I know what I m voting for

Guoda Vaitiekute and Ausrine Dirzinskaite, coordinators of ‘I Know What I’m Voting For’ (Žinau, ką renku), shared the history of their organisation and the challenges they’ve faced along the way.

How does an informal group of young people become a major political watchdog organisation?

We started about 10 years ago with a simple idea – to make politicians more accountable for their words. In our opinion, direct communication is the best approach so, with Erasmus+ support, we began organising workshops for young people and impartial debates for politicians. We started with around 17 debates in 2015, expanded to 30 in 2016, and now, in 2024, we host up to 50 debates per month. The actual watchdog part, monitoring politicians’ pledges, began around five years ago.

What does the watchdog part look like?

During the debates, we ask politicians to make three pledges they will fulfil if elected. If a pledge is too vague, like ‘I’m going to be a nice mayor’, we search other sources for more concrete things this candidate has pledged. We record these pledges on our website for everyone to see, and over time, we check if they are being fulfilled. For instance, if a pledge is to build something, we check public documents to see if the budget has been allocated for that project, if construction plans exist, if the plot of land has been chosen, and so on. Then, we score each politician based on whether their pledges are fulfilled, fulfilled partially, not fulfilled, or if the pledge could not have been fulfilled due to external factors, like the COVID pandemic.

What were the biggest early challenges, and how did you deal with them?

At first, it was difficult to get politicians to participate. Only about 30% of invited politicians would attend our debates, and they often asked which party we worked for, or how we could be truly impartial. We were very persistent, though. We called, wrote, and met with political parties to explain who we were. We concluded partnerships with universities and student councils and with organisations like the Central Electoral Commission, which helped ensure our credibility. Over time, we became well-known in the NGO world, and the politicians themselves realised that our debates offered a good platform to present themselves. Furthermore, if most candidates participate in pre-election debates, those who decline may seem less committed to the election. Nowadays, about 90% of politicians respond to our invitations, and we even receive emails from them asking us for the debate schedule. We also have good contacts within all the political parties in our country, so if a politician does not reply, we can contact the party officials and ask for assistance.

How do you manage to organise so many debates with so many politicians?

We are an informal network with volunteers all across the country. We invite journalists as moderators for our debates, but otherwise, everything is driven by and organised by volunteers. We coordinate the network and provide training sessions on practical things ranging from organising debates to communicating with politicians. We also have a mentor system where experienced volunteers guide newcomers. After events, we hold reflection sessions and distribute questionnaires to volunteers and other participants.

How does the decision-making process work within the network?

We have volunteer groups in different towns and municipalities in charge of organising political debates. The network is initiative driven; if someone wants to hold a debate or an education session in a school, they search our volunteer network for someone with the relevant skills or experience.

How do you communicate with all your volunteers and mentors?

Since young people respond more quickly on social media, we use a lot of Facebook Messenger chats and Google Sheets for coordination.

How do you find volunteers to join your network?

From the very beginning, we wanted to help more young people become as involved as ourselves. We stay in contact with youth organisations and hold educational sessions in schools about civic engagement and politics. Many young people, who are interested in politics and want to be a part of public life, come directly to us. We promote ourselves on social media platforms popular among young people in Lithuania, such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Current volunteers also often invite friends who share similar interests.

After so many years and with so many political connections, how do you stay impartial?

On a technical level, all our volunteers sign an agreement stating that, while participating in our network, they won’t be joining, promoting, or helping any political parties, and will act objectively and equally towards all of the candidates and parties. When we organise debates, we ensure that every candidate is invited and given an equal opportunity to participate.
On a personal level, when we first started, we were just young people who thought all politicians were liars, thieves, and we would show them how stupid they were. Because, like many youngsters, we felt like we already had everything figured out. Over time, our perspective shifted – we realised there are good politicians who genuinely want to make a difference, and that not everyone we admire is perfect, nor everyone we dislike is wrong.

Do you often encounter issues with politicians?

Mostly, it’s when some politicians feel that we were not impartial towards them. Impartiality is super important to us, so all our debates are broadcast, and in such cases we always provide the recording and ask them to pinpoint the exact moment. So far, we have left on good terms with all the politicians.
Another challenge is when some politicians write or even call our volunteers directly, asking to give them debate questions in advance. Some volunteers, especially younger ones, have never spoken to a politician before, so this situation could be intimidating. Usually, we encourage our volunteers to find their own solutions, but in uncomfortable situations like these, we help volunteers come up with a response, discuss appropriate behaviour for both sides, or even intervene directly.

What impact do you think your work has on political life in Lithuania?

We can see that more young people are choosing to vote. Of course, we don’t claim full credit, but based on our post-event questionnaires, most people say that our debates have helped them decide who to vote for and whether to vote at all.

What advice would you give to others wanting to start similar projects?

Every country has its own political and cultural specifics, which you should carefully consider. The progress can be slow at first, so don’t give up. Our first five to seven years were hard work with little visible impact. And if you need help, write to us! We are happy to talk to you and offer advice.

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