Consulting

People involved for many years in promoting "democracy with children" and children's rights came together to found the association "Macht Kinder stark für Demokratie" (prepare children for democracy!). They work in many domains such as the media, industry and commerce, educational institutions, public administration, and children's rights organizations. Makista wants to ensure that children are respected from day one and that they adopt democratic values. In this way, they can learn to respect others and take responsibility for the community at large. Many institutions and private sponsors are committed to the rights of children and youths. Makista aims to provide basic information concerning children's rights. We support opportunities to share ideas and experiences. We organize symposia and workshops, and we develop web-based information services for pupils, parents and teachers. We are a network of people who, for many years, have been committed to supporting the rights of children as laid down in the 1989 UN Convention on Children's Rights. A main concern of the Convention is to give children and youths a voice in all matters that affect them. Our many years of experience with the involvement of children and youths of all ages show that when young people are taken seriously, they can do much more than we normally expect. This assumes that adults provide them with a supportive environment. We would very much like to provide you with information on our experience in this domain, as well as addresses, links, literature, practical tips and suggestions for valuable projects. Makista is not associated with any political party and it is recognized as a non-profit organization.

The Lithuanian Green Movement (LGM) was established by national environmental clubs, groups and activists in 1988. LGM coordinates the activities and exchanges information between some 500 members all over Lithuania.

As the first post-Soviet environmental Non_Governmental Organization in Lithuania, LGM played a significant role in the democratization process and in raising public awareness and participation on environmental issues in Lithuania. Today, LGM is one of the country's most active environmental NGOs, with the main strategies of influencing public policy, increasing public participation and raising public awareness about environment protection and sustainable development.

LGM's main activities include:

• the protection of the Baltic Sea and its catchments;
• the conservation of protected territories and natural landscapes;
• environmental education and the raising of public awareness about environment and sustainable development;
• energy and environment;
• transport and environment;
• monitoring the activities of the International Financial Institutions in Lithuania;
• support for the development and strengthening of environmental NGOs and citizen's groups in Lithuania;
• environmental protection in general.

LGM publishes a bi-weekly newsletter called "Green Lithuania"