US-LT Alumni Association has been Awarded an EEA Grant

In September 2013 the US-LT Alumni Association was awarded a grant from the European Economic Area Grants NGO Program Lithuania to carry out a human rights advocacy campaign to combat xenophobia, racism, sexism, and ageism in Lithuania.

Research shows that migrants constitute only 1% of the Lithuanian population. This is one of the lowest indicators in Europe, which implies that Lithuanians are one of the unfriendliest societies to migrants in the continent. This alienation is especially evident in the case of female migrants who are more often than not doomed to social isolation and low income in Lithuania.

The new campaign, Ethnic Kitchen, strives to make Lithuanians more foreigners-friendly and less xenophobic, racist, sexist, and ageist. Over the course of 18 months the US-LT Alumni Association will produce a documentary feature, Ethnic Kitchen, which will make Lithuanian people aware of problems that migrants experience in Lithuania as well as ways in which people of various cultural backgrounds enrich Lithuanian society. The documentary will premiere in September 2014. It will be screened in 15 Lithuanian towns. Each screening will be accompanied by open discussions between local communities, NGO’s, and municipalities. The screenings will be supported by an interactive online campaign as well as radio and TV broadcasts.

The US-LT Alumni Association will be partnering with Women of Multicultural Ethnicity Network in Iceland W.O.M.E.N. This organization has over 10 years of experience in the field of female migrants’ integration in the Icelandic society. It will be sharing their knowledge, experience, and best practices with the US-LT Alumni Association throughout the campaign. They will also come to Vilnius to give trainings to Lithuanian NGO’s that work with issues of equality and migration on efficient ways of facilitating female migrants’ integration in Lithuanian society.