Activities
At the beginning of its activities the Social Innovation Fund started to assist unemployed and economically-disadvantaged women to make positive changes in their life and help them to become socially active and economically independent.
The first activities of the Social Innovation Fund started in 1994 with provision of the free computer literacy training courses for the unemployed and socially disadvantaged women in the city of Kaunas under support of Dutch Governmental Program “Assistance in Social Welfare in Lithuania”. Implementation of this Program in Lithuania was monitored by Lithuanian Ministry of Social Security and Labour. In 1997, after creation of the Community and Training Centre for Women under the European Union PHARE LIEN programme, the Fund has greatly expanded the provision of educational services: the course for bookkeepers, the computerized accounting program “Pragma”, the English language courses and the nursing courses were organised and the seminars to gain self-confidence and develop the active job seeking skills were conducted. The variety of educational opportunities provided women with the possibility to acquire up-to-date knowledge, skills and competences needed for successful enter into the labour market.
Social Innovation Fund is concentrating in helping to solve youth problems via innovative methods elaborated by it during past decades. On the basis of the young people needs, the SIF promotes inclusion of the disadvantaged background young people via employability and entrepreneurship. Our vast experience of the work with adults is being transferred successfully to satisfy needs of youth.
The objectives of the SIF are:
- To offer educational and professional re-/training opportunities for unemployed and socially disadvantaged women and men to obtain the skills and knowledge corresponding to the present job market requirements and help them to become socially active and economically independent
- To develop new tailored training programs to ensure the integration of the disadvantaged persons into active social life
- To influence public policy on implementing the Law of Equal Opportunities by building and maintaining the social partnerships and coalitions
- To develop and implement the social innovation initiatives for improving the status and condition of the disadvantaged persons in the society
- To maintain and expand national, European and international networks for implementing the joint projects and sharing good practices
- To organize trainings for NGOs staff to strengthen capacity of NGOs in fundraising, networking and efficient service provision to the disadvantaged groups.
At present, the spectrum of the Fund’s activities is very wide; it actively acts at the following levels:
At local (community) level the SIF seeks to assist unemployed and socially disadvantaged persons by providing them with diverse learning opportunities (non-formal trainings courses for social and professional rehabilitation, club activities “Help Yourself”, voluntary work, mentoring programs, consulting and counselling), enabling them to re-/enter labour market and as a result to become active citizens.
The SIF is also working in social partnership with local municipalities and local community centers in order to improve social support and services to the most vulnerable population. The SIF also helps the local community centers directly by providing the training on capacity building, fundraising, networking and lobbying, involves them into the projects and shares the experience on their area of interest.
At national level the Social Innovation Fund is very active on implementing gender equality through provision of trainings and consultations for the non-governmental organisations and social partners working in the field. As well it is active in lobbying and submits proposals to the Seimas/Parliament and Government of the Republic of Lithuania for amendments in the laws related with the issues of gender equality and diversity.
In year 2000, the SIF has established the NGOs Coalition for the Protection of Women's Human Rights in Lithuania which today unites 66 NGOs (www.women-coalition.webinfo.lt) The SIF is the coordinator and moderator of this Coalition. Its motto “Thinking woman – be active” encourages every women to deliberately and actively be involved in the social activities, to be partial to the present-day problems, to initiate the means of their solutions and to influence the public policy.
The SIF is actively involved in implementing the national projects funded by the European Social Fund and Ministry of Social Security and Labour in Lithuania. The projects are oriented to the social and professional rehabilitation of the disadvantaged groups (see the section Projects)
SIF is a member of Lithuanian European Women’s Lobby (EWL) organization and participates in the EWL’s activities.
At the European level the SIF is actively participating in European projects supported by European Commission (Socrates, Grundtvig, Leanardo da Vince, Daphne, European Aid etc). The Social Innovation Fund has over 17 years’ of experience in networking on lifelong learning and has an extensive experience in management of EU projects acting as a manager in more than 30 EU projects and as coordinator in 10 EU projects (see the section PROJECTS)
The SIF is actively engaged in organising the Conferences at European level.
The most recently organised conferences are:
- Promotion of social mobility model – the way to employment
April 13, 2012; Kaunas, Lithuania - Promoting Awareness for Communication and Training in the field of Domestic Violence
December 2, 2011, Kaunas, Lithuania - Social Mobility Model – New Learning Pathways to Social Inclusion
November 4, 2011; Kaunas, Lithuania - Innovative methods to facilitate social inclusion and employability
September 23, 2011; Kaunas, Lithuania - Reconciliation of work and private life – an important issue for family members and society
July 8, 2011; Kaunas, Lithuania - Gender Equality and Diversity (GED) planning at workplaces
April 14, 2011; Kaunas, Lithuania
At international level the activities of the SIF vary from developing and implementing international projects mostly in the Third World Countries (like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia) to preparing the NGOs alternative reports to the United Nations on implementation of UN Conventions in Lithuania.
In year 1999-2000 the SIF has participated in the project sponsored by UNIFEM ‘Form Global to Local: CEDAW Convention Monitoring and Implementing Project’, during which the training on lobbying and monitoring of the implementation of UN Conventions of Elimination of all kind of Discrimination Against Women was organised for the NGOs in New York, the USA. Following these trainings, the SIF has written and presented two SHADOW REPORTS on the Implementation of CEDAW and Women’s Human Rights in Lithuania to United Nations and has presented them to UN CEDAW Committee in New York: year 2000 year 2008
The SIF has also developed the SHADOW report on implementation of the Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and has presented it to UN Committee in Geneva, Switzerland in 2004: Women’s economic, social and cultural rights in the Republic of Lithuania
We are proud to inform that the CEDAW Recommendations for Lithuania highlighted the issues that we have raised in the Shadow Reports from year 2000 and 2008.
The CEDAW Recommendations for Lithuania: year 2000 year 2008
Since 2010 the SIF is involved into the EC European Aid projects helping to strengthen capacities of NGOs sector in the Third World Countries. In December 2011 the director of the SIF has delivered the training course on capacity building, networking and fundraising in Tashkent, Uzbekistan for representatives of NGOs from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia and China.