Strengthening Refugee Support Systems in Lithuania: Insights from 2025 Roundtable, Workshops on Migration, and Stakeholder Engagement Workshops
- Refugee Council
- Dec 15
- 6 min read
The Refugee Council of Lithuania is proud to share key insights from our activities under Volunteer Everywhere, an international initiative aimed at strengthening the integration of refugees from Ukraine by improving access to community support and volunteer assistance. At the core of the initiative is the development of VolEver, a mobile application that connects volunteers with refugees seeking linguistic, material, social, or practical support.
The project is funded by the European Union under the ESF+ Social Innovation+ initiative and implemented in partnership with:
Together, the partners are committed to expanding volunteer engagement, strengthening community networks, and ensuring that refugees arriving from Ukraine can access the support they need to build dignified, connected, and empowered lives in their host communities.
Throughout 2025, Lithuania continued to shape its response to one of the most complex humanitarian and social challenges of the decade: supporting tens of thousands of Ukrainians who have made the country their temporary or long-term home. Municipalities, NGOs, community groups, youth organizations, researchers, and refugee-led initiatives were all navigating shifting realities—from language barriers and employment struggles to the growing importance of mental health and the changing public discourse about migration.
To bring these voices together, the Refugee Council of Lithuania (RCL) organized a year-long cycle of events: the Roundtable on Local Support Structures in June, three Stakeholder Engagement Workshops in September, October, and November and two thematic Migration Workshops in September and December 2025. Taken together, they provide one of the most comprehensive pictures of Lithuania’s integration landscape today.
This article brings the main insights together in a coherent narrative, highlighting recurring themes, concerns, and opportunities that emerged across the events. While the topics varied—from youth volunteering to public attitudes toward migrants, from Ukrainian community organizing to media narratives—almost all discussions pointed toward a shared conclusion: meaningful integration depends on strong cooperation, accessible tools, and community-led, human-centered solutions.
The Roundtable: A Starting Point for Honest Reflection
The Roundtable in June set the tone for the months ahead. It brought municipal officials, NGOs, international organizations, and refugee leaders into the same room to openly discuss what is working, what is missing and what needs urgent attention.
Several core issues surfaced repeatedly:
Language as a decisive factor
Language learning continues to be both the strongest pathway to integration and one of the biggest barriers. Participants spoke about:
limited access to high-quality Lithuanian courses, especially for parents and full-time workers
a lack of practice-based learning environments
how slow progress in language affects employment, confidence and daily life
One participant summarized it clearly: “Without language, everything becomes harder—finding work, reading information, even understanding how to access services.”
Employment challenges and qualification recognition
Highly educated Ukrainians still struggle to work in their professional fields. Many end up in low-paid jobs far below their qualifications, largely because:
Lithuanian language proficiency is required in many sectors
recognition of diplomas can take months
employers often lack experience hiring newcomers
Mental health pressures
Emotional well-being emerged as a universal concern. Municipalities and NGOs agreed that psychological support is still underdeveloped, despite being essential for:
motivation to learn the language
job-seeking efforts
community participation
parenting and family stability
As one municipal representative put it, “People cannot integrate if their basic emotional state is still in survival mode.”
Fragmentation of support services
The lack of coordinated information and uneven resources across municipalities leaves refugees with inconsistent access to services. Local actors repeatedly called for:
unified platforms for information
shared databases of NGOs and services
more coordination between municipalities and community organizations
What Youth and Community Spaces Reveal: Insights from the Stakeholder Engagement Workshops
The three Stakeholder Engagement Workshops (SEWs) brought together younger volunteers, students, activists, Ukrainian civil society representatives, and migrants. These discussions provided a more community-centered view of integration and volunteering.
Youth engagement and volunteering (September)
The September workshop highlighted the energy and willingness of young people to contribute—not only to refugee support, but to Lithuania’s broader civic life. Young participants emphasized:
a strong desire to “do something meaningful”
interest in skill development and networking
a need for more accessible, multilingual information
frustration with bureaucratic or unclear volunteer structures
They also noted how volunteering builds confidence, improves language skills, and helps newcomers find friends and social networks.
Ukrainian civil society and diaspora networks (October)
The October workshop shifted the focus to Ukrainian-led organizations working in Lithuania and across Europe. A clear message emerged: the Ukrainian community does not want to remain passive beneficiaries of support but aims to shape its own narrative and contribute actively to civic and cultural life.
