Until 2022 December 15 non-profit organizations from Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway (Donor States) are invited to apply for projects, which could cover short-term trips (from 5 to 20 work days) of their staff/volunteers to Lithuania to practically learn, gain experience, build partnerships and create joint projects. Alternatively, non-profits from Donor States could also host NGO colleagues from Lithuania enabling them to temporarily integrate into the hosting NGO, learn and develop new valuable competences or establish partnerships. Activities must be implemented by March 31, 2024. 

These practical learning mobility projects are fully covered by the Active Citizens Fund. Direct hosting organization (mentor salary, interpretation, etc.) and participant related costs (travel, insurance, accommodation, per diems) are financed, participant’s salary and indirect costs are compensated. 

“This experience exchange model is well-known and widely applied by organizations seeking to develop their activities proactively and be at the forefront. We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity that rarely occurs in the NGO sector, which opens wider perspectives for the further activities of your organization”, invites Marta Gadeikienė, program manager of Open Lithuania Foundation. 

New partnerships or joint projects are among possible outcomes of these projects. A necessary condition for bilateral practical learning mobility projects is the participation of non-profit organization of a Donor State. 

Non-profit organizations from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway looking for Lithuanian NGOs to partner in this call can contact the Fund operator at info@apf.lt.

Invitation documents: 

1 page summary of the call

Call for applications for bilateral cooperation – practical learning mobility

Application form  

Budget for practical learning mobility

Declaration of the participating organization

Should you have any questions regarding this call please contact the Fund operator at info@apf.lt or check our F.A.Q. section.

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The lively meetings of people “rowing in the same boat” are irreplaceable. Organisations in the NGO sector are lively, meaningful, curious and eager to share. We are delighted with the new tradition of hosting a gathering of the participants of the NGO Academy and the Active Citizens Fund, which we administer, at the beginning of summer. Until next time!

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A new social initiative, the Collaborative and Inclusive Critical Thinking Lab, is launched in Lithuania. Journalists and human rights experts brought together by the project will travel across Lithuania and work with local communities to take the temperature of human rights in the regions. Through interviews with residents, they will try to identify the most pressing issues in the regions and use them as the basis for multimedia stories in the media.

The Critical Thinking Lab is a new social initiative of Media4Change, a media monitoring and journalism innovation programme funded by the Active Citizens Foundation (ACF).

Well-known human rights experts, together with the editorial team of the inclusive journalism platform bendra.lt, will be visiting all Lithuanian counties, interacting with local communities and journalists to hear first-hand what human rights issues are most pressing in the regions. The most sensitive and painful topics will be turned into stories by professional journalists on the bendra.lt platform and in national media.

On Friday, the first event of the new project took place in Vilnius – a meeting of human rights experts from different organisations.

“We have brought together experts from different fields because their experience will be the starting point for our project,” says Neringa Jurčiukonytė, Media4Change Programme Manager.

Experts at the event said that during the 30 years of Lithuania’s independence, society has become more sensitive, with radical changes in human rights policies, levels of practical implementation and even language. While the changes in Lithuania could have been faster and of a higher quality, society has made giant leaps. The events of recent years have revealed a sharp divide between attitudes towards communities or individuals who are discriminated against or subjected to various forms of violence. Outside the cities, attempts to stifle reasoned debate, diversity of opinion or even to promote hatred are common, leading to human rights violations and divisions in society.

“Human rights experts are active in all these areas, raising awareness of the problems and encouraging politicians to find solutions,” says Dr Eglė Šumskienė, Associate Professor and Director of the Institute of Sociology and Social Work at Vilnius University. “However, it has to be acknowledged that the situation outside Vilnius is still difficult. The regions are seriously lacking expert attention and effective education programmes.”

E. Šumskienė has been involved for many years in addressing the rights of people with disabilities. She is deeply concerned about the exclusion of people with mental disabilities in the regions, which has been highlighted by the restructuring of the care system. “Paradoxically, communities have started to come together not to show empathy, but to oppose the neighbourhood of people with disabilities. It is noticeable that the rhetoric of the opponents of the transformation has reverted back to offensive terms and phrases that seemed to have disappeared from our vocabulary,” said the human rights researcher.

International human rights organisations have recently adopted the “think big, walk small” approach, recommending small steps in dealing with local communities and tailored solutions. “The Critical Thinking Lab initiated by Media4Change is in line with this international best practice.

