Report on NGO Capacity-Building Near Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in Lithuania:
The results of ECOLOGIA’s strengthening of Visaginas NGOs

Between October 2000 and March 2001, an international team of ECOLOGIA staff from Lithuania, Russia, and Belarus held three two-day NGO capacity-building trainings in Visaginas.

A central part of the Nuclear Communities in Transition project in Lithuania is strengthening Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) near Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania. A stronger NGO sector will be better able to participate in decision-making about the future development of Visaginas, and to cope with the social effects of the decommissioning (e.g. rising unemployment). NGOs can play a key role in fostering transparent decision-making, creating solutions to challenges that face the community, and gathering community support for efforts to help the town make the economic and social transition away from dependence on a closing nuclear industry.

This report examines the results of ECOLOGIA NGO trainings and work in Visaginas by April 2001.

What are the enduring ways that the NGOs are stronger as a result of the conducted trainings?

It was decided to address this question to Visaginas NGOs. According to their comments and general observations:

1. NGOs have became stronger:

  • Visaginas “Chernobyl” society was not active at all during the last few years. A person who recently moved to Visaginas from Russia attended all three of ECOLOGIA's NGO training seminars, each time expressing her opinion that they are really useful for her. In February she was elected to be a chairman of the society. Because of her influence, the society is becoming active, they are reregistering members, a strategic plan has been developed, they are thinking about establishing an enterprise under the NGO to provide some unemployed members of the “Chernobyl” society with jobs.

  • Russian Cultural Society was registered December 10, 2000. Members of the society were actively attending NGOs trainings.

2. NGOs have united for common work (personal sympathies and antipathies are less important than common goals. More leaders are working together, because the motivation is the same):

  • Scout organization together with the youth organization “Future generation” is planning common participation in the international ecological camp in Sweden.

  • NGO “For the future of Visaginas” together with “Russian Wave” is starting to implement the project financed by Regional Environmental Center (REC) for Local Agenda 21 (LA21) promotion among Visaginas population and has mentioned about the agreement to cooperate with Visaginas NGOs information center.

3. Partnership is stronger not only with other NGOs. First steps are made towards common decision making with businesses and Municipality

  • There was a meeting with businessmen organized in the municipality.

  • The government is preparing to reform educational institutions and Visaginas NGOs are actively involved in discussing the best way how the schools of the town could be restructured.

4. NGOs have acquired strengths to stand their interests on municipal level:

  • During the discussion meeting on LA21 (March 19) the official paper was written requiring involvement of Visaginas community in discussing the governmental Action plan to the Law of INPP 1st reactor decommissioning.

  • Visaginas NGO community are going to write their additions and comments for the Action plan (by May 1, 2001).

  • In accordance with the recommendations of the participants of ECOLOGIA's second LA21 working meeting, the Municipality Council approved the Aalborg Charter (European Sustainable Cities) and offered Mayor to sign it. The signing is going to be supervised by the LA21 initiative group.

5. Better co-operation with Municipality Council

  • Municipality council representatives participated in two LA21 working meetings organized by ECOLOGIA in follow-up discussion meetings on LA21 and in the last NGOs training.

  • Memorandum on sustainable development planning and vision for Visaginas' future, created by citizens at an ECOLOGIA seminar, was signed by the City Council

6. It was said “We are ready to work as initiative group for the development and implementation of LA21 for Visaginas to become a model territory of Baltic Agenda 21”

  • One man took initiative to write an LA21 plan which was approved as a basis document for further work by the participants of ECOLOGIA's seminar on March 24.

  • The most initiative people recently started having regular meetings on LA21 and are planning to have a meeting each week in the future. These people form Community Council.

7. NGOs are better in finding their way in the variety of foundations. Several organizations are writing or have already written project proposals to some foundations.

8. Visaginas NGOs perceive themselves as a part of Lithuanian third sector and third sector of the world.

  • NGOs have acquired general education/knowledge about the Third sector.

  • Society of Ukrainians has developed contacts with other Ukrainian societies in Lithuania and abroad.

  • Several NGOs have set up and maintain relations with foreign NGOs

9. Participants start to feel “We are becoming a town community”, they want to work together and jointly solve the problems.

10. The conference organized by ECOLOGIA and “Atgaja” in February 2000 was the incitement to create the Association for Social Security of INPP Region Population. (Members are Visaginas, Zarasai and Ignalina Mayors, INPP trade union, Greens. The chairman is Mayor of Visaginas. They have done a lot to implement the idea of purposive INPP region, that would allow receive more direct financing from EU.)

In what specific ways have the NGO trainings strengthened the Visaginas community's ability to deal with the social effects of the closure of Ignalina NPP?

The trainings strengthened confidence of NGOs that their role can be important in transition period.

1. Participation in LA21 process – NGOs make important steps to create their own future

2. Activity of NGOs has risen – new NGOs were created, some NGOs have started working more actively; people are writing projects, receiving grants

3. More communication and co-operation between NGOs

4. NGOs got informed about the Visaginas NGOs information center

(The last two statements during the discussion were generalized as “impression of NGOs coalition”)

What are the primary challenges that remain for Visaginas NGOs?

1. There can be some conflict between some people and organizations. This conflict has reduced already to some extent.

2. Visaginas NGOs should integrate into Lithuanian NGOs sector. Some improvements can be seen here. For example mutual macro project of Visaginas NGOs center with Kaunas Municipal teaching center for distant learning (contact was initiated via REC); some new ideas about Lithuanian language learning. Here the good contacts of ECOLOGIA with Visaginas NGOs could also be mentioned.

ECOLOGIA continues working on NGO capacity building and public participation near Ignalina nuclear power plant.

This report was written by Kristina Vilimaite, Lithuanian National Coordinator for the Nuclear Communities in Transition project. The report is a result of discussions between ECOLOGIA and Ecoline staff from Lithuania, Belarus, and Russia, and with NGO participants at the March 2001 NGO training in Visaginas.

April 2001
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Last updated: April 2001         Please make comments & report problems to the Webmaster