The culture of volunteering has not been fully established in Georgia yet and most people don’t know where to start. Even though Georgians do a lot of things for their families and community, it is not often defined as volunteer work that is supported, respected and promoted by the community. In the country where working hours are unregulated, wages are low and social security is weak, the entire burden falls on a family. Therefore, it’s no wonder that people don’t find the time nor interest for work that doesn’t pay money. Ana Kuprava has started volunteering during the pandemic with Helping Hand, a NGO based in Tbilisi. Apart from visiting and helping the elderly, she now spends a lot of time as an ambassador, informing other young people around Georgia about volunteering to help them get involved.

The Georgian capital Tbilisi has become a magnet for young Azerbaijani artists, searching for a safe place to work and create.

A 23-year-old Ukrainian, far from home, tries to make life a little easier for Ukrainians escaping from the war. Around 2.5 million Ukrainian refugees have crossed into Poland since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukrainian Darina Hlava, 23, who has lived and worked in the Polish city of Poznan for the last five years, is helping refugees find a place to live, orient themselves in their new reality, register and get help. Poznan, the fifth largest city in Poland, has become the temporary home for 40,000 Ukrainian refugees.

Once an Armenian emigre living in Germany, a young woman tries to bring change to a rural community in Armenia.

For nearly 20 years the residents of Azerbaijan’s Absheron peninsula have been robbed of their right to access the sea: the beaches their families enjoyed for generations have been cut off by illegally constructed fences and buildings, effectively barring the locals from using the seashore. A rare victory has inspired one village to fight for its rights. Will others follow?

The consequences of the 2020 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia is handing over territories, people are forced to leave their homes.

Eldar is determined not to leave his home in the heart of Tbilisi, where he was born and raised, despite the risk of the building falling down.

As a result of mining activities a rural part of Chiatura looks like a battlefield.