Equality through tolerance and education

Project goal: to provide complex and broad awareness raising and training on multiculturalism, tolerance and non-discrimination.

Project duration: October 1, 2007- November 31, 2008

Target group: civil servants, teachers of the schools and society in general

Project activities:
- CEA staff participated in the trainings on tolerance education, provided by the international experts. As a result, a manual We can change and a DVD, focusing on multiculturalism and non-discrimination was produced, including the broad materials on sustainable development, environmental changes, social-economic development and human rights.
- Cycle of trainings for 130 school teachers over the whole country was held where theoretical knowledge on tolerance, human rights and sustainable development were provided and the manual and DVD as a practical tool for teachers to work with their
students were distributed. The teachers commented that the seminars and felt they had provided good ideas and practical ways to employ a variety of techniques in their work and discussions with students.
- Seminars for civil servants were held where CEA staff provided the trainings on non-discrimination and equal treatment
- Diversity and human rights film festival “Ad hoc: Inconvenient Films” in Vilnius and Kaunas was organized by the partner organization, namely Lithuanian Human Rights Centre. CEA obtained several films in order to show them during the trainings
for the teachers and civil servants.
- Round table discussion with the education policy makers was organized to address the issues of current training content and gaps of teachers’ competences and inform about the manual for teachers as a tool to work on tolerance education with the students

Project coordinator:
Lithuanian Human Rights Center

Project partners:
Office of the Ombudsman for Equal Opportunities Project funding
European Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity – PROGRESS (2007 – 2013)
Ministry of Foreign affairs for the production of DVD on tolerance education under the national program on development cooperation

Gender Mainstreaming: from Concept to Action

Project goal is to mainstream gender in the national policies and encourage the systematic and transformative approach to gender equality, equal participation of men and women in decision making process and gender roles in society.

Project duration: December 2007- October 2008 (12 months)

Target groups:
- Civil servants from the ministries and state departments
- Civil servants from the Parliament

Project activities:
> The Center together with the Office of the Ombudsperson for Equal Opportunities organized and conducted the training of the civil servants, applying the 3R method, to generate a separate analysis of the gender equality situation and to include gender aspects when evaluating the present situation, devoting resources and foreseeing in action plans how the present situation can be changed.
> From January to September of 2008 five seminar cycles (2008 February 28-29, Druskininkai; 2008 April 3-4, Trakai; 2008 May, Palanga; 2008 September 3-5, Palanga; 2008 October 15- 17, Trakai) were held for the civil servants who got a methodological tool to investigate the everyday policy development through the lens of gender equality. Having participated in a
lecture and learned about skills for applying the 3R method at work, participants were tasked with carrying out a small research project on their own using the 3R method and with presenting the project’s results and an action plan abut gender equality integration into their municipality’s daily work.
> In September 2008, the civil servants got the unique opportunity to obtain knowledge about the gender budgeting. The visiting scholar Sheila Quinn provided the theoretical knowledge and practical skills on the understanding and composing gender-sensitive budgeting
> Promotional materials (1500 copies of calendars, 340 table clocks with gender equality slogans) were prepared to keep the gender interest of the participants and attract their colleagues’ attention to gender aspects in their work
> National conference. 2008 October 20 was held in Vilnius. The first national conference on gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting issues with a focus on the development and effectiveness of the state policies
> A manual on gender budgeting. Prepared and published in Lithuanian, provided theoretical materials, research results in Lithuania and good practices in the EU on gender budgeting.
> Rakauskienė Ona, Vaida Lisauskaitė. Lyčių aspekto integravimas į biudžetą (Gender
budgeting). Vilnius, 2008
> The manual on gender budgeting together with the promotional materials were sent for each parliamentarian after elections in October 2008. Only one parliamentarian, Ceslovas Jursenas -the member of Social Democrats party, replied and expressed his interest in the book.
Project coordinator:
Office of the Ombudsperson for Equal Opportunities
Municipality of Siauliai

The project is financed by the European Commission under PROGRESS Programme

Transformative approach to the Mother’s Day

Project goal: to transform the existing Romanticized image of Mother in Lithuanian society and culture by providing the visual materials on the everyday domestic work and care routines

Project activities:
- CEA in cooperation with the professional artist designed, produced and printed the post cards on the occasion of the Mother’s Day in May 2008. These post cards were widely distributed for the governmental and non-governmental institutions and public audience in general
- CEA organized press conference on the occasion of the Mother’s day in order to present the difficult situation of the mothers in Lithuanian society and indirectly protest against the debated law on the Concept Law of State Family Policy which openly discriminates against single and unmarried mothers.

Ways of implementing the EU directives on Violence against Children, Young People and Women: Good Practices and Recommendations

Project goal: to evaluate the process of changes in legislation considering violence against women, children and youth in new member states in the period from 1991 to 2006 and identify and explore the EU impact on the changes in the national legislation

Project duration: September 1, 2007 – August 31, 2009

Project activities in 2008:
• CEA completed research which consisted of questionnaire composed of 112 questions and comments. The aim of the questionnaire was to identify and explore the process of changing the legislation concerning violence against women, children and youth that has been introduced in Lithuania in the period from 1991 to 2006.The questionnaire identified the laws and other legal instruments that have been introduced and political actors that have contributed to the changes.
• In feeling in questionnaire the contacts with the Ministries of Interior, Justice, Social Security and Labor, Health, Education and Science, Department of courts, Department of Police, Office of Prosecutor General were maintained in order to obtain the necessary data and information to complete the questionnaire.
• Additionally a broad range contacts with NGOs (women, children, human rights in general) were renewed in consultation on the research questions.

Project coordinator: University of Liublijana Faculty of Arts, Slovenia

Project partners:
Partner organizations from the following states: Slovakia, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Malta, Hungary
and Cyprus; Czech Republic

Project funding
European Commission Daphnie II program