Flexible work for family success and economic development (SUCCESS)

Project goal: to build the in-depth understanding and practical application of competences in implementation of reconciliation of family and work culture in working environment by involving employers and municipal administration in trainings and develop the model of services and consultations needed for the families to reconcile family obligations and employment needs.

Project duration: August 2009- August 2012

Project activities in 2009:
- CEA together with its partner drafted the project proposal and submitted to the European Social Fund
- to prepare necessary documentation for the start of the project implementation (harmonization of partnership agreements, agreements on project partners’ responsibilities, planning and coordination of the project activities, organize and complete procurement for the needs of the project)
- to organize 4 radio emissions at the beginning of the project in order to present the general idea on reconciliation of family and work, highlight the EU best practices and their practical benefits for the society in Lithuania
- to compose the programs and time tables for training and seminars with the employers and municipal administration
- to start selection process for the trainings and negotiate dates of the trainings. According to the project there will be trained 150 employers from 10 towns and 225 civil servants from 15 municipalities.

Project coordination: Kaunas Women’s Employment Information Centre
Project funding: European social fund

Complex response to problems

Project goal: to introduce the innovative and complex measures for solving the problems of social exclusion by training and consulting the staff who directly work with the individuals and families at risk to poverty, unemployment and social exclusion.

Project duration: May 2009 – June 2011

Project activities in 2009:
- CEA contributed drafting the project proposal and correcting according to remarks and comments of the experts of the European Social Fund.
- CEA will prepare the programs and content for the cycles of the seminars for social workers, volunteers and personnel working with the individuals and families at risk
- CEA will organize and conduct cycles of professional trainings and competence building for the staff, volunteers and other personnel of social services providers from 5 municipalities
- CEA will contribute to the building the network of the social workers and social service providers to work more effectively with the individuals and family at risk.
Project coordination: UNDP-Lithuania
Project funding: European Social Fund

Invisible

Project goal: firstly, to improve social conditions for the third country nationals for their successful integration into Lithuanian society. Secondly, to contribute to the changing attitudes of Lithuanian society to the immigrants from stereotypical and xenophobic images of the foreigners in society towards positive, open and tolerant views.

Project duration: January, 1 – December 31, 2009

Project activities:
-This project consists of three independent thematic parts which are composed as 5 minutes TV show and broadcasted on commercial TV channel LNK:
>Invisible…1 has the goal to discuss the problems that immigrants are facing upon arrival to Lithuania and present these problems to Lithuanian society
>Invisible…2 has the goal to present successful examples of the third country nationals’ integration in the labor market and the contribution of their work to the welfare of the country.
>Invisible…3 has the goal to present the live stories of the third county nationals, introducing their motives to come to live in Lithuania, first impressions, expectations and different experiences.
-CEA’s activities involve the search of the potential TV show participants, who are the third country nationals having temporal or permanent permission to live in Lithuania, to get the basic information about them and obtain their agreement to be interviewed and filmed for the TV show. On the basis of the primary questionnaire the CEA experts write the scenarios for each thematic part of the project and provides the text for each TV show which is read as voice-over during the show.
-CEA invites experts and participate as experts in commenting very specific problems that are identified by the participants of the show and prepare 3-5 questions for the experts to discuss the problems in a more complex way and broader context.
-CEA approach the employers where the participants work and identifies the benefits of having multicultural environment in work place and later propose the TV channel to interview and film inquired employers.
-CEA collects the information about the third country nationals, writes the articles about the project tasks and expected results, completes reports to the fund about the activities.

Project coordinator and broadcaster of the TV shows: commercial TV LNK

Project funding: European Fund for the Integration of the Third Country Nationals

Developing tolerance and cooperation based on mutual understanding between Lithuanian citizens and third country nationals

Project goal: to build the practical skills of cross-cultural communication between students from Lithuania

Project duration: January –September, 2009

Project activities:
- CEA experts conducted seven seminars for the students of Social Science college and one seminar for the students from various colleges on building skills for multicultural communication.
- CEA expert collected material and composed the manual “Multicultural diversity” which consists of theoretical chapter on social and political context of multicultural diversity and practical exercises which helps the trainers to employ them in building skills of cross-cultural communication.

Project coordinator: Social Sciences College
Project funding: European Fund for the Integration of the Third Country Nationals