From 3 to 29 September, visitors are invited to the international installation “Is My Democracy Your Democracy?”. It will take place at the House of Signatories of the National Museum of Lithuania (Pilies st. 26, Vilnius). More than 30 people from different countries testify about their daily life experiences in totalitarian regimes and the changes after the transition to democracy.

It aims to show that our experiences and expectations of democracy can be very different, and invites us to rethink what democracy means to us personally and what experiences we might share.

The installation takes place in the space of the National Museum of Lithuania’s House of Signatories, surrounded by portraits of the personalities who created modern Lithuania, reminding us that our country was not only created by well-known personalities, men or women, but also by each one of us.

The creators of the installation – civic organisations from 10 European countries, including Lithuania – aim to remind us that democracy requires the active involvement of every citizen. Through interactive exhibits and personal stories, the exhibition encourages us to ask the questions: is my democracy your democracy? What are you prepared to do if it is not?

The exhibition will be accompanied by an educational session for students in grades 8 to 12 (45 minutes) – “Is my democracy your democracy?”. The aim of the education is to provide knowledge about different people’s experiences of transition and tools for students to explore their place in a democratic society and to appreciate the importance of democracy in their daily lives.

Registration for the educational sessions: click here.

The regular fees for the visit to the House Signatories of the National Museum of Lithuania apply to the installation and to the educational activities.

About the organisers and partners of the installation

This installation is part of the international project CHANGING DEMOCRACIES. The project explores how the living history of Europe can help us understand the crisis of democracy. Civil society organisations from Belgium, Croatia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Romania, Spain and Portugal have collected and recorded people’s memories to create a travelling installation and a documentary film. Lithuania is represented in the consortium by the Open Society Foundations.

The National Museum of Lithuania’s House of Signatories is a symbol of the modern Lithuanian state. It is the place where the Act of Independence of Lithuania was signed on 16 February 1918 – the founding document of the idea of freedom of the modern Lithuanian state. It is a museum that reflects on the idea of freedom of the state and the nation, its origins and its contemporary expressions.