Kurk Lietuvai (in English: ''Create Lithuania''), also known as KurkLT, is a strategic government initiative focused on fostering innovation and implementing best practices within the Lithuanian public sector. It is part of

Invest Lithuania Invest Lithuania (Lithuanian: Investuok Lietuvoje) is the national investment promotion agency responsible for the attraction and retention of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Lithuania. The agency provides free-of-charge services to companies ...

, country's foreign investment agency. This is the only program of its kind in Lithuania with few equivalents abroad. Multiple Lithuanian politicians have praised it for effectiveness and results. UN and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

reports have identified Create Lithuania as a good example for other countries to follow.

History

The program was created in 2012 as an attempt to establish a mechanism of innovation in Lithuanian public sector. In the early years of the program, it was co-financed by

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. The program initially targeted young Lithuanian professionals with considerable foreign experience and attempted to attract them to Lithuania. Many participants have been educated at primarily foreign universities, e.g.

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

and others.

Past projects

During the first 6 years of its existence, the program successfully implemented 180 projects. During the first decade – about 300. Since 2022, multiple projects were aimed at improving conditions for

Ukrainian refugees Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

and rebuilding Ukraine

post-war In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

. Create Lithuania has contributed to the creation of Lithuanian deposit-refund system, which became one of the most successful in Europe with higher than 90% return rate. Lithuanian Startup Visa system was co-created by Create Lithuania and launched in 2017. In 2019, 62 startups applied to relocate to Lithuania on Startup Visa, 18 of which were approved. In its projects, Create Lithuania has also partnered with private companies, e.g.

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

and Oxylabs. Create Lithuania reports have been frequently featured as sources in a variety of government documents, scholarly papers and

PhD dissertation A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

s. As of 2024, the program has received multiple awards, including Innovation in Politics Award and Reves Excellence. Multiple other projects have been nominated for Innovation in Politics awards. KurkLT projects have also won

Project Management Institute The Project Management Institute (PMI, legally Project Management Institute, Inc.) is a U.S.-based not-for-profit professional organization for project management. Overview PMI serves more than five million professionals including over 680,00 ...

awards for Lithuania's best public sector initiatives.

Structure

Every year, the program selects about 20 participants for an annual work contracts that begin in September. The program targets

Lithuanian diaspora Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Ame ...

and Lithuanians with extensive experience abroad, but is open to everyone.

Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos užsienio reikalų ministerija) is a governmental body of the Republic of Lithuania that shapes the national policy, and organises, coordinates, and controls ...

and Lithuanian embassies assist in recruiting the candidates. Create Lithuania has had Lithuanians from all continents, also from countries not well known for Lithuanian diaspora like

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. The program consists of two 6 month long projects in the Lithuanian public sector and its ministries and organizations. The projects are typically tailored to candidate's education, skills and interests. Therefore, there is a lot of variation in project areas – education, immigration, gender equality, finance, defense, business environment, city planning etc. In the past, KurkLT projects and their results have been presented to Lithuanian ministers, prime minister, presidents, Government Chancellor and various heads of government institutions.

Former participants

Majority of former participants moved to Lithuania for the program and about 80% of them stay in Lithuania long-term. After the program, many take jobs in the public sector and former participants include multiple current or former deputy ministers, ministers, deputy mayors, heads of governmental institutions, presidential advisers, multiple advisers to the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, members of Parliament and European commissioner. Notable former participants include MP Lukas Savickas, author and European Commissioner

Virginijus Sinkevičius Virginijus Sinkevičius (born 4 November 1990) is a Lithuanian politician who has been serving as European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries in the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen since 2019. He previously ...

. Other past participants went to the private sector, e.g.

, Goodwin Procter, SEB Group and others. Several former members have received national

order for merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by ...

awards. The program has an active

alumni network Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

for former members. Alumni Network is active in Lithuanian society and has done projects with Rotary, , Lithuanian Food bank and others.

References

External links