Reaching and Including Russian Speaking Youth: A Training for Baltic Youth Workers

While certain areas have structures that support multilingual or diverse participation, interaction between different youth groups often remains limited. At the same time, youth workers may struggle to choose or apply inclusive approaches - which in some cases results in disengagement from the target group rather than meaningful involvement.

The training will explore how youth work and non‑formal education can better reach, include, and meaningfully engage Russian‑speaking young people - in youth centre activities, in organisations, and in local participation and decision‑making processes.

Training Objectives

• Empower youth workers to reach Russian‑speaking youth and promote intercultural dialogue, inclusion, and interaction through youth work and non‑formal education.
• Support the development of inclusive approaches that foster integration, social cohesion, and active participation of young people with a Russian‑speaking background in their local communities.
• Increase participants’ awareness and practical understanding of how Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes can support inclusion, integration, and participation of Russian‑speaking youth.

Expected Outcomes

Participants will:

• Strengthen professional competences in engaging and supporting young people who communicate in Russian daily, with attention to their lived realities in the Baltic context.
• Gain the ability to implement inclusive, interaction‑oriented approaches that foster active civic and social participation at the municipal level.
• Improve their capacity to collaborate with key local stakeholders (NGOs, schools, social services, municipalities).
• Acquire transferable good practices and methodological tools from Baltic municipalities.
• Build stronger capacity to use Erasmus+ and ESC as strategic instruments for inclusion and participation.

Participant Profile

We are looking for 25 participants who are:

• Youth workers and municipal representatives from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia who work directly with young people who communicate in Russian daily, or who face challenges engaging and including Russian‑speaking youth in their communities
• NGO representatives who work closely with municipalities or support youth inclusion
• Ready to contribute to peer learning, share local experiences, and strengthen cooperation with local stakeholders (NGOs, schools, social services, etc.)

Working language: English

Programme and Venue

Monday, 11 May - arrivals from afternoon onwards, welcome session
Tuesday–Thursday, 12–14 May - training course programme
Friday, 15 May - departures after breakfast

The training will take place in Daugavpils, Latvia’s second‑largest city - a vibrant multicultural centre known for its diverse communities, rich industrial heritage, and unique blend of Baltic and Eastern European cultural influences.

Approach: Safe, Inclusive, Sustainable

• We follow the safer space principle, ensuring that no participant is discriminated against or disrespected.
• We aim to welcome participants with diverse abilities - please contact us regarding any support needs.
• We encourage environmentally responsible travel, including choosing land travel whenever possible.

Trainers

Kristīna Kastronovo (LV)
Nerijus Miginis (LT)
Julia Dem (EE)

About the Initiative

This training course is part of SPI – Strategic Partnership for Inclusion and Diversity, a longterm cooperation between European National Agencies aimed at increasing both the number and the quality of projects involving young people with fewer opportunities.
This activity falls under the SPI thematic strand “Barriers in a post-migrant society.”