the long journey of recovery in a community scarred by war.

Registration is now open for the entrepreneurship training programme Start Smart, organised within the framework of the employment programme UPBEAT. The training is designed for young people with refugee and migrant backgrounds, helping them strengthen their competitiveness in business and on the labour market by making use of the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence.

“When I found out I had received the funding, it gave me a real boost. It renewed my motivation to keep going with beekeeping,” says Yevhen, a lifelong beekeeper from Kharkiv region, Ukraine. For 36 years, beekeeping has been more than just a livelihood for Yevhen—it’s been a way of life. But when war came, everything changed.

The Estonian Refugee Council has become the only humanitarian organisation in the Baltic States and Poland to hold the European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) programme partnership certificate for the delivery of humanitarian aid.

On 8 and 9 August, the Opinion Festival took place in Paide, where we, together with the Estonian Human Rights Centre and the Office of the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner, organised a discussion on structural racism, and Estonian Refugee Council Director Eero Janson took part in a discussion on humanitarian funding. In cooperation with the Integration Foundation, we help foster mutual understanding, trust, and civic engagement among third-country nationals through a variety of events held across Estonia. In July, we organised a summer camp in Kloogaranna for 38 children of Ukrainian frontline workers to support their well-being and develop their social skills. In Ukraine, we have provided cash-based humanitarian assistance to nearly 309,000 people. In Armenia, new self-help groups have started their work, supporting mental health and independent living. In Georgia, we are about to launch training sessions to strengthen the capacity of local NGOs and civil society organisations to better respond to various challenges. In Jordan, agricultural training for 40 Syrian refugee and local community women has been completed. As a next step, 12 of these women will receive support to establish hydroponic greenhouses on their home plots.

In the small city of Barvinkove, Kharkiv oblast, Olena and her family are rebuilding not just their farm, but their future—against the backdrop of war.

The Estonian Refugee Council supports the self-sufficiency of women-led households in vulnerable situations in Jordan through a training programme that provides new knowledge and practical skills for growing food and generating income. This June, the first ten women from Syria completed hydroponics training and will now be able to deliver similar training within their communities, thereby increasing knowledge of water-efficient agriculture across the region.

The Estonian Refugee Council, Estonian Human Rights Centre and the Office of the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner invite everyone to join discussions on racism in Estonia at this year’s Opinion Festival. The conversation "I’m not a racist, but…" – real stories from Estonia takes place on Friday, 8 August at 16:00 on the Security stage. On 9 August at 18:30 on the Foreign Policy stage, Estonian Refugee Council’s Director Eero Janson will take part in the panel More crises, less funding, which looks at how cuts to humanitarian aid and development cooperation budgets affect those in need.

This year at the Arvamusfestival (Opinion Festival), in cooperation with the Office of the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner and the Estonian Human Rights Centre, we are organising a discussion on racism titled I’m not a racist, but…, which will focus on real-life stories from Estonia. Come listen and reflect with us on August 8 from 16:00–17:30 at the Security Area on Paide Vallimägi. In addition, the director of the Estonian Refugee Council, Eero Janson, will take part in a foreign policy discussion titled More Crises, Less Money on August 9.A new programme has been launched in Estonia to support Ukrainian refugee youth in language learning and integration. Read more on Estonian Refugee Council’s website. In Ukraine, we have started a new entrepreneurship programme in the Poltava, Kirovohrad, Cherkasy, Dnipro, and Kharkiv regions to help local people rebuild their lives and become more self-reliant.In June, we visited the Tavush region in Armenia with experts from the Estonian University of Life Sciences to help local schools adopt environmentally friendly agricultural practices such as hydroponics and composting.In Jordan, ten women completed a training course in June aimed at spreading knowledge of water-efficient farming methods throughout the region.We published our 2024 annual report in June. Last year, our support reached more than 69,000 people. Read more in the Estonian Refugee Council’s annual report.

ERC has published its 2024 annual report, summarising the key activities of the past year. In 2024, the organisation reached over 69,000 people, providing immediate assistance in crisis situations and supporting long-term recovery.