“Working with organisations from all over Lithuania, we notice that discussions on human rights issues decrease the further away you get from Vilnius. In the regions of Lithuania there are community-based organisations, organisations that provide a range of services to people with disabilities, illnesses and poverty. At the same time, advocacy organisations that work on human rights or the rights of vulnerable people are concentrated in Vilnius. We see the sense of different organisations meeting, getting to know each other and starting to communicate more closely,” – believes Jurgita Poškevičiūtė, Programme Manager of the Active Citizens Foundation.

During the event, we recalled the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its provisions. We examined and discussed which of these fundamental human rights are most important to us personally. This was followed by a human rights discussion with political scientist and journalist Paulius Gritėnas, Monika Guliakaite-Danisevičienė, lawyer at the Lithuanian Human Rights Centre, and Justinas Žilinskas, writer, lawyer and member of the Open Society Foundations Council.

The event is financed by the Active Citizens Foundation. This fund is part of the EEA and Norway Grants. 9 million euros have been allocated for 2019-2024 to strengthen civil society in Lithuania and empower vulnerable groups. In Lithuania, the Active Citizens Fund is managed by the Open Society Foundations and OSFL Projects.

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Here is a speech by Sandra Adomavičiūtė, Director of the Open Lithuania Foundation:

“When Lithuania regained its independence almost thirty-five years ago, it promised freedom, democracy and equal rights for all its citizens. We fought oppression, we fought persecution and we dreamed of a free country.

But today, living in a free country, I am saddened to see that freedom and that justice are not for everyone. That we still have to conform to imaginary standards, that we are forced to fit into frames and that we are in no way free to decide our own lives. Someone still has the power and the right to tell us who we can and cannot love, who we can and cannot build a family with. It does not have to be this way. I have many dreams about the kind of Lithuania I want to live in.

I have a dream that every June the rainbow flag flies at Gediminas Castle. And nobody would be offended by it.

I have a dream that I will never again hear words of hatred, contempt and humiliation towards my fellow citizens.

I have a dream that every person in Lithuania could walk hand in hand with his or her partner along Gediminas Avenue, Laisvės Avenue or Palanga Bridge. And that no one in this country would have to hide anymore.

I have a dream that one day I will be able to participate in an official marriage ceremony in Telšiai, Skuodas, Kupiškis or Šiauliai, where people of the same sex marry. I have a dream that that day will come soon.

I have a dream that having two mums or two dads would be as natural and easy as having only a mum, only a dad or only grandparents.

I have a dream that we teach our children to respect and accept diversity.

I have a dream to live in an open Lithuania.

That is my hope. And this is the hope that we work for every day. And I am extremely happy that so many different organisations are coming together in this mission and that we have such tremendous support from the international community. This is the Norwegian, Icelandic and Liechtenstein support for an open, civic and equal Lithuania.

Today, I would like to present the Active Citizen nomination to the Lithuanian Dance Movement Therapy Association, an organisation that has worked with LGBTQ youth in Visaginas, for its active work towards freedom for all. Thank you.

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The Active Citizens Fund, funded by the European Economic Area and Norwegian Financial Mechanisms, has allocated €9 million in 2019-2024 to strengthen civil society and empower vulnerable groups in Lithuania. More than 200 Lithuanian NGOs benefited to implement projects with these funds. The Fund in Lithuania is managed by the Open Society Foundations of Lithuania in partnership with OSFL Projektai.

The candidates for the “Active Citizen” nomination were selected from 15 LGBTQ+ projects implemented by 11 human rights organisations. The jury selected one winner after assessing the innovative nature of these projects, their impact on the LGBTQ+ community, the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and the wider society. . The winner will be announced on 8 June at the Rainbow Awards.

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However, in recent years, especially after the pandemic, the “Child Line” has noticed a significant decrease in the engagement of new volunteers. Elvyra Vilkienė explains, “Volunteering in ‘Child Line’ demands for commitment it is long-term and requires both time and intellectual resources. Therefore, we face the challenge that there are not as many new volunteers willing to dedicate time to training and then to being on call.”

The “Child Line” is one of the non-governmental organizations that participated in the Active Citizens Fund in Lithuania. This Fund supported human rights, citizenship, and community projects through the EEA Financial Mechanism. The funds received helped the organization attract new volunteers and motivate those already involved but also allocated funds for high-quality training.

Currently, over 400 volunteer consultants provide assistance to children and adolescents at the “Child Line,” handling over 300 calls per day. Assistance is offered not only by phone but also through the internet, including messaging and emails.

“I saw the ‘Child Line’ advertisement several times, and I took it for a sign ,” says Dangira, who started volunteering for the “Child Line.” Hundreds like Dangira joined the ranks of volunteers in recent years to ensure that every call for help from a child receives a response and every message gets a reply.

The team at the “Child Line” did everything they could to succeed because the decreasing number of volunteers after the pandemic was a genuine concern. The funds from the EEA and Norway Financial Mechanism provided strong financial support for various non-governmental organization projects in Lithuania in recent years.

Nearly 200 similar projects have been implemented in Lithuania over the past four years, with some, like the “Child Line” or the specifically created volunteer platform www.savaplatforma.lt, focused specifically on promoting volunteering.

As part of the project, the “Children’s Line” implemented an information campaign, organized meetings in Panevėžys, Šiauliai, and Alytus to introduce people to the organization’s activities and attract new volunteers capable of providing assistance to children and adolescents through online conversations. Attention was also given to events, live meetings with existing “Children’s Line” volunteers, and the creation of an online library for them.

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Over 40 participants from various organizations interacted, discussed the dangers of burnout and how to manage them, presented their projects, or celebrated the achievements of others.

“We create an informal environment where you can meet people, engage in conversations, build relationships, and it always brings some kind of benefit. Whether it’s a joint project, a shared initiative, or simply friendship. Personally, I strongly believe in the power of such informal interaction,” says Sandra Adomavičiūtė, the leader of Open Lithuania Foundation.

Similar thoughts were expressed by representatives of non-governmental organizations who attended.

“First and foremost, it’s beneficial to look at yourself, certain processes from a distance, and evaluate them. It’s also an environment where you are forced to put your mobile phone aside and temporarily detach from all the affairs,” asserts Andrej Rudanov, representative of the Institute of Life Sciences and Educology.

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This organization is one of nearly 200 non-governmental organizations in Lithuania that recieved funding for human rights, citizenship, or community projects under the Active Citizens Program of the EEA Financial Mechanism. The total value of the four-year program, managed by the Open Lithuania Foundation, amounts to 9.6 million euros. 

 “Mental Health Perspectives” states that, despite increasing opportunities for individuals with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, society is not ready to accept them, and the services offered lack human rights principles. Therefore, the organization has set a goal to find and run pilot projects on possible solutions.

It means community trainings on mental health literacy in various regions of Lithuania, assessment of the social services provided in shared living homes identifying gaps in human rights and proposing ways to address them. In simple terms, the organization made every effort to promote a greater sense of humanity in providing services to individuals with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, while aiming for a more open and friendly attitudes.

Here are a few tips of ethical approach to mental health:

• Aiming to speak in an open yet respectful and accurate manner about mental health issues or psychosocial disability, one should avoid belittling words, dramatic phrases, battle metaphors, epithetes “normal” and “healthy,” and expressions related to diagnoses used in the field of mental health currently or in the past.
• The recommendation is to follow the principle of “person-first,” use formulations such as “a person with experience on mental health difficulties”, and facilitating the expression of individuals who have encountered mental health challenges.

More about the actions taken, please watch the video:

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