Laboratory of Ideas for Resilience (for Ukrainian community)

The project “Laboratory of Ideas for Resilience: Strengthening Resilience and Media Literacy of the Ukrainian Community in Lithuania 2.0″ helps members of the Ukrainian community in Lithuania develop and implement their own initiatives aimed at countering disinformation, strengthening media literacy and encouraging civic participation. It combines training, collaborative idea development, a mini-grants competition, mentorship and practical implementation support.

The programme includes the presentation of research findings, idea-generation workshops, an open call for community initiatives, and training in project management, budgeting and pitching. Selected participants also receive mentorship and support while implementing their initiatives across Lithuania.

Ten selected grantees receive €2,000 each to implement their initiatives within two months, as well as access to training, mentorship and a network of active community members. Initiatives may include workshops, training sessions or games on fake news and manipulation, educational activities for different age groups, fact-checking and digital-security guides, public discussions, film screenings, thematic clubs, information campaigns and local communication initiatives.

The project is aimed at Ukrainians living in Lithuania who are motivated to develop initiatives strengthening media literacy, critical thinking and resilience to disinformation. Participants may include community activists, volunteers, educators, creatives, media professionals, students and people from various professional backgrounds.

Previous project-writing experience is not required, as participants receive training and support throughout the process. Depending on the selected initiatives, indirect beneficiaries include teenagers, young people, parents, older people and the wider Ukrainian community in Lithuania.

A total of 26 project ideas were submitted to the mini-grant competition. Of these, 25 passed the technical evaluation and 22 passed the expert evaluation. The final pitching session took place on August 13. To ensure a transparent and democratic selection process, projects were evaluated both by an expert jury and by the pitching participants themselves.

Ten initiatives were selected to receive €2,000 mini-grants and implementation support:

1. Anastasiia Vasylenko – True Tales Lab: Kazka vs Fake
2. Elvira Drozdova – Thinking Beyond the Scroll (Medijų raštingumas, kritinis mąstymas ir informacinis atsparumas)
3. Illia Abeliashev – Beyond the Headlines: Playback Theatre for Critical Thinking
4. Marija Frolova – Media First Aid Kit for Ukrainians in Lithuania: How to Recognise Fakes, Panic Messages and Manipulation
5. Nataliia Osypova – Media Navigator: Critical Thinking and Digital Literacy for Ukrainian Youth in Visaginas
6. Olena Bondaruk – Synthetic Reality: Instructions for Info-Survival
7. Olena Shchedrova – Navigating the Information Space: A Practical Forum for the Ukrainian Community in Western Lithuania
8. Olha Aheieva – Media Compass: Young Voices for a Strong Community
9. Svitlana Kolomeiko – How Not to Go Mad While Keeping Your Sanity: Media Hygiene and Psychological Resilience for Ukrainians in Lithuania
10. Viktoriia Palahniuk – Resilient Minds: Media Literacy and Critical Thinking for Ukrainian Youth in Lithuania

The selected participants will implement their initiatives across Lithuania, with progress and project updates shared through Ukreate Hub’s social media channels.