According to Sandra Adomavičiūtė, Director of the Open Lithuania Foundation, changing the attitudes of 16% of the audience on human rights issues in two years is a high bar set by the organisers of the Critical Thinking Lab. “Changing attitudes takes years, it takes more than one initiative, but this long-term project is another step towards a breakthrough in our field of work. Human rights discourse must be a priority topic for the government and the media, without any competition”, believes S.Adomavičiūtė.

Strengthening human rights in the most vulnerable regions

Media4Change, a media monitoring programme, has noticed a recent increase in negative public discourse on some human rights issues. “The situation is worse in the regions of Lithuania, where people feel excluded from the big cities, and that is why our initiative is aimed at them,” says N. Jurčiukonytė, the programme’s director. Among the reasons for the growing exclusion of people in the regions, she cites the geographical situation of the region, poor cultural and social activities and uneven access to the internet.

“The ever-changing geopolitical context, the tensions of COVID-19 or living under the threat of war have reinforced the impression for some people in the region that focusing on the human rights of certain groups creates insecurity, disrupts stability and undermines traditions. These people want to be heard and understood. We are willing and able to talk to them and to expand the dialogue using modern means”, says Ms Jurčiukonytė.

“The head of Media4Change says that the poor quality of regional media content does not improve the situation. Local people either do not trust these media because of their links and dependence on local authorities, or the human rights issues they analyse seem distant. Despite the fact that regional journalists know the people of their area best and are aware of their problems, they lack both the skills and the capacity to cover human rights issues in a compelling and ethical way. For these reasons, overall trust in journalism is declining.

“It is difficult for people in the regions to critically assess misinformation about stigmatised and increasingly marginalised groups. For example, last year, 9 out of 10 publications about Roma did not even mention Roma themselves. Even the LGBTQ+ community, which has been frequently quoted in the media, has seen a decline in the rate of coverage,” says N. Jurčiukonytė, Media4Change’s CEO.

The team of the project “Critical Thinking Lab based on Cooperation and Inclusiveness” – human rights experts and the editorial team of bendra.lt – will organise ten meetings with residents and journalists from Lithuanian regions. The “Living Library” method will be used to strengthen the understanding of human rights and to create a “living library”, which will be used as a basis for “living books” for the inhabitants of the regions and representatives of various social groups.

Experts in various fields, including Dainius Pūras, Eglė Šumskienė, Jonas Ruškus, Jūratė Juškaitė, Aušra Šimoniukštytė, Giedrė Blažytė, Kristina Mišinienė and others, have already responded to the invitation to visit the regions. The first meeting with the communities will take place on 25 May in Ignalina.

The project will be implemented over two years.

Photo by Aleksas Jaunius

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More information here

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The administrative compliance and eligibility assessment is currently ongoing. In the second half of February, the applications will be handed over to experts for quality assessment. The final results will be announced at the end of March.

Applications were submitted for projects in the APF programme’s areas of support which: aim to increase citizen participation in civic activities (Impact Area 1); strengthen civil society oversight and advocacy of public authorities (Impact Area 2); increase support for human rights (Impact Area 3); and empower vulnerable groups to represent and defend their interests (Impact Area 4).

The Active Citizens Fund includes €9.6 million from the European Economic Area (EEA) and Norwegian financial mechanisms to strengthen Lithuanian civil society and empower vulnerable groups. This is the contribution of the Republic of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Kingdom of Norway to reducing economic and social disparities and strengthening bilateral relations with the 15 EU countries in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Baltic States.

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The project concept proposals were evaluated by 17 experts in their respective fields. Each concept note was evaluated by 2 experts, and in case of a difference of opinion, the concept note was submitted to a third expert for review.

24 November 2021 The Selection Committee of the Active Citizens Foundation Lithuania, considering the ranked lists of project concepts in the individual impact areas, added the average of the experts’ scores to the scores given for the priorities and made recommendations to the Board of the Foundation on the concepts to be proposed for further development.

Applicants will be informed individually of the results of the selection process: applicants of concepts that have been shortlisted for the second round will be provided with a summary of the comments and recommendations of the experts who evaluated their concept by 13 December; summaries of the comments of the evaluation of the projects that have not been shortlisted for the second round will be drafted and made available to applicants who have expressed their wish to receive it after 13 December.

In January 2022, applicants who have reached the second stage of project selection will be invited to participate in a consultation on the full application. The deadline for submission of full applications is 31 January 2022 at 23:59. 31.11.2011 Lithuanian time.

