From pledge to good practice: The story of a refugee-led organization in Lithuania
From pledge to good practice: The story of a refugee-led organization in Lithuania
The Refugee Council of Lithuania was established in 2020, following a pledge by refugee communities and activists at the Global Refugee Forum to set up a refugee-led organization.
Years after arriving in Lithuania as a student and later being recognized as a refugee, Violetta is seated in the main room of the Refugee Council of Lithuania’s office and lists the achievements of the organization, in her capacity as Project Director of the refugee-led organization.
“It can be an example for other refugees that it is possible to lead such projects and it is possible to be involved in the NGO organization,” Violetta explains. “It builds the platform for refugees to exchange their knowledge, to share their experiences, to look for possible solutions together.”
The Refugee Council of Lithuania was established in 2020, following a pledge by refugee communities and activists at the Global Refugee Forum to set up a refugee-led organization. Since then, the organization has evolved and today refugees make up half of the organization’s staff and management. The organization provides training, support and opportunities to dozens of refugees, to strengthen their socioeconomic inclusion in the country that has become their new home.
In 2023, the Refugee Council established its entrepreneurship programme Talent Together. With funding and support from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, the programme sets out to support refugees to establish or further develop their own businesses. Through networking events, mentorship opportunities and training sessions, 15 refugees have so far benefitted from the programme.
“The goal of the project is to help refugees living in Lithuania to develop their skills and to build their capacities to start a business in Lithuania,” said Akhtar Akhgar, Project Manager for the Talent Together project. In addition to having refugee background himself, Akhgar explains that, “We try to involve refugees in the design of the project and implementation of the project, and also in the impact evaluation at the end of the project.”
Akhtar Akhgar is the Project Manager for the Talent Together project
The Global Refugee Forum – an international high-level forum that takes place every four years – brings together refugees, states, civil society organizations, the private sector and other stakeholders to pledge to take concrete action to strengthen refugee inclusion, more equitably share responsibility for hosting refugees and to foster long-term solutions.
The goal of the project is to help refugees living in Lithuania to develop their skills and to build their capacities to start a business in Lithuania
In addition to tangible support provided by the Refugee Council of Lithuania through projects such as Talent Together, the fact that the organization is refugee-led has brought the Refugee Council to being touted as a positive example for others to follow. In early 2023, the Refugee Council was one of 17 organizations globally to be awarded by UNHCR’s Refugee-Innovation Fund for its work to ensure that refugee communities take the center stage in addressing and finding innovative solutions to the challenges faced by refugees.
Lina Grudulaite, Director of the Refugee Council of Lithuania, explained that, “Refugees are seen as the victims, or sometimes people see them as a danger. So, we thought that working in a refugee-led organization, we can change the discourse.”
“For myself, it really means a lot to be useful to the society and the refugee community,” said Violetta. “Since I’m a refugee myself, I hope that I can understand the difficulties and that I can be useful for the society.”
