Asociacija "Aktyvus jaunimas"

National Network
Lithuania
Address

Lygybes g. 21-86
51379 Kaunas
Lithuania

Telephone
+37064331871
Telephone (other)
+37068448203
E-Mail
info@activeyouth.lt
E-Mail (2)
inga@activeyouth.lt
Mobile Phone
+37068448203
Organisation Type
Non-Governmental Organization
Year of Establishment
2014
Fields of Activity
  1. Democracy and community development
  2. Gender
  3. Human rights
  4. International/Cultural relations
  5. Youth and education
General Information

“Active Youth” Association (Asociacija “Aktyvus jaunimas”) is a non-profit organization based in Kaunas that unites young leaders from Lithuania willing to work on a voluntary basis to facilitate an intercultural dialogue and enhance competence of the European youth. We cooperate with organizations of similar profile from all over Europe (more than 50 partnerships) to organize events and trainings using non-formal education as a powerful instrument to encourage youth to take an active part in a society. By doing this we help young people to improve their skills and social awareness, share experiences and ideas, integrate them within the multinational environment of the EU, facilitate cooperation, create new joint initiatives, increase their social awareness, and promote healthy lifestyle. In particular, we concentrate on youth (18-30 years old) that have fewer opportunities and/or disadvantaged backgrounds.

Mission and Objectives

Generally, our aims are to: (1) enhance entrepreneurial, social, leadership, communication skills, self-esteem, as well as multilingualism of youth through non-formal education; (2) help youth increase their social awareness, be tolerant towards others, be aware of the persisting social and environmental problems and help solve them; (3) educate youth workers and youth on how to  join volunteering initiatives, cooperate with each other, and get employed more easily;  (4) organize joint campaigns, projects and activities, where young people and youth workers can get involved in an intercultural dialogue, be a part of the decision making process, develop the spirit of volunteerism, facilitate youth cooperation and social values; (5) raise awareness about EU citizenship among young people, educate about social responsibility and work towards reducing youth unemployment in the EU; (6) organize youth seminars, exchanges, trainings for youth workers, conferences and discussions on relevant social topics, promote healthy,  active, and ecologically friendly lifestyle in order to increase the well-being of youth. Inform about similar actions organized by others in Europe; (7) defend and promote human rights, universal values of tolerance, active citizenship, democracy, equal opportunities and work towards the elimination of discrimination in order to build a better integrated society; (8) organise Erasmus+ projects and spread information about the opportunities that lie behind it in order to further facilitate youth development.

Main Projects / Activities

Apart from other activities, we have also hosted Erasmus+ youth exchanges and youth worker mobility in Lithuania addressing key social topics for youth. Firstly, we organised a youth exchange on tolerance for minorities ("Let's Turn Discrimination into Tolerance"), where young people gathered to help the minorities across Europe integrate easier to the society and get better opportunities both in social and work life. Secondly, we have organised both youth worker mobility and a youth exchange on the topic of Social Entrepreneurship ("More than Money: Social Entrepreneurship Heroes"). Here youth workers have shared their experiences, learned about social entrepreneurship and the ways to teach it to young people; whereas, unemployed have gained important knowledge on the topic and increased their chances of getting employed or create their own social enterprises. Since then we have hosted 12 more Erasmus+ projects (as of February 2017).

How can you contribute to the Network in your country?

Recently, we have started working on refugee integration to youth work. We're implementing a 2 year international project "Together: Refugees & Youth" (TRY). In essence, TRY aims to create a special programme in which youth workers would include refugees in their work with youth.This way, youth would get a chance to develop in a multicultural environment; thus building up their tolerance and increasing multilingualism. Meanwhile, the refugees would integrate into the society faster, since the youth would help them with the local language, culture and traditions. We would incorporate these activities to the whole Anna Lindh Foundation Network in Lithuania. More information on the project: http://www.refugeeseurope.com/about. 

Why do you want to join the ALF Network?

We want to cooperate with other organiastions in the Network on refugee integration initiatives, as well as promotion of intercultural dialogue across Europe and the Mediterranean.

Contact (1) Full Name
Inga Vederyte
Head of the organisation
Gediminas Kondrackis