In Lithuania, the APF is administered by a consortium of non-governmental organisations – Open Society Foundation of Lithuania, OSFL Projects and Geri Norai – guided by the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights.

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TRUST AND COOPERATION. Although the debate on trust does not address the issue of building trust, a comparison of concrete examples brings us back to these keywords. As our experience shows, during the pandemic, civic activism in the Baltic countries was triggered by a lack of trust in the authorities or their actions. People, businesses and NGOs mobilised and tried to temporarily plug the gaps through self-help activism.

Meanwhile, in Sweden, which has the highest level of trust in public institutions (including each other), business, NGOs and public institutions have been even more tightly knit during the pandemic and have acted together. This posture and experience not only builds trust in society and increases civic engagement, but at the same time can help in the long term to alleviate the social challenges facing humanity as a whole, e.g. in the areas of education, mental health.

HUMAN RIGHTS AT THE EPICENTRE. The pandemic has highlighted the needs of vulnerable groups and provided an opportunity to tackle long festering social problems. Putting human rights or the needs of people at risk at the centre of crisis management (pandemics, migrants) would help us to deal with the long-term consequences of future crises. This is an opportunity for social business and NGOs, but it is not clear whether we will take this step forward.

MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION TOOLS. Trust in the media has perhaps declined most during the pandemic. Add to this the influence of social networks on the formation of radical social bubbles and you have a good ‘cocktail’ of information, radicalising attitudes and rampant anger and aggression. And while no one has yet invented a “silver bullet”, initiatives that promote critical thinking and reduce anger or aggression are welcome. A good example is from Estonia : https://www.levila.ee/ (www.nara.lt – analogue?)

LESSONS FROM ONE CRISIS FOR FUTURE CRISES. Can the lessons learnt from crises be useful in the future? The Swedish experience shows that the initiatives and policy decisions taken during the handling of the migrant crisis in 2015 have been put to good use during the pandemic. In the face of rigid and strict procedures and bureaucratic obstacles, will we learn lessons and develop a crisis management plan and strategy for the future?

CREATIVITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. Sweden. The aviation industry has reoriented its workforce as part of its contribution to pandemic management. Stewardesses were retrained as nurses and assisted in the health system. There have also been strong, creative initiatives in the Baltic countries, and in the face of today’s migrant crisis, we are again seeing sporadic, strong business and NGO action. Is creativity and social responsibility already in our DNA? I hope so.

Conference recording: https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/2000187172/socialinio-verslo-dienos-konferencija?fbclid=IwAR1W1BnQeDpjScnSFlzD_FStnWkAiR0uymzFTGRULGgPdN0XQUgDzmx0Quo

In preparation for the discussion, I read some excellent studies on forms of civic engagement: https://carnegieendowment.org/…/civil-society-and… and trust: https://www.edelman.com/trust/2021-trust-barometer

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The APF programme in Lithuania aims to have the following impact:

1 impact area. Increased participation of citizens in civic activities;

Impact area 2. Stronger civil society oversight/advocacy of public authorities;

Impact area 3. Increased support for human rights;

Impact area 4. Vulnerable groups empowered.

The largest number of applications by impact area was related to impact area 4: 73 (47%), followed by almost a third of applications – 50 – in impact area 1 (32%), which were related to increased citizen participation in civic activities. Impact Areas 2 and 3, on stronger civil society oversight of public authorities and greater support for human rights, received a similar number of applications, 18 and 16 respectively (11% and 10%).

Projects are divided into two types according to the size of the funding and the duration of the project, namely small-scale projects and medium-scale projects. Small projects have a funding size of between EUR 5 and 15 thousand and 25 applications (16%) were received in this group according to the size of funding. Medium-sized projects have a funding size of more than EUR 15,000 but not more than EUR 80,000, with 132 applications (84%).

Projects with partners accounted for two thirds of the total number of applications (105 applications), while projects without partners accounted for one third of the total number of applications (52 applications). The total number of partners involved in the projects amounts to 179, with 58 applicants indicating at least one partner at the time of application and 34 applicants indicating two partners. The highest number of partners identified at the time of application was 11.

An application involving partners from regions (from Lithuanian municipalities, except Vilnius) is given a regional priority to strengthen the civil society sector in Lithuanian regions. 99 applications were received, involving partners from different regions of Lithuania, with the exception of Vilnius City.

