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Language learning is a challenge for those who have recently immigrated to a foreign country (henceforth newcomers), especially for adult newcomers. Here, we have adopted a holistic approach and asked Turkish migrants to share their perspectives regarding the integration process. For this, we interviewed 59 Turkish-speaking newcomers from a (mixed) social integration course, whom we had subdivided into six focus groups. We also conducted in-depth interviews with 14 experienced migrants who then shared their experiences, expectations, problems and ambitions. The focus group interviews show us that offering opportunities to learn a foreign language along with dialogues with local people, in an informal setting, gives newcomers a feeling of independence (empowerment) and helps reduce their cultural angst. In this regard, intercultural communication with locals plays a key role in newcomers’ cultural and social integration. With this, the individual perspectives and expectations analysed in this study have provided novel insights for shaping the formal and informal integration process.

Cet article analyse les évolutions politiques et culturelles entraînées par la croissance de la multiculturalité et de la diversité en Belgique au cours des dernières décennies. Il souligne en particulier des développements contradictoires et opposés : une sensibilisation accrue aux questions de racisme et de diversité d’une part, et un rejet renforcé du multiculturalisme d’autre part. Après un bref compte rendu historique du nationalisme, du séparatisme et du colonialisme - toile de fond contextuelle essentielle –, il examine l’importance du racisme et du discours raciste dans la politique belge actuelle à travers deux axes : les nouvelles migrations et l’Islam. La troisième partie illustre le racisme banal au quotidien dans la société belge et en particulier dans le football. Enfin, la dernière partie examine les changements intervenus dans l’antiracisme au cours des dernières années.

Everyday racism and discrimination not only produce injustice but also damage the psychological well-being of racialised migrants, erode their sense of belonging and increase the risk of social isolation. This article, produced within the SAFESPACES project, evaluates whether social mentoring can support young racialised migrants affected by racism in Spain. Using a longitudinal quasi-experimental design with three waves (initial N = 157; final N = 73), it compares a group taking part in mentoring programmes with a comparison group receiving no intervention across eight dimensions: mental health, hope, self-esteem, loneliness, social support, belonging, quality of life and perceived discrimination, as well as the composition of participants' personal support networks. Overall well-being evolved similarly in both groups; however, mentoring changed how participants responded to racism. Without intervention, increases in perceived discrimination were associated with greater loneliness, whereas among mentored participants this association disappeared. Mentoring also increased hope about the future, and emotional support from the mentor, rather than practical advice, predicted increases in hope three months after the programme ended. In the control group, ties with non-migrant people fell from 45% to 32% over one year, while mentees maintained more diverse networks. The mentoring bond also endured: three months after the programme, 81% of participants still counted their mentor within their trusted network and 90% reported active contact. The study also identifies two warning signs: the temporary resurfacing of latent trauma-related distress during the intervention, and the risk that participants' sense of belonging depends on the programme itself rather than on their own networks. The authors recommend prioritising mentors' emotional warmth, training them on racism and migration-related trauma, planning the closure phase carefully, and funding longitudinal evaluations. Given the sample size, results should be interpreted with caution.

Where do the Albanians come from, and where did their language take shape? These questions have been debated for centuries, complicated by the fact that Albanians first appear in the historical record only in the eleventh century CE, and their language — a distinct branch of Indo-European — has no close surviving relatives. This landmark 2026 study brings genomic evidence to bear on the puzzle.

An international team from the University of Oxford, Tel Aviv University, the Academy of Sciences of Albania, the University of Szeged, European University Cyprus and Ohio State University analysed more than 6,000 ancient West Eurasian genomes alongside 74 newly sequenced present-day Albanians spanning all dialectal groups. Using advanced methods — including ancient identity-by-descent analysis, which traces shared DNA segments across millennia — they reconstruct a 4,000-year genetic transect of the region.

