AY EcoHealth is an AY Institute team focused on addressing both environmental and health challenges, focusing on mental, physical, and environmental well-being.

Our Lithuania-based organization has a broad international reach, and has been a dynamic participant in local and international projects. Since 2014, AY has successfully implemented over 60 project actions independently and many more as a partner, earning top evaluations. Our extensive global partnership network, comprising over 700 organizations, and membership in Lithuania’s Youth Board (LiJOT), are testaments to our influential role in driving change.

EcoHealth is dedicated to both environmental sustainability and health. We emphasize the importance of sustainable impact, compassion for our target groups and stakeholders, and a can-do attitude that sees opportunities in challenges.

The team comprises professionals with proven success in fields related to youth work, environment, climate, and sports. Backed by a vast pool of over 1000 volunteers and potential partners, we ensure smooth project implementation and effective dissemination to reach our target audiences.

EcoHealth undertakes projects that address demanding and sensitive issues, including plastic waste and promoting inclusive physical activity. We aim to demonstrate that sports and environmental stewardship are not just about achievements but about personal growth, community building, and creating a more inclusive, healthy society. Our approach integrates non-formal education methods, including sports, to engage youth actively and promote a healthy, sustainable lifestyle.

AY Institute has lengthy experience in running youth projects (sport, ESC, and others). Up until now, the organization has successfully implemented (getting just the highest scores from the evaluators) more than 6o separate project actions on its own (and several times that as a partner). One of the main AY Institute priorities are sustainability, healthy lifestyle and well-being of the society.

A few concrete examples of project in the field of sustainability:

• Launching the first mobile climate museum in the Baltics (within EUKI framework)
• Erasmus+ youth exchange “Eco-Friendly Europe”, united young adults to tackle/address environmental problems that are acute in the participating countries. Participants were discussing and searching for solutions for making our lives more sustainable and friendlier to the environment.
• Erasmus+ youth exchange “Cycle and the City” mission was to promote cycling as a healthy, sustainable and fun alternative to cars.
• Erasmus+ Capacity Building in the field of youth “Save The Ocean” has a goal to take a small step towards better habits & a cleaner ocean. It raises awareness about existing issues and involves youth in the creation of a sustainable world
• Erasmus+ Capacity Building in the field of youth  “The Circle of Fashion” – The project aim is to introduce people to sustainable/ethical fashion, conscious clothing and to show possible ways to protect the environment.
• Erasmus+ KA205 “Wear(e)able” supports the wave of commitment by young people and focuses on environmental protection with the issue of sustainable clothing. 
• A platform for sustainable events and travelling – Tvariau.lt
• F*CK CO2 platform – it’s a platform that allows you to donate to a project that reduces our CO2 footprint by hundreds of thousands of kilograms.

Some concrete examples of projects related to physical health, sports & inclusion:

• Erasmus+ Big Collaborative Sports project – “Empowerment Through Sports” aimed to create contact between different social groups by using sports as a tool in order to foster social inclusion and make young people understand how minority discrimination works and how to counteract this.
• Erasmus+ Small Collaborative Sports project – “Capoeira Connects Europe” with the main aim to encourage people to engage with their own cultural heritage and to discover all forms of it around the world, thus increasing tolerance, empathy, reducing social exclusion of vulnerable and disadvantaged youth and promoting active and healthy lifestyle.
• Partners in an Erasmus+ Small Collaborative Sports project “Social A.C.T. – Active Cycling Team” which focuses on promoting cycling and motivating to practice physical activity as an integral part of everyday life.
• “Sport Without Boundaries” – the project aimed to increase volunteerism and physical activity of disadvantaged groups living across Europe.
• “SPORTIFICATION” was aimed at increasing, promoting and encouraging participation of young people across the EU in sports and PA activities.
• “Sport as an Equal Playground” aims to bring sports closer to young people with fewer opportunities, who are at a disadvantage compared to their peers.
• “RaceAbility” – the aim of the project is to design and develop sports initiatives in terms of obstacle courses for young adults, with a view to increase the inclusion of young adults in an innovative way.

