Partner – Institute for Policy Research and Analysis
Duration – 2017–2021
Regions – Klaipėda district, Šalčininkai, Švenčionys, Trakai, Vilnius and Visaginas
The British Council’s global Active Citizens programme connects around 80 countries worldwide, and has provided hundreds of thousands of people with social leadership skills. The Active Citizens programme in Lithuania aimed to promote social change that benefits individuals, communities and the public by bringing together those hailing from different ethnic backgrounds, beliefs and perspectives.
The programme promoted community-led social development by motivating small village or town members to take responsibility for their social needs, providing the requisite knowledge, skills and experience to address them. The main target audience of the programme was the leaders of small communities across various regions in Lithuania.
The programme equipped the participants with the necessary competencies to engage with different social and ethnic groups, while supporting the initiated social action projects. After completion of the community-leader training courses the facilitators organised meetings, during which they defined the needs of the residents and developed new ideas for the social action projects. Later, project members and facilitators implemented these initiatives, organising activities to help facilitate the creation of a cohesive dialogue within the community.
Activities were organised each year, with community meetings, workshops and social action projects taking place in 13 municipalities across Lithuania. The programme also gained recognition from mayors and municipality representatives, and was actively supported by the First Lady of Lithuania.
Over four years, the programme implemented:
- training for 108 facilitators, who in turn influenced 10,290 active citizens;
- 113 community workshops, attended by 2,633 participants; and
- funded and delivered 121 social action projects in 13 municipalities.