Vilnius, Lithuania

In Lithuania, participatory budgeting is quite a popular citizen participation method, as well as public consultations and town hall meetings. But more advanced engagement methods, like deliberative processes, haven't been implemented yet. Lithuania is now catching up with its neighbours in the region, who have been implementing assemblies since 2016.

Since 2019 Vilnius municipality has been testing various forms of citizen participation in urban planning. The most recent examples have involved process-driven participation sprints to create visions and guidelines for change in public spaces. These sprints may last from 2 months to 1 year involving online and street surveys, creative workshops, pop-up project discussions, street festivals, and so on. Some of these include:

• Jomanto Park visioning workshop
• The future of Fairy Park
• Resident Consultation - Cycling trail in Antakalnis

Onboarding evening - 24 September 2025

The first session took place on a Wednesday evening to kick off the process, allowing assembly members to get to know one another and hear from the Chief City Architect as well as the organising team and facilitators. They were introduced to the assembly process, how it would work and why their contributions were both needed and highly valuable to the municipality.

Learning phase

Session 1 - 27 September 2025

During the first session, assembly members spent time getting to know each other in plenary and in small groups. They were introduced to the facilitation team, the evaluators, volunteers, and organisers. They also learned more about the goals of the assembly then started learning about the assembly topic from JUDU Vilnius’ mobility department. They were introduced to the city’s Sustainable Mobility Plan and heard from 5 commentators (transportation engineers, urbanists, academics). These included:

• Prof. Dr. Egidijus Rimkus, Vilnius University, Department of Hydrology and Climatology
• Dr. Rasa Ušpalytė-Vitkūnienė, Vilnius TECH, Department of Roads
• Dr. Jonė Vitkauskaitė-Ramanauskienė, Kaunas University of Technology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts
• Dr. Ieva Misiūnė, Vilnius University, Department of Geography and Landscape Planning
• Donatas Baltrušaitis, urban planner, head of “Bauland”

Session 2 - 4 October 2025

Assembly members spent a full day visiting Vilnius’ Railway Museum and the "Smoke Factory," hearing presentations from eight community representatives. This included:

• Ignas Valentinavičius, Vilnius City Municipality Administration
• Neringa Kleniauskienė, Chairperson of the Balsiai Community
• Jonas Ragaišis, Vilnius City Elders' Association
• Augustina Aleknaite and Anabela Vaitkevičiūtė, Vilnius Youth Organizations Union "Apskritas Stalas" and Youth Environmental Organization "GenGamta"
• Maksimas Zacharovas, New Vilnius City Community
• Adomas Bukauskas, Lithuanian Union of People with Disabilities
• Justas Ingelevičius, Lithuanian Cyclists' Association
• Jonas Vincas Banaitis, Physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor

Between the morning and afternoon sessions, assembly members traveled by train to Naujoji Vilnia, a practical experience in sustainable mobility that allowed them to ride the local rail transport as part of the public transport system.

After the presentations, a question-and-answer session took place, during which participants, together with experts and representatives of civil society organizations, discussed the key challenges that had been identified. Assembly members continued filling in the “Challenges and Changes” sheets, recording the ideas and insights they had heard.

This was followed by the interactive game of “Bingo,” the aim of which was to visualize a shared map of how challenges and changes are perceived and to identify gaps in the insights.

The second session ended with short films from the International Cycling Film Festival, which creatively explored different transportation modes and their urban role, encouraging participants to reflect on mobility culture from a new perspective.

Developing recommendations

Session 3 - 18 October 2025

The third session marked a shift from analyzing mobility challenges to developing concrete solutions that would encourage residents to choose public transport, walking, or cycling more often.

JUDU presented Vilnius's 2050 mobility vision, covering:

1. Safer pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure;
2. Climate neutrality;
3. New transport modes;
4. Improved city connections;
5. Enhanced public transport accessibility.

Assembly members then worked in small groups to develop mobility visions for each of the five categories.

Based on these visions and information gathered in previous sessions, assembly members began drafting initial recommendations. Groups formulated specific problem definitions, possible solutions, and the expected impacts on residents.

Session 4 - 8 November 2025

The fourth session focused on systematically refining and evaluating the 67 draft recommendations from Session 3.

Assembly members worked through a structured review process, first individually, then in pairs to identify themes and overlaps, and finally in groups of three to resolve ambiguities and strengthen recommendations.

