On December 8th, 2017 organizations belonging to the National Equality and Diversity Forum (NEDF) held a conference in Vilnius, during which they shared best practices for cooperation between NGOs and the public sector in foreign countries, as well as NEDF members’ cooperation with state institutions.
During the conference, Klementina Gečaitė, the project manager of the Lithuanian Disability Forum, along with two of the organization’s volunteers, Irmina Beneševičiūtė and Kristina Dūdonytė, presented their best practices for cooperating with Lithuanian city institutions. Mintautė Jurkutė, who manages communications at the Office of the Equal Opportunity Ombudsperson, gave insight into the office’s collaborations with NEDF organizations. Vaidotas Ilgius, communication and development manager for Maistas Bankas (Food Bank) talked about the organization’s experience working with state institutions. Vytautas Valentinavicius, who serves as Chief Consultant of public relations for the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudspersons, explained the institutions role as a national human rights institution. LGL’s volunteer coordinator, Kamila Gasinska, presented her organization’s best practices carrying out international volunteer projects. These presentations were accompanied by the discussion “NGO and public sector cooperation: strategies and opportunities” (moderated by Dovile Juodkaite from the Lithuanian Disability Forum).
Participants in the NEDF conference welcomed Valerijus Simulik, Chairman of the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee; Donatas Butkus, Head of Human Rights Division at the Department of United Nations, International organizations and Human rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania; and national LGBT* rights organization LGL’s Executive Director Vladimir Simonko.
© Augustas Didžgalvis
The conference was organized under the framework of the NEDF Institutional Development Project No. (2017) NOBR-135, supported by the Ministry of Social Security and Labor of the Republic of Lithuania.
