Partners Baltic
Baltic Partners for Change Management
Partners Baltic was established in Vilnius, Lithuania in 1998 to provide change and conflict
management skills and services to the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania.
The Center specializes in promoting the rights of disadvantaged groups,
including persons with disabilities, women, youth or others affected by social
exclusion or discrimination, lack of access to information, or educational
problems.
Partners Baltic’s main areas of expertise include:
Mediation Services. Partners Baltic has developed a community based mediation service to resolve a range of local neighborhood, family and business disputes. Through an extensive education and outreach campaign, the program promotes the use of mediation as a viable conflict resolution mechanism: working to reduce the burden on the court system, resolve and mitigate family and community disputes, pursue legislation incorporating mediation as a formal component of the justice system, and facilitate the empowerment of under-represented and disadvantaged groups.
Citizen Participation: In collaboration with VNG International, Partners Baltic is implementing a project entitled “Strengthening co-operative decision making in local communities in Lithuania.” The goal of this program is to increase the capacity of communities in Lithuania to collaboratively and cross-sectorally develop and implement citizen participation projects. Through trainings in change management and citizen participation skills and the implementation of three community development projects, this project is developing linkages and professionalizing municipal cooperation in Lithuania.
Reintegration of Women with Disabilities and their Caretakers into the Labor Market. Partners Baltic utilized training, consultation and facilitated dialogue to empower women with disabilities or women caring for persons with disabilities to enter or re-enter the workforce with increased skills and confidence. The program convened employers and government institutions to educate all stakeholders about the needs of these women, and as a result they are gaining the necessary information, skills and self-esteem to find and hold jobs.
Identification of Needs of the Blind and Visually Impaired. Partners Baltic, in collaboration with the Union for the Blind and Visually Handicapped of Lithuania, is working with blind and visually impaired people, along with local officials, social workers, medical workers, educators, and representatives from the private sector, to improve social services in four Lithuanian regions. The program includes the participation of groups who are in danger of becoming economically, socially, and politically isolated, and convenes diverse local leaders in cooperative planning processes to build consensus on concrete community development projects.
International Youth Exchanges. Partners Baltic partnered with international organizations to organize and facilitate international exchanges between Lithuanian and European youth. These learning “camps” provide young people with the opportunity to meet youth from other cultures, gain an increased understanding of their own culture and their place in society, and improve their communication and cooperation skills; attendees have returned to their home countries to implement their own community projects.
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