The findings point to deep continuity: present-day Albanians descend predominantly from a palaeo-Balkan population present in the region by around 800–900 CE, carrying West Balkan Late Bronze and Iron Age ancestry (including groups historically known as Illyrians) to a greater degree than neighbouring Balkan peoples, with an additional 10–20% of medieval East European–related (Slavic-related) admixture. The results also help locate where the Albanian language developed. Rigorous and evidence-based, the study is a valuable, myth-cutting resource on identity, heritage and belonging in the Balkans and the wider Euro-Mediterranean space.

The article explores the integration of cognitive and communicative approaches in teaching Lithuanian as a foreign language. The study aims to theoretically and empirically substantiate the synergy between these paradigms and reveal its potential for faster and more effective language acquisition. Drawing on insights from cognitive linguistics, neuroscience, and contemporary pedagogy, language is conceptualized as a dynamic network of semantic, conceptual, and experiential relations. The empirical study was conducted with 44 adult Ukrainian war refugees learning Lithuanian at A1–B2 levels. The findings demonstrate that the combination of cognitive and communicative methodologies significantly reduces speaking anxiety, enhances meaning construction, and increases linguistic engagement. Sixty percent of beginners started speaking actively, 70% of intermediate learners improved their performance, and 20% reached higher proficiency. Participant reflections confirmed a positive perception of the method. The study concludes that the synergy of cognitive and communicative teaching fosters semantic thinking, communicative competence, and sustainable language acquisition.

The cognitive and communicative paradigms of language teaching are complementary rather than competing. Their synergy forms the methodological foundation for contemporary foreign language education, enabling the integration of linguistic performance with processes of thinking, perception, and meaning-making. The cognitive approach provides the communicative approach with a deeper semantic and conceptual foundation.

The principles of cognitive language teaching (encouraging speech production, developing semantic networks, thinking in Lithuanian, and connecting language to practical experience) ensure natural language acquisition through the activation of semantic connections and meaningful processing. This allows learners not only to memorize linguistic units but also to integrate them into their cognitive framework.

Reflection data revealed that participants viewed this methodological combination as understandable, safe, and meaningful. Approximately 80 percent of the study participants expressed a desire to continue learning through this synergistic methodology, indicating its sustainability and practical potential for integration into adult language education.

This article seeks to assess the factors influencing youth employment and working conditions. The research problem is of relevance given the rapid increase in youth unemployment during times of crisis. The novelty of the study lies in its methodological approach, as it attempts to compare respondents’ answers obtained through different calculation methods, employing various evaluation scales and average rating. The article is based on data from a representative survey of young people aged 18 to 34. Based on empirical data, this article examines the factors influencing youth employment in Lithuania. It also analyses youth attitudes regarding labor market integration, providing an in-depth evaluation of various factors influencing their current employment conditions.

Youth employment issues in today’s socio-economic landscape remain one of the most pressing challenges, directly affecting long-term societal development and labor market sustainability. Research emphasizes that youth as an age group is particularly vulnerable to labor market fluctuations, economic crises, and structural transformations (Abdulhamed and Lonka, 2024; Brzinsky-Fay, 2022; de Almeida Alves, 2024; Brzinsky-Fay, 2022; Okunevičiūtė Neverauskienė, Pocius, and Krutulienė, 2021; Fischer and Radinger-Peer, 2024; Rowin, 2024). Despite a growing global economy and advancements in technological innovation, the youth unemployment rate both in Europe and in Lithuania systematically remains higher than that of other demographic groups.

The evaluation results of various aspects of work activity show that physical working conditions and job safety, relationships with colleagues and direct supervisors, the ability to take days off, and acceptable vacation length were rated highest among Lithuanian youth. The main problems faced by respondents are job-related mental stress and a lack of career prospects (often no opportunity for promotion); additionally, a relatively higher proportion of respondents stated that remote work is not an option.