The number of projects submitted by regional organisations (i.e. not from Vilnius municipality) amounts to 95 (61%).

Another priority – bilateral cooperation – is given to bilateral partnerships with entities from donor countries (i.e. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). Thus, 13 applicants identified partners in Norway and 8 identified partnerships in Iceland.

The total amount of funding requested is €9,021,017, broken down by impact area as follows:

1 impact area. EUR 2 735 913;

Impact Area 2. 1 170 433 euro;

Impact area 3. 923 559 euro;

Impact area 4. 4 191 112 euro.

In terms of the most frequent use of words in the project title, the words “strengthening” and “empowering” were mentioned 10 times in the title, along with “Lithuania” and “Lithuania” and “promotion”.

After the formal criteria have been assessed, the applications will be submitted to a panel of experts (20 specialists in their field). In the second half of November, the Selection Committee, after discussing the experts’ evaluations and the ranked lists of projects based on them, will recommend project concepts for the second round of full applications.

The objectives of the Active Citizens Fund (ACF) are based on the following common values: respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. The overarching goal of the APF programme is a strong and vibrant civil society and the empowerment of vulnerable groups.

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We offer

Each expert will evaluate up to 30 project concepts and up to 30 project applications.
The expert will receive a remuneration of between EUR 20 and EUR 35 for the quality and thoroughness of his/her evaluation.
The expert must have:

Knowledge and experience in at least two of the following thematic areas: democratic participation; citizenship development; active citizenship; advocacy; transparency and accountability; monitoring of public authorities; human rights; equality; combating discrimination and violence; social justice; inclusion of vulnerable groups; working with regions/localities; minority issues;
experience of involvement in the NGO sector;
experience in evaluating project proposals;
experience in project implementation;
Motivation to become an expert for the Active Citizens Foundation.
A completed application, together with a CV, will be sent to info@apf.lt by 21 September 2021.

For consideration:

https://apf.lt/dokumentai-aktyviu-pilieciu-fondo-ekspertams/

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On 2-6 October 2021, Krasnagruda will host a meeting for Lithuanian and Polish civil society organisations dealing with the integration/empowerment and intercultural dialogue of ethnic/national minorities/immigrants/asylum seekers/refugees. Particularly invited are regional, rural organisations and those focusing on Belarusians and all current asylum seekers.

Objectives of the workshop:

To renew the ideas and values behind the daily hard work of social integration of ethnic/national minorities/immigrants/asylum seekers/refugees;

To review the current socio-political challenges of civil society and intercultural dialogue in Lithuania and Poland at a time of fragmentation and ethnocentric authoritarian tendencies;

Generate ideas for possible short- and long-term solutions and initiatives that could be taken by mutual Belarusian, Lithuanian and Polish practitioners building intercultural links.

To help build the capacity of civil society organisations through the Active Citizens Foundation projects in Lithuania and Poland.

Workshop activities will take the form of discussions, inspirational lectures, workshops set in the context of nature and the incendiary socio-cultural heritage of the Lithuanian-Polish border, using the resources and knowledge of the “Paribio Foundation”. The detailed programme of the workshop will be shared with registered participants.

Seminar programme

Number of places: 30 places in total for participants from Lithuania and Poland. 2 persons per organisation.

Important: The venue is accessible for people with disabilities.

Language of the seminar: Lithuanian and Polish, with translation.

Costs: Participants’ travel, accommodation, meals and COVID-19 tests (if needed) are covered by the organisers.

Registration deadline 12 September 2021. Selected participants will be announced on 17 September.

Registration form for Lithuanian civil society organisations:

https://forms.gle/h7QWdBRdFMVX15F7A

Registration form for Polish civil society organisations:

https://forms.gle/NHxZgPDsmtScbBkd9

The workshop is a joint initiative of the Lithuanian and Polish operators of the Active Citizens Foundation as part of their Regional Civil Society Initiatives Plan, funded by EEA Financial Mechanisms.

If you have any questions, please contact the seminar organisers:

In Lithuania: Sandra Adomavičiūtė: Sandra.Adomaviciute@olf.lt

In Poland: Anna Fedas: afedas@batory.org.pl

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We have prepared a step-by-step 8-step process for those interested in applying – we invite you to use it and look forward to receiving your applications!

Are you a non-governmental organisation, registered in the Republic of Lithuania for at least one year, meeting the requirements set out in the Law on NGO Development and registered as an NGO in the Register of Legal Entities?
Does your organisation work in one of the following areas?