Some concrete examples of projects related to mental health:

• The main aim of our project “Get Well Together” is to increase the mental well-being of marginalized young people who face more discrimination and exclusion due to Covid-19 through youth work.
• “A Beautiful Mind“ project contributed to the promotion of human rights by increasing the knowledge about mental health between the youngsters and the public overall.
• “Be Kind to Your Mind” with the core goal being to increase knowledge about mental health between youngsters and the general public.
• “Mind full, or Mindful?” aims to raise awareness about mental health among youth and make it one of the top priorities.
• “Dance Against Stressful Situations” – aims to develop a creative approach that may act in the long-term to benefit young people and their well-being while tackling the negative impacts of the current crisis.
• We are also involved in the project “Confident Me” where we work on improving young people’s self-confidence. We work on training and supporting teachers from all around Lithuania, for they can later implement activities in their classrooms.

Our aim is, by definition, to not just address the issue but also inform the local communities about 1) the benefits of such projects; and 2) the seriousness of the issues being brought to light. Therefore, AY EcoHealth pays attention to every detail and carries out the full spectrum of activities – from early research to implementation and result dissemination. Such an approach & competencies are relevant for any project.

The key people involved in this application are Gediminas Kondrackis (board member of AY), Viktorija Florenko (leader of AY EcoHealth) & Stan Karmyšov (a world-class youth trainer). They are accompanied by other staff of the association, who all have international experience.

Gediminas Kondrackis – AY board member and Baltics Sustainability Awards Changemaker of 2022. He brings expertise in finance, organization, and law, with over 50 international and local project contributions. Gediminas focuses on non-formal education methods, continuously updates his knowledge, and possesses skills in online platforms, email automation, and software like Photoshop. Holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Amsterdam.

Viktorija Frolenko – leader at EcoHealth, specializes in Sustainability and Health projects. She worked for three years at the Environmental Protection Institute, where she gained expertise in project development and management. After almost two years, she changed position as a sustainability consultant. As a sustainability consultant, she helped businesses implement sustainable practices. Viktorija’s passion lies in connecting with people and driving change for a better world.

Stan Karmyšov – Youth worker, trainer, and facilitator with vast non-formal education experience. Coordinated 20+ youth exchanges and training courses, including the intergenerational project “Community Seniors Involve International.” Works with senior citizens in health centers, combating loneliness and exclusion. Skilled in multicultural communication and engagement.

Our staff are young leaders with international experience, skilled in communication across cultural and social backgrounds.

Key staff members have participated in:

• Leading seminars on Eco-friendly living for youth.
• Educating youth about Erasmus+ and ESC opportunities.
• Organizing international competitions, social inclusion events, and sports events promoting a healthy lifestyle.
• Previous involvement in ‘Youth in Action’ and Erasmus+ youth exchanges, as well as training courses on ecological sustainability and environmental initiatives.

Their diverse skills and competencies make them highly valuable for our current project.

AY Human is a human rights, equality & equity focused team of AY Institute – a Lithuania-based for-purpose organisation that unites young leaders, thinkers and doers, those who seek change and those who make change.

We think that everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect. The ability to live and work without prejudice is a fundamental right, regardless of your background identity and experiences.

AY Human vision is a world where diverse people are ensured equity and embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.

Our key goals are:

• To educate ourselves, our friends, family and the people we work with on stereotypes, human rights and social issues.
• To advocate for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.
• To use the intersectional approach in our work, so the opportunities we create would be for all people

AY has been actively involved in local and international (youth) projects since 2014. Up until now, the organization has successfully implemented (getting just the highest scores from the evaluators) more than 60 separate project actions on its own (and several times that as a partner). What is more, our NGO has built up a large partnership network worldwide (more than 700 organisations) and belongs to Lithuania’s Youth Board (LiJOT) (a platform for dialogue with decision-makers). All of that can be used for the current project.

