Inga Aksamitauskaite
I’m Lithuanian, but my family is international, half Lithuanian and half Greek. I’m a mother of 2 girls: Austeja (12) and Sofia (5). My husband Konstantinos currently works in Germany therefore I reside in two European Union counties (traveling between Lithuania and Germany) and work for several NGOs based in Lithuania and serve as advisor for the Environment Ministry of the Republic of Lithuania (Aarhus Convention).
I have a BA in Business Administration, MA in Political Science and demonstrated history of working in all three sectors: private business, governmental and non-governmental organizations. 10 years of working experience as the Managing Director for foundation, 6 years of experience as the Head of Internal Audit Division for governmental and private sectors, 3 years of experience as the Human Resources Director for the university. Public policy, advancement and fundraising, Government and NGO cooperation, CSO impact and accountability are the current fields of my work and research.
I’m a member of Rotary International (since 2013), Founding Member of Internal Auditors Association (since 2004), Board Member of J. L. Wiener Charity and Support Fund (since 2014), and served on several other regional and national level councils and boards. Serving as the national focal point for the Aarhus Convention (which guarantees Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters) I’m every day managing the cooperation between Government and civil society while implementing human rights in the environmental field.
I believe my experience working in various positions and service on local and national boards, councils and committees, communication skills and interpersonal abilities will be useful for CIVICUS. I hope my fundraising, advocacy knowledge and understanding of European politics will be a valuable addition to CIVICUS Board.
- What is your favorite quote by someone who inspires you?
Pantarei or ‘Panta Rhei’ is ancient Greek and means ‘everything flows’. The term is known as part of the philosophy of Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher of the late 6th century BC. He said “no man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”
- What skill are you most proud of or want to learn?
My auditing skills help me a lot not just in professional but also in personal life. Now I'm now learning how to employ AI to help me work more efficiently.
- What is your vision for civil society?
We need to invest in:
- education of conscious society,
- clear and accountable environment,
- open democratic state,
- innovative public services,
- efficient social economy,
- and participatory democracy
for civil society to flourish.
- What lesson(s) have you learnt from failure?
I’m still struggling to dedicate enough time for planning before I start to implement therefore sometimes it happens that I’m fixing things that are not broken.