• Democracy
• Active citizenship
• Good governance
• Transparency
• Human rights
• Equality
• Fight against discrimination
• Monitoring public authorities
• Advocacy
• Social justice
• Inclusion of vulnerable groups

If you answered yes to the first two questions, you can apply for the Active Citizens Fund (ACF). See the areas of projects to be funded:
Impact Area 1 Increasing citizens’ participation in civic activities

Impact Area 2 Strengthened oversight and advocacy of public authorities by civil society

Impact Area 3 Increased support for human rights

Impact area 4 Empowering vulnerable groups

Once you have selected your organisation’s area of activity, please consult the detailed documentation of the second call of the APF Programme (Guidelines for Applicants, the text of the call for proposals for the selected area, the project concept form, the detailed application form, the evaluation criteria, etc.) in the “Information for applicants” section of the APF Programme website (apf.lt).

After familiarising yourself with the information, discuss and clarify the project idea with your team.
Download and complete the 3 documents required for Phase I:
1) Project Concept Application;
2) Declaration by the applicant;
3) Partner’s Declaration (if applicable).

Please send the completed project application in pdf format, signed with a certified electronic signature, or a scanned copy of the completed, signed, stamped (if applicable) project application in pdf format to: projektai@apf.lt by 23:59 on 30 September Lithuanian time.
If you have any questions, please email: info@apf.lt and from 16 August onwards call +370 5 2685511, or check the section for answers.

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Active Citizens Fund objectives, priorities, general requirements

Specifics of the second call, project selection, applications and annexes, financial conditions

Once you have seen the presentations, you are invited to register for an open consultation, during which you will be able to receive advice on the preparation, submission and selection of applications. The consultation will be held remotely:

24 August, 10.00-11.00. (for those intending to prepare small-scale projects);

25 August, 15.00-16.00 (for project proposals). (for those intending to prepare medium-sized projects);

27 August: 10.00-11.00 (for those intending to prepare medium-sized projects);

30 August: 15.00-16.00 (for projects with large projects) (for those intending to prepare small-scale projects).

Those wishing to participate in the consultation should fill in the registration form. The technical login details for the consultation will be sent to the e-mail address provided in the form for registered participants.

Please note that the consultation will NOT include a question and answer format and the detailed requirements of the second call will NOT be presented, so it is particularly important that you familiarise yourself in advance with the video presentations provided. You can ask questions in advance by completing the registration form.

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The NGO Academy study module consists of two stages:

• The first stage is intensive online training that will take place from the 15th – 17th of September 2021. Participating in the first stage training is a mandatory condition to everyone wanting to take part in the second stage half year long training program.
• The second stage is the half year long training program. 2 or 3 participants from the organisation will be able to choose to participate in one of the two programs consisting of 5 modules: ‘Social leaders’ or ‘Social entrepreneurship’ program. Each program lasts 6 months.

The value of the study program per organisation is 4000 EUR.

Terms and conditions for first stage intensive training participants:

•  1 representative individual per organisation.
• Participating organisations have to have at least 2-3 staff members and/or volunteers.
• The representative individual has to be a leading worker of the organisation, with the power to make decisions concerning the management of the organisation.
• Priority will be given to organisations that implement their activities at the local level and/or those who work with ethnic minority communities.

All candidates have to fill the online registration form before the 20th of August.

The chosen participants will be informed using email details provided in the online registration form.

‘NGO Academy. 2020/2021’ graduates: NGO ‘Ne imti, bet duoti’ (Vilnius region), NGO ‘Socialinės terapijos namai’ (Kaunas region), Vilnius children and young people diabetes club ‘DIABITĖ’ (Vilnius city), family and individual development centre ‘Bendrakeleiviai’ (Vilnius city), asociation ‘Lietuvos skeptiškas jaunimas’ (Kaunas city), asociation ‘Klaipėdiečių iniciatyva už demokratiją ir ekologiją’(Klaipėda city), NGO ‘Būk su manimi’ (Mažeikiai region, Bugeniai – Krakiai villages), NGO ‘Šv. Jono vaikai’(Trakai region), NGO ‘Pasaulio piliečių akademija’(Kaunas city), NGO family center ‘Būkime kartu’(Kaunas city and region), NGO ‘Gerumo skraistė’ (Alytus city), NGO ‘Kūrybos ir užimtumo stuba’(Zapyškis village) ir NGO ‘Darni socialinė raida’ (Vilnius city).