In whatever activity we carry out, we follow our 3 core principles:

1. Sustainability – seeking sustainable impact over the long-term
2. Compassion – being open & compassionate to target groups & other stakeholders
3. Can-do attitude – seeing opportunities rather than problems

That is why we focus extensively on having the right team for every project. The people we will be working with (in the current project) are professionals with relevant experience and a record of success. We also rely on a deep pool of volunteers (over 1000) and potential partners to ensure: 1) the project’s implementation goes smoothly; 2) the dissemination efforts reach the specified target groups.

The projects AY takes on, as a rule, focus on demanding and sensitive issues (e.g. discrimination, refugees). Hence, we look forward to the challenges offered by the current project.

AY Institute has lengthy experience in running Erasmus+ projects. Therefore, we know how to chip in at all the steps of the project, starting with the application itself and finishing with result dissemination.  We have carried out projects that have focused on human rights, hate speech, tolerance, and other.

AY Is fighting the issue of discrimination and defending human rights through non-formal education activities.

Some concrete examples:

• “Community: Seniors Involved” aimed to boost youngsters’ empathy, respect and social responsibility concerning older generations, as well as help to tackle the problem of elderly isolation.
• “Capoeira Connects Community” was organised to ensure a continuous and successful social integration of refugees through martial art – capoeira.
• “Young (Ex-)offenders’ Support” – aims to foster employability of young ex-offenders by providing employers, youth/social workers & career specialists with tools to teach, guide & employ this vulnerable group.
• “Lifeboat” aims to contribute to a more equal intercultural and inclusive environment within the youth local communities and involve young refugees/immigrants/asylum-seekers through new innovative methodologies.
• “Silence Hides Violence” – aims to provide knowledge on domestic violence against women & its forms to provide guidelines on how to recognize and speak about it if violence occurs.
• “A Safe Place” – aims to address the widespread phenomenon of domestic violence in the Baltics and, more specifically, aims to support women who are increasingly victims of violence during the ongoing worldwide pandemic.
• “Let’s Turn Discrimination into Tolerance!” youth exchange project was organized in order to spread tolerance for various minorities (sexual, gender, religious, ethnic, etc.) among European youth.
• “Make Love Speech” gathered 30 youth workers to discuss about existing problems of hate speech, racism, and discrimination. It even turned into the movement in Lithuania.

What is more, AY Institute cooperates with other European NGOs and international organizations in hosting and helping others host youth activities in a number of countries, promote cultural diversity and contribute to the positive social changes in the European continent.

Our aim is, by definition, to not just address the issue, but also inform the local communities about 1) the benefits of such projects; and 2) the seriousness of the issues being brought to light. For that reason, AY pays attention to every detail and carries out the full spectrum of activities. From early research to implementation to later stages of result dissemination. Such approach & competences are relevant for any project.

The key people involved in this application are Gediminas Kondrackis (board member of AY), Dominyka Galčiūtė (leader of AY Human) & Stan Karmyšov (a world-class youth trainer). They are accompanied by other association staff, who all have international experience.

Gediminas – AY board member and recipient of the Baltics Sustainability Awards Changemaker title in 2022. With expertise in finance, organization, and legal matters, Gediminas has contributed to over 50 international and local projects. He specializes in non-formal education (NFE) methods and constantly updates his knowledge to ensure its relevance. Additionally, Gediminas possesses versatile technical skills such as building online platforms, automating email systems, and using professional software like Photoshop. Holds a BSc degree in Economics from the University of Amsterdam.

Dominyka – Human Team Lead at AY Institute. She provides guidance to project managers working on various development, opportunity creation, and empowerment projects. She brings extensive experience as a project manager, having worked on Norway Grants and Erasmus+ funded projects. Her expertise ensures effective project implementation and impact.

Stan – Dedicated youth worker, trainer, and facilitator with extensive experience in non-formal education. Coordinated over 20 youth exchanges and training courses, empowering young individuals. Currently leading the “Community Seniors Involve” international project, aiming to reintegrate older generations into societies through youth involvement. Works with senior citizens in health centers, organizing activities to combat loneliness and exclusion. Experienced in multicultural environments, adept at approaching and effectively communicating with culturally diverse individuals.