Traffic light assessment

Recommendations were categorised by consensus level:

• Green: Clear and agreed upon—ready for municipal expert review
• Yellow: Requires additional information or discussion
• Red: Lacks clarity or consensus—postponed for further work

Assembly members then refined the wording and structure of recommendations with facilitator support, concluding with a collective review of all "green" recommendations to confirm readiness for the final stage.

Session 5 - 29 November 2025

The fifth session focused on formulating and voting on final recommendations. The goal was to ensure all recommendations were clear, logical, well-reasoned, and based on consensus.

Before this session, assembly members received written feedback on each of the draft recommendations from a working group of municipal staff working across various departments.

The feedback group met twice, each session was 2h long. First meeting was November 12th, second - November 17th

The group was composed of municipal department managers whose work aligns with the recommendation topics. The group included the chief architect and her advisors, the JUDU Strategic Department, the Chief City Sustainability Officer, the Infrastructure Department, Environment Department, and the Strategic Department.

They were asked to give feedback on:

1. Strategic alignment
   1. Does the recommendation address the assembly’s question?
   2. Does the recommendation align with the Vilnius Sustainable Mobility Plan?
2. Legal and administrative alignment
   1. Does the recommendation fall under the municipality’s jurisdiction and functions?
   2. Is it clear which department should be responsible for the recommendation?
   3. How long would it take for the city to implement the recommendation?
3. Clarity and relevance
   1. Is the recommendation clear and not too broad?
   2. Are the metrics for measuring the implementation of the recommendation clear?

Assembly members worked in small groups of 5-6 people to refine recommendations based on feedback from the municipality, strengthening their argumentation and structure. The revised recommendations were compiled into a single digital document for collective review, allowing assembly members to assess the overall results and ensure quality and consensus before voting.

Final evaluation: Three-colour card method

Assembly members evaluated each recommendation using coloured cards:

• Green: Agree, clear, logical, and acceptable without amendments
• Yellow: Minor wording refinement needed
• Red: Fundamentally disagree, cannot support this formulation

For yellow cards, the group sought minimal corrections to reach consensus.

Voting process

The final recommendations were approved through anonymous voting using the digital platform, Slido, to ensure participants could express their opinions freely without peer pressure. Participants voted by using their smart phones, while those without smartphones used computers. Results were displayed immediately on a large screen at the front of the room for everyone to see.

A recommendation was adopted if it received at least 70% support from assembly members who voted. This consensus threshold, rather than a simple majority, ensured recommendations reflected broad agreement among participants.

Abstention was not counted in the support percentage, meaning the percentage reflects only those who voted "FOR" versus "AGAINST" each recommendation.

Session 6 - 10 December 2025

On December 10 2025, assembly members presented their final recommendations to Vilnius City Vice Mayor Andrius Grigoronis, symbolically concluding the assembly process.

During the ceremony, assembly members reviewed the assembly's progress, highlighted key challenges and achievements, and presented the main directions of their recommendations for improving urban mobility. The Vice Mayor thanked assembly members for their active involvement and responsibility, emphasizing that the recommendations would provide significant insight for municipal decision-making.

The ceremony marked an important step in strengthening resident involvement in city policy formation.

As two assembly members were more comfortable speaking Polish and Ukrainian than Lithuanian, facilitators ensured they could participate fully and seamlessly in the process. Both were provided with translators who live-translated presentations and assisted them in small-group discussions.

Assembly members were also paid for their time. Each member was paid 250 euros in compensation in three instalments.

How will the municipality implement the recommendations?

The recommendations will inform municipal decisions on mobility challenges, drawing on residents' experience, arguments, and consensus. Municipal departments and institutions will assess recommendations according to their competencies, analysing feasibility, potential impact, and alignment with city strategic documents and existing measures. JUDU and Vilnius’ Strategic Planning Division are committed to systematically integrating recommendations into planning, budgeting, and implementation processes where possible.

