Head of Create Lithuania recognized as Apolitical’s Government Talent Trailblazer

Monika Merkytė, the head of the Create Lithuania programme, has earned a prestigious spot on Apolitical’s TOP 35 Government Talent Trailblazers list. This acknowledgment highlights the leaders in human resources and people management within the public sector, setting a global standard for government HR practices.

These Trailblazers have been recognized for their progress across four key areas: 1) hiring, performance & progression; 2) diversity, equity, inclusion, and employee experience; 3) learning & development; 4) 21st-century skills mainstreaming & community building.

Merkytė’s contributions are embraced in the category of hiring, performance & progression.

She is delighted that Lithuania is globally seen as a good practice. “Every year, we look for motivated, critical thinkers who are interested in making a difference in Lithuania and want to join the ranks of the public sector. Immediately after the programme, around 60% of the participants stay in the state institutions because they learn the principles of the sector, meet motivated colleagues, and see that meaningful and significant change can be achieved here,” she noted.

Create Lithuania is a programme under Invest Lithuania, which has been running since 2012. It endeavors to catalyze economic transformation through targeted projects. The program, which primarily attracts Lithuanian professionals from abroad, immerses participants in the Lithuanian public sector for 12 months. During this period, they undertake two projects aimed at introducing innovative solutions.

Past projects, among others, implemented by participants include streamlining migration procedures, developing the deposit system, opening mobility data, refining the retraining system, establishing the GovtechLab, fortifying cyber security system and other.

Apolitical is an international platform aimed at empowering policymakers, civil servants, and other public sector workers to collaborate, share best practices, and promote effective and innovation-driven public governance.