Needs of Lithuanian rural leaders for co-operation with non-govermental European rural development organizations

Straipsnyje nagrinėjama, kiek Lietuvos kaimo bendruomenių, kitų visuomeninių organizacijų aktyvistai bei įvairius projektus kaime vykdantys asmenys yra informuoti apie kaimo raidos klausimais Europoje dirbančių tarptautinių bei atskirų užsienio šalių visuomeninių organizacijų veiklą, taip pat pateikiama jų poreikio žinioms ir bendravimui analizė. Aptariamos pagrindinės priežastys, stabdančios Lietuvos ir užsienio šalių kaimo lyderių bendradarbiavimo plėtrą, nurodomi pageidaujami bendradarbiavimo būdai ir aktualiausios problemos, kurių sprendimo patirtį būtų pageidaujama perimti. Straipsnis parengtas, remiantis 2001 m. gegužės mėn. Naujos ekonomikos instituto atliktos Lietuvos kaimo lyderių apklausos duomenimis.The sector of social economy is not strong in Lithuania. Especially it is weak in the rural areas. One of the most important reasons for such situation is the lack of information on the activities of rural development movements in other countries. The article deals with the analysis of the Lithuanian rural leaders' knowledge about the activities of European rural development NGOs and their needs to cooperate with foreign organizations. The article is based on questionnaire data obtained from 96 activists of rural communities and others rural NGOs, and local experts working with rural development projects. The research was done in May 2001 by the New Economy Institute. The data show that the Lithuanian rural leaders are very interested in the co-operation with the foreign rural development NGOs, however, the poor knowledge of English and the financial problems related to the costs of travelling and implementation of the joint projects are the most important troubles. The membership fees and financial support, which Lithuanian rural development NGOs occasionally receive from international charity funds are not enough to develop cooperation with foreign organizations. The conclusion is that the permanent governmental financial support is necessary for the efficient and systematically spreading of foreign experience, which can promote the strengthening of the civil rural development movement in Lithuania