Youth civic engagement in Lithuania

The article deals with the problem of civic engagement of youth. The participation is examined as a potencial actor for further developments of the civil society in Lithuania. Each chapter of the article attempts to define some aspects of civic engagement. Thus, introduction is devoted for defining actuality of the problem showing that civic participation has become as very important issue in different European countries. And it is reflected in variuos documents, such as: ,,The participation of Citizens in local public life. Recommendation REC (2001)19 and explanatory memorandum, 2002; Revised European Charter on the participation of Young People in Local and regional Life, 2003; Balanced participation of women and men in political and public decision-making. Recommendation REC (2003)3 of the Committee of Ministers and Explanatory memorandum, 2003). Besides that a lot of research studies are devoted to the youth participation and engagement in recent years at national as well as at international level: Young Europeans in 2001; IEA CivEd; ,,Youth in new Europe. Eurobarometer, 2003; Youth Policy and Participation. A comparative analyses in ten European Regions (YOYO), 2004); Extracurriculum Activenes in the Context of Socialisation, 2001; ect. Analyses of the contemporary curriculum for civic education in different countries (the Lithuania is between them) did show that citizenship education is aiming at developing the competencies of civic participation. The phenomena of civic engagement and it's legal determination is disscussed and analysed in the first chapterBielefeld universityVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŠvietimo akademij