Nominees for Global Lithuanian Awards 2021 Announced

2021-12-17

The nominees for the tenth Global Lithuania Awards have been officially announced on December 8. The jury selected 18 stories from more than 60 potential candidates to compete in five categories. The prize, a statue created by the sculptor S. Žirgulis, will be awarded during an official Awards ceremony, taking place on December 29. The awards ceremony will be broadcast live on LRT Plus.

“This year, we looked at the term “Global Lithuania” in a broader sense – as a strengthening of Lithuania’s internationality. We honored not only the Lithuanians living abroad bringing international experience to Lithuania but also the foreign friends living in Lithuania strengthening our country’s global position with their unique business ideas and creative work, ”said Aušra Kukelkaitė, CEO of GLL.

At the end of December, the winners will be announced in the categories “Global Experience for Change in Business”, “Global Experience for Change in Science”, “Lithuanian Ideas Go Global”, and “Promotion of Lithuania Globally”. All of this year’s award nominees are available HERE.

This year, the category “Global Friend of Lithuania” has been put up for a public vote. It contains six stories of people who were not born in Lithuania and are not of Lithuanian nationality, but enrich our country with their works. Among the nominees are Jared Isaacman, a US businessman who raised the Lithuanian flag in space, Michaela Rak, a Polish nun who brought a light escort beyond culture to Lithuania, Erin Gainer-Grigaliūnė, an American philanthropist promoting women’s entrepreneurship, and others.

The decision to pay attention to the positive works of foreigners in Lithuania was prompted by the current events of recent years.

“As a society, we have faced challenges that have been avoided until this year. It is as if we have watched from the sidelines as Europe creates migration policies, deals with same-sex partnerships, and raises sensitive human rights issues. Now, these topics have affected us as well.
We have been forced to reconsider how we perceive ourselves as a nation and country, whether the old images of Lithuania are still relevant to us, and what that Lithuania will be like in the future. In this context, the management of the organization saw a lot of meaning in talking about those positive works that people of other nationalities are doing for Lithuania.” – said Aušra Kukelkaitė, CEO of GLL.

Global Lithuanian Awards recognize the exceptional contribution of the Lithuanian diaspora to the growth and international recognition of the Lithuanian economy, science, culture, and other fields.

The awards are sponsored by the President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, they are organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the national broadcaster LRT, the law firm Triniti Jurex, and the World Lithuanian Community.

Read the full list of nominees HERE.
Want to celebrate these stories live? Order your tickets now, HERE.