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151 applications were received (total amount of funding requested – EUR 14.5 million) during the first open call for proposals and the funding was allocated to 66 projects (total amount of allocated funding –  EUR 5.9 million). The total amount of funding requested at the project concept stage was EUR 46 million, while at the stage of the full project proposals it amounted to EUR 500.000.

The financing was prioritised on the projects related to the following thematic outcomes: the increased citizen participation in civic activities (20 projects) and vulnerable groups empowered (20 projects). Fewer project applications were received in the outcome of the enhanced capacity and sustainability of civil society.

67 non-governmental organisations involved in the projects (applicants or partners) are not based in the city of Vilnius. Organisations that are based in the regions of Lithuania are involved in 42 projects (out of 66 projects). 14 organisations from Norway and 4 organisations from Iceland are planning to take part in 15 projects. The ACF team welcomes such a regional focus of the project content.

The second open call for the submission of proposals to the Active Citizens Fund will be announced in autumn 2021.

More than 250 civil society organisations (including at least 80 small-scale organisations operating at the local level) are expected to take part in the activities initiated or financed by the ACF in Lithuania within 5 years. At least 180 projects implemented by these organisations will receive funding and approximately 10.000 people will get involved in their activities.

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participation in short info seminars “Information hour for NGOs”, that will be led by the experts from various or actual NGO related fields (a possibility to receive prompt answers to one‘s questions will be offered);

long-term learning program “NGO Academy”, consisting of the intense training and two optional modules – Social Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship.

An introductory course to the NGO Academy took place online on September 10–12, 2020. Representatives of 50 NGOs from all over Lithuania, all willing to learn and best meeting selection criteria, were selected out of 150 candidates.
During the training three future lecturers of the learning programs‘ modules – Agnesta Filatovė, Donatas Ramonas and Algirdas Orantas – introduced the key aspects of their modules; the participants got acquainted with the theory of change and delved into the problems, challenges and needs of their organizations, looked for the most suitable solutions, got acquainted in detail with the NGO Academy program.
More information on the next phase of the program can be found here.

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The Civil Society Development Foundation of Romania urged the Open Lithuania Foundation and its partners, as well  as 14 other country operators of Active Citizens Funds in other European countries, to prepare and conduct a survey of NGOs. The survey was to focus on the situation of NGOs during the COVID-19 pandemic and its threats and consequences for the non-governmental sector.  (The Active Citizens Funds are financed by the EEA and Norway Grants Financial Mechanism.) 

The questionnaire was adapted for the Lithuanian context and published in social media on the page of a group unifying Lithuanian NGOs. It was also sent directly to the email addresses of NGOs and  disseminated to other NGO-related platforms. By disseminating the questionnaire broadly, the Open Lithuania Foundation was seeking to gather data about the topical challenges and problems faced by local organizations.

The questionnaire was filled out by 166 organizations / more than a half of them (51,6%) work in the social services, health, and education fields / 8 organizations in human rights/ 4 in advocacy /culture, democracy strengthening, sports/ more than 20 different fields represented in total.

The results of the survey and its overview are available here.

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1. Active Citizens Fund program ABC which is dedicated for all CSOs interested in the Active Citizens Fund;
2. Active Citizens Fund practical seminar for small local organizations planning to apply for small projects and keen in getting more knowledge on project concept note preparation.

The Active Citizens Fund in Lithuania, financed by EEA Grants 2014 – 2021, was awarded a total budget of 9 million euros for strengthening civil society and active citizenship, empowering vulnerable groups.

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The EEA and Norway Grants are funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway with the aim to contribute to an equal Europe, both socially and economically – and to strengthen the relations between Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and the 15 beneficiary countries in Europe. The support of EEA Grants is available to 15 beneficiary countries (13 new EU member states, as well as Greece and Portugal).

The Fund Operator of the ACF in Lithuania is a consortium of non-governmental organizations ­ Open Lithuania Foundation, OSFL Projects, and Geri Norai LT that upholds the values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights. 

It is expected that within the next five years, more than 250 civic society organizations (including 80 small-scale organizations operating at a local level) will take part in the activities initiated and funded by the Active Citizens Fund. At least 180 projects that are implemented by these organizations will be funded. Approximately 10 000 people will get involved in their activities.

www.apf.lt/en

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