Podcast 🎧 & blog: Digital Skills Build Stronger, Supportive Communities

By Federico Plantera

Once past the first point of emergency, integration into a new society is not limited to finding – as basic as the need is – only a safe place to live. It’s also about access to services, employment, and a sense of community, too. For many Ukrainians who relocated to Estonia following the full-scale war launched by Russia, digital skills can be the key to more easily addressing the needs of this new reality.  

The DEUCE project, led by the e-Governance Academy and funded by the U.S. Department of State, has done great in supporting this transition by empowering Ukrainian refugees with digital skills, strengthening their self-sufficiency, and training community resilience. 

At the heart of the initiative are “digital envoys” – volunteers, trained to help fellow community members better engage with Estonia’s digital society. Through targeted mini-projects, including tools to prevent scams, improve access to local services, and enhance job market readiness, we explore what digital inclusion encompasses with Dmytro Khutkyy, Expert in Governance & Engagement at e-Governance Academy, and DEUCE digital envoy Olena Denysenko, also Analyst in Political Studies at Tartu University.  

A Cooperative Approach to Real Needs 

From accessing essential services to managing daily life, digital proficiency is a must-have in Estonia, because it enables individuals to do so much more with the services and possibilities digitally available. But for newly arrived Ukrainians, learning to navigate two digital ecosystems – both Estonia’s and Ukraine’s own – may pose challenges. eGA experts took a horizontal approach to address these difficulties in the DEUCE project, by focusing on peer-to-peer learning. 

“We didn’t go into simply training individuals,” explains Khutkyy. “We trained trainers, our digital envoys. Who then went out into the community to spread knowledge and support other Ukrainians.” 

This approach ensured that digital skills training wasn’t a one-off event but a chain of efforts, embedded within the community itself. It might remind you of a model that works, as we’ve seen in the past in Namibia. In this case, the first cohort of digital envoys launched in early 2023, and the project has since entered its second phase, with a further refined approach and extended reach. 

Some of the most pressing digital vulnerabilities faced by Ukrainian refugees were cybersecurity risks, job accessibility, and language barriers. “Beyond just technical skills, people need support in finding jobs, learning Estonian, and maintaining their mental well-being,” Khutkyy notes. “We focused on building confidence, as well as competence.” 

Mini-Projects to Boost Useful Digital Skills 

Each of the initiatives developed within DEUCE focused on a specific domain, so to tailor digital envoys’ activity to a particular challenge relevant to the beneficiary community. The Tartu Help Bot, for example, emerged as a response to streamline frequently asked questions in online communities of Ukrainian refugees. “Instead of having people answer the same questions over and over in Telegram groups, we built an automated bot that directs users to relevant resources,” Khutkyy explains. 

Another initiative, the Scam Map, tackled the growing problem of online fraud targeting refugees. Many Ukrainians unfamiliar with Estonian digital services might fall victim to scams posing as government or delivery service communications. “These fake messages exploit stress and unfamiliarity,” Khutkyy notes. “With the Scam Map, people can recognise common scams through clear, visualised steps on how to stay safe.” 

In Focus: Professional Empowerment Through Digital Skills 

Plus, digital inclusion also means enabling individuals to build stable lives. Through employment, and with the tools to gradually restore dignity and purpose. The Professional Empowerment initiative, which saw Olena Denysenko and more digital envoys get involved, aimed to help Ukrainians in Estonia build confidence, understand the local job market, and leverage digital tools for employment. 

“We brought people together in real-life workshops where they could share experiences and learn from each other, beyond just receiving information from us,” she explains. “Some had been in Estonia for a while and had jobs, while others were completely new. Just hearing other people’s experiences helped them realise they weren’t alone in their struggles.” 

The initiative covered practical topics like CV writing, job search platforms, and LinkedIn optimisation. But it also focused on another key dimension of job search: overcoming psychological barriers. 

“We met people who had worked for decades in Ukraine but had never needed to write a CV before,” Denysenko says. “Or people who lacked confidence, thinking they had nothing to offer because they didn’t speak Estonian fluently. One of our biggest goals was to change that mindset, to show them that their skills and experience were still valuable.” 

One particularly rewarding moment came when a participant who had attended a LinkedIn training workshop successfully secured an internship, which later led to a full-time job. “Seeing that kind of impact firsthand was incredibly meaningful.” 

A Sense of Community, Thanks to Supportive Members 

It becomes clear that all the sub-dimensions addressed by the mini projects cover some of the most pressing issues for a refugee or immigrant community. By making people come together to share experiences and worries, the sense of community naturally strengthened.  

“When people feel cared for and supported, they develop a greater sense of belonging,” Khutkyy notes. “Through their work, the digital envoys managed to create networks of mutual support. The social aspect of this project is just as important as the technical training,” Khutkyy adds. 

Over the course of a year, the envoys themselves built strong connections as well, while workshop participants found spaces where they could share struggles and uplift each other. It all goes on to show that the track is right. To the point that materials have been shared with Estonia’s broader migrant integration services, making them useful for people from a wide range of backgrounds. 

“This initiative started as something for Ukrainians, but its lessons and tools can be applied to any migrant group,” Khutkyy observed. “That’s something we didn’t fully expect at the beginning, but it’s one of the best outcomes of this work.” That’s the power of community-driven digital inclusion.  

“The key takeaway from DEUCE is that digital inclusion is not about learning how to use a computer. There is that too, of course. But it also comes down to building confidence and connection, finding and exploring opportunities. When people support each other, the entire community benefits,” Khutkyy noted. 

From 2023 to 2025 DEUCE project empowered the Ukrainian community in Estonia to enhance their quality of life by gaining proficiency in Estonian and Ukrainian digital services and solutions. By January 2025, 22 digital envoys in four teams had supported 425 digitally vulnerable Ukrainians and raised digital awareness among over 45,800 Ukrainians. Recruitment for the second cohort of 31 digital envoys concluded in October. The project was funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Federal Assistance Award through the U.S. Embassy in Tallinn and is implemented by the e-Governance Academy. Explore at ega.ee/project/deuce/    

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