This article explores teachers’ experiences of working with adolescents with disabilities in heterogeneous theatre groups. The findings show that embracing diversity, acting authentically in ways that match learners’ abilities and needs, and applying creative methods foster positive identity development, personal growth, and the breakdown of stereotypes – not only for adolescents with disabilities but also for their peers and the educators themselves. These experiences pave the way for social relationships grounded in the recognition of each person’s value. Adolescence is a formative stage marked by identity development and self-expression within societal norms and stereotypes. Adolescents with disabilities are often viewed through the lens of health limitations, restricting expectations of their abilities and hindering their social participation. Adolescents without disabilities, when raised in homogeneous settings, may demonstrate tolerance but lack direct interaction with peers with disabilities. This study explores how heterogeneous theatre groups facilitate personal growth and the transformation of creative connections into social bonds between adolescents with and without disabilities, from the perspective of educators. Purpose: To examine the experiences of educators working with adolescents with disabilities in heterogeneous theatre groups. Methodology: Inductive thematic analysis was applied to semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample, following ethical principles. A review of relevant literature supplemented the findings. Findings: Acceptance of diversity and authentic engagement through creative methods emerged as essential for fostering personal maturity, positive identity formation, stereotype reduction, and new modes of thinking in all participants, including educators. These processes support the development of social relationships grounded in recognition of individual worth.

The toolkit brings together a collection of four interactive games, outdoor activities, educational workshops and ready-to-use learning materials designed by our young adults as part of their journey towards becoming trainers. The activities are based on the principle that young adults learn most effectively when they are not only receiving information, but are given opportunities to experience, discuss, collaborate, make decisions and take action. The resource includes activities such as the Europe in Action treasure hunt, an experiential journey combining European knowledge, teamwork, cultural diversity and environmental awareness; The Odyssey of Species, an ecological educational game exploring biodiversity and the interdependence of species; and structured workshops on the European Citizens’ Initiative and disability rights and democratic participation. A key feature of the toolkit is its experiential and participatory approach. The activities are practical and engaging. Participants work together, solve problems, communicate and make decisions.They also reflect on what they have learned. In Europe in Action, participants work in teams and complete challenges linked to European countries, languages, cooperation and environmental responsibility. In The Odyssey of Species, they take on the roles of species from the Danube ecosystem. They learn about interdependence and the impact of environmental pressures. The toolkit also connects knowledge with democratic action. The European Citizens’ Initiative workshop helps participants turn a climate or environmental concern into a possible European initiative. They explore its European dimension, identify possible partners and supporters, and develop a short campaign message.The toolkit is mainly designed for youth workers, trainers, NGO staff, educators, volunteers and facilitators working with young people. It can be used in formal and non-formal education, as well as in community activities. The activities can help practitioners explore European citizenship, democratic participation, climate action, environmental issues, inclusion and intercultural cooperation.

On 7 April 2026, the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa (SDI) conducted an online dialogue under the theme “Give to Gain: Building Alliances Across Faiths to Advance Women´s Rights”. Bringing together voices from across the MENA region and Europe, the discussion examined how meaningful engagement with religious leaders and faith-based actors can advance women’s rights in context‑sensitive, inclusive, and sustainable ways. The online session convened religious scholars; members of SDI’s Women, Peace and Security informal network; practitioners; representatives of civil society organisations and initiatives; international organizations; women’s rights advocates; and gender experts.

Participants reflected on key challenges and opportunities, including misinterpretations of religious text, discriminatory social norms and traditions, legal gaps, and persistent forms of men´s violence against women. At the same time, the discussion highlighted promising entry points for positive change, particularly through dialogue, collaboration, and the identification of common ground across faiths and sectors.

The discussion also highlighted promising initiatives, including engagement with religious leaders to support campaigns to end violence against women, as well as advocacy for legal reforms related to inheritance, custody, and family rights. The dialogue further underscored the role religious institutions can play in peacebuilding, including in contexts such as Syria and their potential to strengthen women´s political participation in peace processes.

Key issues raised:
- Violence Against Women
- Role of Men and Masculinities
- Legal and Structural Challenges
- Education
- Interfaith dialogue
- Context of Conflict and Instability

To read the full report, please visit this page https://www.swedenabroad.se/en/embassies/dialogue-institute/current/news/give-to-gain-2026-report/