Key points raised:
events for Ukrainians should be in Ukrainian—language matters for dignity
Ukrainian organizations want to be partners, not recipients
communities across age groups communicate differently (Facebook for older generations, Telegram/Instagram for youth)
Ukrainian professionals and community leaders bring skills, creativity, and experience that can strengthen Lithuanian civil society
Several participants highlighted mental health as a shared challenge—not just because of war-related trauma but because of prolonged uncertainty about legal status and long-term prospects.
Youth organizations and volunteer pathways (November)
The November workshop broadened the conversation to the entire volunteering ecosystem in Lithuania. Participants discussed why people volunteer and what holds them back.
Common motivations included:
wanting to help others
opportunities for personal and professional growth
the satisfaction of contributing to community well-being
gaining experience and building networks
emotional fulfilment
Barriers included:
lack of time
financial constraints (transport, materials)
lack of awareness of opportunities
slow or unclear verification processes
limited incentives for long-term commitment
Participants repeatedly stressed the importance of mentorship systems, simplified digital tools, and partnerships between NGOs, universities, municipalities and youth groups.
Migration Workshops: Why Attitudes and Narratives Matter
While the SEWs focused on direct engagement and community experiences, the Migration Workshops addressed broader social dynamics: how Lithuanians perceive migrants and how media shapes these perceptions.
How media influences migration narratives (September)
The September workshop examined media analysis data that revealed several patterns:
Ukrainians are generally portrayed positively, often as “heroes”
Other groups, especially Roma or some Muslim communities, face higher social distancing
Negative stories spread faster and further than positive ones
Headlines frequently link nationality to crime unnecessarily
Positive media coverage sometimes requires paid placement, while negative news circulates freely
Several participants expressed concern that the media shapes attitudes more than people realize. As one attendee noted, “If your only contact with certain groups is through media headlines, of course your perception becomes distorted.”
Public attitudes and sociological trends (December)
The December workshop added a statistical dimension through long-term social survey data:
migrants now make up ~8% of Lithuania’s population
Ukrainians remain the most positively perceived group
74% of Lithuanians believe the country hosts “enough” refugees
younger generations demonstrate much higher openness and willingness to volunteer
public support is strongest for education and language programs, weaker for financial aid
This suggests that while integration policies are necessary, public education and awareness efforts are equally important.
Themes That Connect All Events: A Bigger Picture Emerges
Looking across the Roundtable, the SEWs and the Migration Workshops, several recurring themes appear.
Language is the most consistent barrier
It affects:
employment
access to services
civic participation
social belonging
Across all workshops, this was the most frequently mentioned challenge.
Mental health must be addressed as a core integration need
Trauma, uncertainty, and stress shape how people learn, work and engage. Without emotional support, practical integration measures struggle to succeed.
Volunteering needs clearer structures and better support
Volunteering is one of Lithuania’s strongest assets, but the system remains fragmented. Participants called for:
standardized training
volunteer support groups
digital tools
mentorship programs
financial accessibility
Public attitudes matter
Integration cannot rely solely on services; it requires a supportive social environment. Media literacy and balanced reporting play a crucial role.
Refugee-led initiatives strengthen integration
Ukrainian-led organizations bring cultural knowledge, community trust and practical solutions. Their involvement improves outcomes and increases community resilience.
The VolEver App: A Practical Answer to Many Systemic Gaps
Across all events, the VolEver (“Volunteer Everywhere”) mobile application emerged as a highly anticipated innovation.
Participants valued:
multilingual access
identity verification
in-app communication
clear categories of assistance
safety protocols
a service map
the ability to match based on location, skills and language
At the same time, they proposed improvements:
group volunteering for safety
a simpler feedback system
bonuses or cultural partnerships for volunteers
clearer safety instructions
potential accommodation-related support
faster review times
If implemented well, the app could reshape volunteer engagement and bring much-needed consistency to the integration ecosystem.
Moving Toward a More Inclusive and Coordinated System
The events of 2025 highlighted not only the challenges of refugee integration but also the remarkable capacity of Lithuanian society to adapt, learn, and collaborate. They showed that:
integration is not only about services
volunteering is not only about giving time
inclusion is not only about language
and public attitudes are not only shaped by statistics
Integration is a collective effort: municipalities, NGOs, refugee leaders, youth organizations, universities and volunteers must work together. The findings from these workshops underline the need for:
accessible and trauma-informed services
stronger municipal–NGO coordination
multilingual communication
youth engagement
balanced media representation
and innovative tools such as VolEver
By acting on these insights, Lithuania can continue to strengthen its support structures and build communities where both newcomers and long-term residents can thrive.
This project is co-funded by the European Union.
*The views and opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Social Fund Agency. Neither the European Union nor the grant provider can be held responsible for them.
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