Our staff members are young leaders who have developed their skills through studies and life experiences in Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Italy, the USA, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Lithuania, and Latvia. This diverse background provides them with a strong educational foundation and effective cross-cultural communication abilities.

In addition to their roles within our organization, our team members have accomplished the following:

• Led seminars for the youth on Eco-friendly living.
• Educated youth about opportunities within Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps (ESC).
• Organized international competitions, social inclusion events, and sports events promoting a healthy lifestyle.
• Participated in previous ‘Youth in Action’ and Erasmus+ youth exchanges, as well as training courses on ecological sustainability and environmental initiatives.

These experiences equip our team members with a wide range of skills and competencies, enhancing their contributions to the current project.

AY Institute (formerly known as Active Youth) is a Lithuania-based for-purpose organisation that unites young leaders, thinkers and doers, those who seek change and those who make change.. We have extensive experience in non-formal education, as well as a range of other topics. Most important among which are sustainability, inclusion & human rights, citizenship & participation.

• Vision: an open society where everyone can realize their potential, critically address challenges, and adapt to a changing world with courage and creativity.
• Mission: educate and empower people to acquire skills relevant to today’s modern world and advocate the need to change & adapt while influencing the future.

Goal objectives:

• Provide opportunities: organize trainings to enhance people’s skills that are needed to develop their career path.
• Empower beneficiaries to boost their self-esteem & find comfort in the unknown.
• Make a positive impact in the EU policy areas and raise awareness of societal adaptation in the changing world while creating new initiatives and building networks.

AY has been actively involved in local and international (youth) projects since the very start of its existence. Up until now, the organization has successfully implemented (getting just the highest scores from the evaluators) more than 70 separate project actions on its own (and several times that as a partner). What is more, our NGO has built up a large partnership network all over Europe (more than 700 organisations) and belongs to Lithuania’s Youth Board (LiJOT) (a platform for dialogue with decision-makers). All that can be used for the current project.

In whatever activity we carry out, we follow our 3 core principles:

1. Sustainability – seeking sustainable impact over the long-term
2. Compassion – being open & compassionate to target groups & other stakeholders
3. Can-do attitude – seeing opportunities rather than problems

That is why we focus extensively on having the right team for every project. The people we will be working with (in the current project) are professionals with relevant experience and a record of success (whether in youth work, digital space and/or media). We also rely on a deep pool of volunteers (over 1000) and potential partners to ensure: 1) the project’s implementation goes smoothly; 2) the dissemination efforts reach the specified target groups.

The projects AY takes on, as a rule, focus on demanding and sensitive issues. Hence, we look forward to the challenges offered by the current project.

AY Institute has lengthy experience in running Erasmus+ projects. Therefore, we know how to chip in at all the steps of the project, starting with the application itself and finishing with result dissemination.  We have carried out projects that have focused on development opportunities, digital tools, research methods, active citizenship and others.

Some concrete examples relevant to youth development:

• “YEES!”  project focuses on establishing connections between relevant sectors and jointly working on increasing employment and employability of youth, creating services and mechanisms that foster local activity level for youth employment and employability.
• “FSC” – project’s overarching objective is to align vocational education and training (VET) with labor market demands. In addition, the project aims to innovate VET with an interactive online application for creating a personal learning journey tailored to the contemporary labor market, which will transform users into holistic new workers.
• “Work-fever“- the objective is to improve youth skills that are likely to be in high demand in the post-coronavirus world.
• The project “Rebuild” was created to enhance the skills of underrepresented young people by providing them with the tools needed to foster innovative forms of civic participation, constructive dialogue, and awareness-raising campaigning.
  

Some concrete examples relevant to digital tools & development:

• “Transforming Covid-19 into an Opportunity” is a project aimed to help youngsters that are affected by Covid-19 by supporting young people in their search for jobs in digital spaces.
• “More Than Reliable Online Education” is a project aimed to support youth centers and youth workers by responding to the issues they have encountered during the COVID-19 situation and provide them with tools to enhance their ability to effectively work with youth and in their communities
• “Communities Driving Change” – the project focuses on empowering citizens by providing them with digital tools to express their needs and opinions.
• Our training course “Let’s Digitalise Youth Organisations” growed digital communication professionals, who could effectively communicate with youth and help NGOs be more visible in the EU.
• We have created online courses for NGOs to make them work more professionally. All the material was created by youth workers that gained digital skills by participating in training courses, Erasmus+ virtual exchanges. 