Review and decision-making process

• January 2026: Recommendations reviewed by Vilnius’ Strategic Planning Division who will analyze each recommendation and propose how it can be implemented: connecting it to strategic documents, budgets, timing, and the responsible department or municipal organization. This will serve as an implementation plan for the recommendations.
• February-March 2026: Implementation plan shared with relevant departments, municipal companies, and the public

Monitoring implementation

To ensure transparency and public accountability, two monitoring reports will be published:

• March 2026 (3 months post-assembly): Report on recommendation implementation, including public summary and presentation
• December 2026 (1 year post-assembly): Progress report assessing recommendation usage, reviewing early impact signs, and providing insights for further action

This monitoring process ensures the citizens' assembly is not a one-off project, but an ongoing democratic dialogue that strengthens resident trust and sets a precedent for future assemblies in Vilnius.

The municipality communicated widely about the assembly. They placed posters around the city to announce the process, posted on social media, and organised interviews with key people in the core team on local radio and in the media.

The journalist collective NARA followed the assembly closely, observing the assembly, interviewing organisers, representatives from the municipality, and assembly members.

A short documentary about the assembly has been produced by local film maker Deividas Autukas and will be made available in late March 2026.

The random selection tool Panelot was used to select the final assembly members.

Assembly members formally voted on final recommendations by phone or computer using Slido, a website that enabled anonymous voting with results displayed immediately.

• How well the participant selection reflected Vilnius's diversity
• Whether the governance structure worked effectively
• If the assembly's purpose and questions were clear to all involved
• Whether the duration was appropriate for the complexity of the mobility topic

• Learning quality: How diverse and balanced was the information provided to participants?
• Deliberation quality: Whether discussions were inclusive, respectful, and well-facilitated
• Participant retention: Why some participants stayed engaged while others may have dropped out
• Communication: How well participants and the public were kept informed throughout

The evaluation will assess impact on multiple stakeholder groups:

• On participants: Changes in their sense of civic empowerment, trust in government, and attitudes toward different social groups
• On public transport policy: Whether and how the assembly's recommendations influenced actual mobility decisions in Vilnius
• On organisers/municipality: Changes in their attitudes toward citizen engagement and the likelihood of using similar processes again
• On Vilnius residents broadly: Effects on public trust in government and views on citizen assemblies as a democratic tool

The municipality has expressed interest in institutionalising this model of citizen deliberation to address other key challenges in the city. In December 2025, DemocracyNext facilitated a workshop with the Head of Vilnius’ Strategic Planning Division, advisors to the Chief City Architect, as well as organisers and facilitators of the assembly to explore steps towards institutionalisation. Some ideas that emerged included:

• A mandate that a citizens’ assembly must take place in the lead up to amending the city’s long-term strategic plan to ensure it reflects the diverse perspectives of Vilnius’ inhabitants.
• Implementing smaller, shorter assemblies that could be organised more frequently on the district or neighbourhood level to tackle specifically challenging projects that impact the public realm. This would complement existing forms of participation that the city relies on but would introduce sortition and deliberation.
• Establishing a dedicated internal team to organise and implement assemblies on a regular basis

The evaluation prepared by Vilnius University will also provide further guidance on how deliberative democracy practices could be integrated into decision-making processes in Vilnius.

By the end of January 2026: Vilnius’ Strategic Department will analyse each recommendation and propose how they can be implemented: connecting them to strategic documents, budgets, timing and the responsible departments or municipal organization. This will serve as an implementation plan for the recommendations. This will be confirmed by the Vice Mayor.

March 2026: The implementation plan will be presented to relevant stakeholders and published publicly.

With a population of over 600.000 and the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius serves as the political, cultural, and economic heart of the country. The city has a rich history, with its origins dating back to the early 14th century, as the centre of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Historically, Vilnius has been a melting pot of various cultures and ethnicities, including Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Polish, Jewish, Russian, and Belarusian communities.

Today, the city features one of the largest and best-preserved medieval old towns in Europe, recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has also become a hub for digital nomads in recent years, with areas like the New City Center having transformed into bustling business districts with modern skyscrapers, while neighbourhoods like Užupis offer charm with its unique cultural and historical identity. Overall, Vilnius is characterised by its blend of historical significance and contemporary urban life.

Vilnius, like many other post-Soviet-era cities, also faces the challenge of transforming its infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing, 21st century European capital city. Mobility has been an increasingly contentious topic in Vilnius. Reducing car-dependence to tackle greenhouse emissions while ensuring equal access to multiple mobility options in every part of the city is something the municipality is struggling with. This is why it is turning to its citizens to find a way forward.