The Municipality of Kaišiadorys is situated in central Lithuania, between the capital city Vilnius and Kaunas. It has a population of 8.334 people (2021); it is characterized by wonderful landscapes and plenty of cultural places attracting. The municipality implements youth policy in the Kaišiadorys District: its main priorities are the implementation of open youth work, youth voluntary service, summer employment and integration of young people into the labor market, support for young artists, the activities of the Kaišiadorys District Youth Council and youth organizations. It also provides information to young people to encourage them to participate in the European Solidarity Corps and Erasmus+ projects. Most of the youth-related municipal projects are implemented in the youth center “Mazgas”, as well as in the youth spaces located in the smaller towns of Žiežmaris and Rumšiškės. These projects are funded by the European Union, the National Agency for Youth Affairs and the Kaišiadorys District Local Action Group.
Municipal youth organizations also actively participate in project competitions funded by the Municipality. Kaišiadorys, together with the Youth Agency, host and volunteering organizations, implements the Youth Voluntary Service project: it encourages young people to choose a six-month quality volunteering experience aimed at familiarizing with their future careers and developing their
personal and professional competences. In the framework of this project proposal, it will be assisted by Mano Europa (Mano), a non-profit organization and project partner acting on behalf of the same municipality. It is a non-governmental youth organization created in 2017, actively involved in youth project development and implementation in the local, national and international nonformal education sphere. Its mission is to provide youth with opportunities and innovative resources, to create and support a network of active citizens and to help them develop their full potential in personal and professional life. Mano encourages youth to be more active citizens, identifying and solving problems relevant to society and making an impact in our community. The organization has 7 years of practical experience of planning and organizing of events, seminars, team buildings, designing and implementing several youth related projects and social initiatives in our community. The main method of work during its activities is the non-formal education elements. Mano has a strong background and expertise in leading Project Quality and Evaluation and Visibility, Dissemination activities. As partner and beneficiary, Mano will be in charge of assisting the lead partner by providing all the relevant information in due time; it will organize and manage its assigned activities (events) and contribute to the communication campaign and the online content. Its expertise in managing and delivering big and diverse EU projects will be of great relevance in this proposal, as well as its expertise in gathering and managing large groups of young people. Mano will
contribute to the non-formal education of local and international young environmental defenders, providing them with the tools to become future changemakers and policy influencers. Its previous experience in the CERV Programme will highly benefit the current partnership in reaching higher results. The Municipality of Jonava (Jonava) participates as ASSOCIATED PARTNER (PIC number 926131460) in cooperation with Mano and Kaišiadorys. It is the 9th Lithuanian city in population with 43.384 inhabitants; the municipality is highly active in the sectors of youth and environmental protection, especially through EU-funded and extra-EU projects; in 2018-2019, it implemented the project “Promoting employment, capacity building and job skills of young people in Lithuania and Poland”, implemented under the Interreg V-A Lithuania-Poland Cooperation Programme, aimed at fostering smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the border area through cross-border cooperation. The share of young people in Jonava District is among the highest in the county and higher than in the country. At the end of 2022, the number of young people (aged 14-29 years) in the country was 460.196 (16.1% of the total population). The local community is creative and open, working together with the local government to improve the quality of public services, ensuring their adequacy and accessibility, feeling responsible for its land and its people, developing friendly relations with its neighbors and different cultures, and creating
a positive image of the municipality. Jonava municipality will support Mano in the implementation of its events, helping it to increase the number of participants considering its great involvement in youth municipal activities. Therefore, the impact of the project at the country level is ensured.