YOUNG FOLKS LATVIA

Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/youngfolkslv

Young Folks LV is a non-profit organization based in Riga, Latvia. Our goal is to provide a safe and supportive environment that discovers and develops the cognitive and creative skills of different target groups. We aim to broaden young people's horizons by providing opportunities for learning and self-development. Through our events and programs, we enable participants to unlock their potential, share ideas, and find inspiration from like-minded individuals and opponents.

Our team believes that in a non-formal educational environment, young people can gain the skills and knowledge that will prepare them to solve future societal challenges. The opportunity to promote the personal growth and development of our youngsters inspires us. Our community is always open to those who wish to gain new knowledge, make new friends, and discover their place in the exciting world of non-formal education.

With Young Folks, everyone feels important and respected, regardless of their experience or level of expertise in a particular area.

Our mission is to empower young people to reach their potential by turning their dreams into a reality. We provide a safe and motivating environment for learning and personal growth, which enables our youth to thrive and achieve their highest goals.

We support free and critical thinking, encourage initiatives, and inspire young people to develop their ideas, creating a motivating environment for innovation and self-expression.

We create a close-knit community where participants support and inspire each other.

We value the diversity of cultures and languages and strive for global understanding and respect for differences.

Our organization was established in 2012 as an informal youth group. Since July 2014, Young Folks has been an NGO, which presently presents one of the biggest and most active youth organizations in Latvia. Our target audience traditionally is young people between 13 and 25 years old, around 300 participants. However, when the war in Ukraine broke out and the waves of war refugees reached Latvia, we, besides humanitarian aid, offered a number of special activities to Ukrainian children and teenagers. In 2022 we've got a President's award as the most sufficient volunteer organization in Latvia. At the beginning of 2023, we also started the program for 25+, which presently numbers around 110 adults. 2024 had opened with launching the YF Kids Club for 9-12 year olds. 25 kids at the moment attend various activities 3 times a week. December 2024 was a special month for our organization. We were awarded as the best youth organization in Latvia.

To provide support and development to the youth groups, we continually take care about educating the youngsters in different areas, such as:

Employability
Digital Competencies
Music, Theater, and Arts
Mental Health
Tourism and Sports
Culture and Interculture activities

Latvian Team of CREATIYOK

Aleksandrs Morozovs, Project Manager

Aleksandrs Morozovs, the founder and president of Young Folks LV is a key person in all projects and programs with 12 years of experience in community development, Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps projects.

Inna Eizensharf, Management Team

Inna Eizensharf, with her sheer experience in NGOs and educational experience, works as program director for Young Folks LV and does her best to develop interesting and involving projects for our participants.

Arjun Santhosh, youth worker / art photographer

Arjun Santhosh came to Latvia from India to pursue a degree in psychology. He combines successful university studies with active youth work, which he does as a member of Young Folks LV. Arjun also expresses himself in music, and in the last year he has taken up photography. Being an attractive leader, he has involved many young people in the work of the photo studio he organised in Young Folks. CREATYOK is helping Arjun to develop his photography studio, which he has set up in Young Folks.

Amanda Dulevicha, Youth Worker

Amanda Dulevicha studies now at university to become a professional theatre and cinema actress. She really enjoys different art from drawing/DIY to dancing and music since childhood. Being an empathic person interested in psychology and a youth leader in Young Folks (Latvia), she helps people through art therapy, especially theatre therapy elements in youth work, as well as involves them in studying and making theatre art.

Katja Makavetskaya, management team, youth worker

This is Katja Makavetskaya, and for the past 2+ years she has been actively involved in civil society work and project management. She has spent a year as an ESC volunteer at Young Folks and now works at YF on various projects helping out with event and project management.