The Democracy Development Foundation was founded in 2006. The main goals of this non-profit organization were related to efforts to strengthen democratic institutions, to achieve the realization of solutions that consolidate democracy in the most transparent systems, to promote technological progress and to increase the energy independence of Lithuania and the other Baltic states – in the opinion of the founders of the Foundation, it is necessary in order to free democracies from extremely dangerous shadow influences that drown in corruption.

To achieve these goals, the Foundation publishes an economic and political magazine and organizes forums. In February 2007, the Foundation began publishing the monthly magazine “Valstybė”. This publication sought to educate the Lithuanian elite, encourage them to strive for technological progress, a transparent media business environment and energy independence. In the same year, the first Lithuanian Energy Conference (later renamed the forum “GreenTech Vilnius”) was held. The main goal of this event is to encourage Lithuanian politicians, businesses and society to implement a decisive transformation of the energy sector in order to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, especially gas, in the heating sector to a minimum, and to replace gas with local biofuels. The first Lithuanian Economic Conference organized by the Foundation took place in early 2008. Its main goal is to promote technological and value-based progress in the Lithuanian economy and business. Technological progress should create conditions for the strengthening of the Lithuanian economy and the welfare of society, while a value orientation towards the most advanced countries, including Scandinavia, would allow transforming the economic and social system in order to combine progress with social solidarity. In the opinion of the founders of the Foundation, this is extremely important in order to prevent external forces from opposing and dividing and taking over our democracy.

The founders of the Foundation consider it a success that although the Lithuanian district heating industry was one of the most dependent on gas supplied by Gazprom, due to the consistent activities of the Foundation and its founders, today the Lithuanian district heating industry is mainly based on biofuel. We also consider it a partial success that after ten years of continuous efforts, today we can state that a layer of leaders has finally formed in Lithuanian politics who are able to understand that solidarity, including in the matter of taxes, is extremely important in order to create a strong and progressive civil democracy.

The greatest defeat of the Foundation can be called the complete failure of 15 years of consistent efforts to unite democratic forces in Lithuania and neighboring countries to implement systemic solutions that would clarify the media market, reduce the influence of oligarchic and Russia-related structures on the information space, society and elite values. Another failure is the insufficient progress in encouraging the formation of business leadership capable of caring for democratic transparency, independent media and the consolidation of state independence, including energy independence. This can be explained by the fact that it is the media business environment and the values ​​of business leaders that are constantly in the crosshairs of destructive and corrupt forces seeking to take over states from within.

Today, the most important goal set by the Foundation is related to efforts to prevent fossil and nuclear fuel concerns and the states oriented towards them, often dictatorial ones, from turning the fight against climate change into a tool for an energy invasion of the democracies of the European Union. We must try to mobilize democratic forces to create an energy system oriented towards renewable energy and technological progress and prevent this green and safe future from being replaced by the future symbolized by Gazprom gas and Rosatom nuclear reactors, with which they are trying to build the European Union and its borders.

The Democracy Development Fund was founded and is headed by Eduardas Eigirdas and Almantas Gliožeris, media professionals who headed the first commercial and informational radio station in Lithuania until 2006. Before that, E. Eigirdas was also the long-time publisher and editor of the first political weekly “Atgimimas”.

The foundation’s activities were initially financed by the personal funds of its contributors, and in recent years the Foundation has been trying to sustain itself by bringing together responsible businesses and institutions to support its projects, the goals of which are best defined by the words “progress”, “independence” and “unity”.