The international humanitarian conference, organised by the Estonian Refugee Council, brought together experts and organisations from around the world in Tallinn yesterday. In its second year, the conference focused on ethical dilemmas, anticipatory action, and the use of artificial intelligence in humanitarian aid.

A donation campaign in Estonia is still active to provide humanitarian aid for people affected by the conflict in Lebanon.On 7 November, we are organising an international humanitarian conference in Tallinn, which focuses on ethical dilemmas, preventive action, and the use of artificial intelligence.In Ukraine, we continue to distribute winter support to cover heating costs for 4,500 households during the upcoming winter season. Assistance will be provided in cash, or alternatively, firewood or coal will be delivered directly to those in need.A financial assistance programme was launched in Ukraine to increase food security and self-sufficiency for vulnerable households and communities by improving the winter living conditions of livestock and poultry.In Armenia’s Lori region, a women’s livelihoods programme started.Our Armenia office has signed an agreement with the Estonian University of Life Sciences to help three schools in the Tavush region implement water- and energy-efficient agricultural solutions developed in Estonia to alleviate water scarcity and promote environmental education.In Georgia, a cash assistance programme has been launched to support Ukrainian refugees living there through the winter months. For more information, visit the Estonian Refugee Council´s website.

Mykhailo and his wife have been keeping cows for over 30 years. They started with one cow to have milk for themselves. Then they got more cows and delivered milk to the dairy. After losing their main job, keeping and breeding cows became the main source of income for the couple. A husband and a wife independently take care of animals, sell milk, as well as sour milk cheese, sour cream and fermented baked milk (ryazhanka) of their own production at the local market.

The Estonian Refugee Council (ERC) is advising specialists in kindergartens in Ida-Viru County and Tallinn to help create more integrated and inclusive learning environments. The programme, which runs until the end of January 2025, is supported by the British Council in Estonia. This is the fourth year the ERC has provided such consultation for kindergartens.

In the small town of Kobeliaky, Poltava oblast, Iryna (33) opened a coffee shop, which immediately gained the favor of the locals. Iryna tells the story of its creation as follows: “Our TaTySho cafe appeared as a result of the desire to move further while I was on maternity leave. In addition, it was at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. In a short time, I developed a plan to open a cafe. My husband had the premises and materials, and at the end of February 2022, my parents and brother, who was a builder, fled from Kyiv for shelter. Thus, together we managed to open a decent place, which was quite unusual for such a local community”.

On 18 September, during his visit to Estonia, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, visited the Estonian Refugee Council's office in Tallinn and met with refugees living in Estonia at Teacher's House (Õpetajate Maja).

In early September, the Estonian Refugee Council team visited Finland to map out various opportunities for integrating refugees into the labour market as part of the joint Estonian, Latvian, and Finnish project "Knowledge exchange on labour market access modalities for refugees," which began in August.

Liudmyla had to abandon her hometown of Sloviansk twice—first in 2014 and again in 2022 when the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. With the war and personal hardships, she found herself at a crossroads, facing a difficult decision about her future.