Some concrete examples relevant to active participation & citizenship:

• “CONTINUE” is supporting young people suffering from social exclusion to tackle the specific challenges of post-COVID times in terms of staying connected and integrated into European communities.
• “FRIDAY” is a project which aim to increase the knowledge of young people about environmental issues; encourage the active participation of young people in the European environmental process and to raise young people’s awareness of the importance of taking action against climate change.
• “Democracy through Dialogue not Conflict” included an international meeting of politicians and youth in the Foreign Affairs’ Ministry of Lithuania. During the meeting, the ways for Eastern Partnership youth to get involved were analysed and best ideas shortlisted.
• A project about civil society “Tavo balsas” took 2 years. The aim of it was to encourage partnerships between public administrations and the local community by creating an inclusive society that uses creativity, motivation and their competencies.

What is more, AY Institute cooperates with other European NGOs and international organizations in hosting and helping others host youth activities in a number of countries, promote cultural diversity and contribute to the positive social changes in the European continent.

Apart from organizing youth exchanges and trainings, our association is also involved in educational activities for little kids, cultural events, blood donations, clothes donations to needy children, sport competitions, quizzes, discussions on themes that are interesting for youth, and other projects aimed to help youngsters, support and facilitate their creative initiatives.

Moreover, during the global health crisis that was caused by Covid-19, AY created a platform (Coronahelpers.lt) which streamlined the search and registration of volunteers who are able to help in the fight with this virus.

The key people involved in this application are Gediminas Kondrackis (board member of AY), Klaudija Samulevičiūtė (leader of AY Skills) & Stan Karmyšov (a world-class youth trainer). They are accompanied by other association staff, who all have international experience.

Gediminas – AY board member and recipient of the Baltics Sustainability Awards Changemaker title in 2022. With experience in finance, organization, and legal matters, Gediminas has contributed to over 50 international and local projects. His focus on non-formal education (NFE) methods and constant knowledge updates make him invaluable to our current projects. Gediminas is also proficient in building online platforms, automating email systems, and utilizing professional software such as Photoshop. He holds a BSc degree in Economics from the University of Amsterdam.

Klaudija – Leader of AY Skills and experienced project manager for 5 years. Managed over 10 projects in AY Institute, emphasizing refugee and migrant integration, sustainability, climate change, and sustainable fashion. Currently leads a team, providing guidance, delegating tasks, and promoting human rights, social entrepreneurship, and leadership.

Stan – A dedicated youth worker, trainer, and facilitator with extensive experience in non-formal education. Stanislav has been involved in over 20 projects as both a facilitator and coordinator. Currently coordinating the “Community Seniors Involve” international project, Stan aims to reintegrate older generations into societies by involving them in activities with youth, fostering a sense of belonging. His work with senior citizens in health centers includes organizing activities to combat loneliness and exclusion. Stan’s multicultural experience equips him with the skills to approach and communicate effectively with culturally diverse individuals.

Our staff members are young leaders who have developed their skills through studies and life experiences in Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Italy, the USA, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Lithuania, and Latvia. This diverse background not only provides them with a strong educational foundation but also enables them to communicate effectively with individuals from different cultural and social backgrounds.

Furthermore, our team members have led seminars to develop entrepreneurial skills, educated children about studying abroad, worked as animators in youth clubs, organized international student competitions and study fairs, facilitated social inclusion programs for foreign students, participated in youth university exchanges, and engaged in various international initiatives. They have also actively participated in previous ‘Youth in Action’ and Erasmus+ projects, attended courses on NFE methods, contributed to human rights initiatives, and supported Ukraine during the “Euromaidan” events. These experiences have equipped them with a wide range of skills and competencies directly applicable to our current project.