Academic Centre
During the introductory session, the University of Latvia team introduced the idea and activities of the SIRM project, along with the good practices learned during the visit in Podkarpackie Voivodeship in Poland - national programmes for migrants activation into the labour market (#RazemMozemyWiecej), grants for social enterprises supporting Ukrainian refugees, as well as the TUTU Foundation - a centre for emotional healing for families.
Additionally, a practical working session was held where Latvian experts discussed challenges related to the social and economic integration of Ukrainian refugees in Latvia, along with the needs for improving policy instruments and existing programs. The key aspects were summarized as follows - the language barrier, education of Ukrainian children, including the need for more opportunities for non-formal education. Furthermore, a lack of information exchange among different organisations supporting or stimulating integration in Latvia was identified.
One of the main conclusions drawn from the meeting is that it's important not only to provide social assistance to the Ukrainian refugees remaining in Latvia, but also to establish a stable mechanism that would facilitate easier integration of Ukrainians into society and the labour market.
Various experts participated in the meeting, including representatives from the Ministry of Education and Science, National Centre of Education, Society Integration Foundation, Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments, Riga Planning Region, Providus, the association “Gribu palīdzēt bēgļiem”, the social initiative center “Common Ground” and others.
More about SIRM:
https://www.interregeurope.eu/sirm
https://www.facebook.com/SIRM.InterregEurope
