Unė Kaunaitė

Education

• Psychology and Social Anthropology, Double Bachelor’s degree (University of St Andrews, UK)

Motivation

I could say I always knew I would be back. But I didn’t need to go back. Although I studied abroad for four years, I never left Lithuania. Even when I was away, I tried to maintain the connections that were important to me – I was an active contributor to online portals in Lithuania while living in Scotland, I was and am the coordinator of the youth magazine “Pašvaistė”, and I was a teacher at the National Academy of Students.

In the first year of my studies, I published my first novel for teenagers, “Goodbye, Tomorrow”, which was shortlisted for the Book of the Year award, and I have visited many Lithuanian schools and libraries, book fairs and festivals in an attempt to promote a love of reading and creativity. At St Andrews University, I founded a Lithuanian student community, translated and performed J. Grušas’s play “Love, Jazz and the Devil” into English with British actors, thus spreading Lithuanian culture. I have never felt distant from Lithuania.

You can build a life in any part of the world. You can change many countries. But I believe that you can only create, not just change, if you truly understand your environment and the people who live there. And you have to create because you care, because you are important. For me, Lithuania is such a country – I understand it because I grew up there and I want to create because I care. Therefore, no other programme could have better described what I wanted and want to do – to create for Lithuania.