On November 9, 2026, we invite you to a ReCoM project seminar and discussion on the adaptation and integration of Ukrainians in Latvia, as well as children’s educational pathways and families’ education choices amid prolonged uncertainty.
In the fifth year of the full-scale war, around 32,000 Ukrainians with temporary protection status live in Latvia — working, paying taxes and learning Latvian, yet unsure whether their future lies here or back home. Researcher Hanna Palii, herself Ukrainian, spoke with Ukrainians in Riga, Valmiera, Daugavpils and Liepāja about the obstacles they face — from language and low pay to war trauma and the feeling that their stay is only temporary. Their stories, she argues, show people who rely on themselves rather than state aid, and whose contribution to Latvia's economy and society deserves greater recognition.
Ukrainian youth in Latvia are navigating two education systems, two languages, and competing visions of the future. Researcher Hanna Markova argues that educational choices under forced migration are not only academic decisions, but strategies families use to keep several future options open. Parallel schooling, language barriers, and limited social inclusion place an added burden on young people, especially adolescents. The author concludes that “temporary” life between systems has become a lasting social condition shaping identity and life trajectories.
Oksana Žabko analyzes the surge of Ukrainian civic participation in Latvia. Drawing on interviews conducted for the ReCoM project, she examines why this self–organization is a unique phenomenon compared to the fragmented engagement of other newcomer groups in Europe. She highlights how displaced Ukrainians moved from seeking help at support centres to becoming leaders who apply their professional backgrounds in law, education, and administration to new community roles.