Description
Migrants constitute only 1% of the Lithuanian population, which implies that Lithuania is one of the foreigners-unfriendliest societies in Europe. There is a stable increase in nationalistic and racist messages in Lithuanian public discourse. The project is to promote democratic values and human rights in Lithuania. This will be done through a human rights advocacy campaign against xenophobia, racism, sexism and ageism, forming sustainable partnerships with media, and producing a documentary feature called "Ethnic Kitchen". Free screenings and discussions with film stars and experts shall draw the attention of society and government to human rights' situation in Lithuania, initiate a public discussion on migrants' rights, shed light on situation of ethnic minorities, break down stereotypes, and encourage Lithuanians to be more tolerant to people of different cultural backgrounds. Target audiences: society, government, NGOs, media.
Summary of project results
The Ethnic Kitchen campaign sought to promote the rights of immigrants and ethnic minorities in Lithuania emphasising the importance of gender equality in the processes of immigrants’ and Roma people’s integration into the Lithuanian society. The main means for achieving this goal was a feature documentary, Ethnic Kitchen, about five immigrant women’s integration into the Lithuanian society. The documentary was screened in 15 Lithuanian towns. Public discussions that were held after each screening were moderated by prominent human rights and gender equality experts and involved representatives of local governments, immigrants, local NGO’s, and local communities. 7 Lithuanian NGO’s were regularly involved in public discussions on the topic of immigrants’ rights protection throughout Lithuania. On the basis of the experts’ insights, the US-LT Alumni Association prepared and published discussion guidelines that enabled organizations throughout the country to hold screenings of Ethnic Kitchen independently. 248 organizations, including 100 secondary schools and 50 public libraries, expressed a wish to organize public screenings of Ethnic Kitchen. In addition to this awareness raising campaign called Set up your own Ethnic Kitchen, two other awareness raising campaigns were held: Get Together! and What Does Lithuania Mean to You? The former campaign encouraged Lithuanians to invite immigrants and Lithuanian citizens of a foreign origin for a meal and a friendly chat that could bridge the gap between the two groups of society. The latter campaign invited Lithuanians as well as Lithuanian citizens of a foreign origin to express in one word or drawing what Lithuania meant to them so that the Lithuanian society could see that people of many nationalities appreciate Lithuania as home. All the above-mentioned campaigns were widely discussed in media since the US-LT Alumni Association has signed agreements of cooperation with the biggest Lithuanian news portal 15min.lt and the Lithuanian National Radio and Television. Ethnic Kitchen was mentioned in Lithuanian national and regional media 83 times in the course of 18 months. To encourage local governments’ involvement into multicultural dialogue, the US-LT Alumni association initiated a national research poll that showed how ready Lithuanian municipalities are to integrate immigrants and ethnic minorities into their infrastructures.
Summary of bilateral results
The Women of Multicultural Ethnicity Network W.O.M.E.N. in Iceland has been consulting the project implementer on the best practices of immigrants’ integration from the very beginning of the Project. As a result, the project implementer developed a successful awareness raising campaign, Get Together! The campaign was based on a similar campaign by W.O.M.E.N. in Iceland, World Food Café, and encouraged Lithuanians to invite immigrants and Lithuanian citizens of a foreign origin for a meal and a friendly chat that could bridge the gap between the two groups of society. W.O.M.E.N. in Iceland has also arranged the project implementer’s visit to Reykjavik to meet with leading Icelandic institutions and organizations in the field of human rights and equal opportunities: Iceland University Institute for Gender, Equality, and Diversity, Icelandic Human Rights Office, Human Rights Office of City of Reykjavik, Icelandic Female Leaders Network EXEDRA, Lithuanian Icelandic Association. As a result of this visit, the project implementer published an elaborate article about the best practices of human rights protection in Iceland in one of the biggest Lithuanian news portals 15min.lt Moreover, W.O.M.E.N. in Iceland included a public screening and an after-screening discussion of documentary Ethnic Kitchen in the Bio Paradis cinema as part of the the International Women’s Day program in Reykjavik. The screening and discussion helped the Icelandic society understand better the situation of immigrants’ and Roma people’s rights in Lithuania. W.O.M.E.N. in Iceland has also had an opportunity to share their best practices with the municipalities of Vilnius City and Vilnius County as well as Lithuanian NGO’s in Vilnius. In conclusion, the partnership with W.O.M.E.N. in Iceland strengthened relationships between Lithuanian and Icelandic NGO’s as well as increased the level of knowledge and mutual understanding between Icelandic and Lithuanian societies.