Joren is founder and the head of NewEast Europe – a NGO based in Daugavpils that carries out work on “developing four areas – non-governmental culture, non-formal education, media space and community engagement programs” .

Joren identifies himself as first and foremost as a person from Daugavpils. He noted, “ Daugavpils is woven by hundreds of very different pieces, from different languages and customes, from different stories, gardens, shutters, temples, faces, songs and ideas. It is a large diverse space for exploration and dialogue, for creativity and discovery”. He observed, in the city for some it is difficult to understand certain people. According to him, “ Dreams that take generations to build. There are ideas that break down barriers. Houses that carefully shroud the city’s history” are what makes his version of Daugavpils. He added, that the challenges arise from a difficult atmosphere to live makes him to love to live in the city even more.

For Joren, the social, cultural and political isolation of Daugavpils and Latgale are some of the problems faced by the locals. There is also a need and desire for a rapid change. However stigmatization, reproaches and unwillingness to find a compromise make its harder to establish a common language and find solutions.