The 46th Annual General Meeting of the Lithuanian Canadian Youth Association (KLJS) was held online on September 18. Greetings were received from various institutions: Lithuania’s Ambassador to Canada Darius Skusevičius, the World Lithuanian Youth Assocation, the Toronto branch of the Lithuanian Canadian Community, the American Lithuanian Youth Assocation and the Australian Lithuanian Youth Association.
A scavenger hunt (via Slack) preceded the online meeting, with contestants meeting two daily challenges for points to win KLJS decals. Participants sent in photos of Lithuanian food, video clips of themselves pronouncing the longest Lithuanian word („nebeprisikiškiakopūsteliaujantiesiems“) or their favourite beverage. Congratulations to contest winner Gabrielė Zitikytė of Ottawa!
Thirty-two youth representatives attended the Annual Meeting, including World Youth Asociation Board president Rimvydas Rubavičius, secretary Eglė Butkevičiūtė, and Lithuanian Canadian Community Toronto Board member Skaidra Puodžiūnas. For the first time, participants used the “Slack“ platform to vote on resolutions and KLJS board candidates. Among other resolutions, it was decided that KLJS will use social media to invite members throughout Canada to share their local activities and various information about Lithuanian culture, important dates and current events.
The 16th World Lithuanian Youth Congress held in June of this year decided that the next one will be organized in Canada or Canada and the US in the summer of 2024, and KLJS will soon begin planning it with World, American, and Canadian youth.
During the conference, Dovilė Motuzaitė delivered an inspiring presentation. She has lived in five countries, and is currently administrator at the Lithuanian Embassy in Ottawa. Also a technology and start-up ecosystem enthusiast, she spoke about her life in Lithuania, her participation in the Lithuanian community in Canada, her professional work, and shared her thoughts about the future of Lithuanian youth in the diaspora.
Most importantly, elections took place, resulting in a new Board for 2021-2022, headed by president Lina Samonytė and vice-president Monika Satkauskaitė, with Lukas Janowicz as treasurer, Austėja Galinytė as secretary, social media coordinator Gabrielė Zitikytė and members Nida Nausėdaitė, Emilia Degutytė and Julia Degutytė. All the best for the coming year!
Lina Samonytė and Monika Satkauskaitė
