The primary goal of public affairs is to influence public policy and opinion by facilitating communication between organizations and stakeholders. All practitioners in this field engage in activities such as lobbying, advocacy, and issue management to ensure that their organization’s voice is heard in the policymaking process. They create strategic communications plans to aid them in this effort, and in JAVLB’s case, also diaspora preparedness and diaspora defense plans.

The JAVLB Public Affairs Council works on an international, national, state and local levels with a twofold mission:

1. Serve as the advocacy arm for Lithuanian Americans; and
2. Maintain ties with key organizations and individuals who influence and impact Lithuania and Lithuanian Americans.

How do we do this and how can you get involved?

Regarding advocacy:

INFORMATION IS POWER

We prepare briefing materials for your use, like these items attached: 2026 Lithuanian American Priorities; Baltic Economics; Lithuanian Jewish Relations.

YOUR VOICE MATTERS

We make it easy for you to contact your elected officials regarding issues of critical importance to Lithuania. Through the generosity of the Lithuanian Foundation, we use Quorum advocacy software. We draft letters that you can customize, and the software directly and immediately identifies your elected officials and sends emails to or helps you to call the ones you choose.

If you want to join our JAVLB Call to Action, all you have to do is send your email address to publicaffairs@javlb.organd we will put you on our Quorum email list, or you can click hereto see our latestQuorum Call to Action.

JOIN FORCES

We work with other key advocacy groups to strengthen and amplify our Lithuanian American voice. Primary groups are:

• Joint Baltic American Council – https://www.jbanc.org/
• Central & East European Coalition – https://www.ceecadvocacy.org
• Lithuanian Honorary Consuls

It is important to note that we strictly abide by rules governing 501(c)3 charitable organizations, and as such, are issue-oriented and information-focused. We are non-partisan and do not support individual candidates or political parties.

Regarding maintaining ties with key organizations and individuals who influence and impact Lithuania and Lithuanian Americans

We monitor and actively engage with key organizations who reflect current priorities of JAVLB. Some examples include:

• The Victims of Communism Museum exhibit “From the Soviet Red Flag to the Lithuanian Tri-Color: 50 Years of Struggle for Freedom” was in Washington DC in 2024 and is now viewable online.
• In an age of disinformation, we are proud to support www.debunk.org.The phenomenon started in 2014 with a group of “Lithuanian elves fighting Russian trolls” and has grown into an internationally acclaimed leader in fighting disinformation in Lithuania and in other pivotal countries around the globe.
• We meet, host programs, and exchange ideas with thinktanks whose work impact Lithuania like: The Foreign Policy Research Institute, the Hudson Institute, Atlantic Council, Center for European Policy Analysis.

We maintain ties with and share information about other Lithuanian-focused organizations with the United States and in Lithuania.

Here you will find the list of Lithuanian Organizations in the U.S.