There have never been so many people proud of Lithuania as at present times. Eight out of ten people living in Lithuania are proud of being Lithuanian citizens. According to research, such as public concentration and unity in our country have not been the case over the last decade. But at the same time, we are still suspicious and unconfident – we do not want to rely on each other.
According to the Head of the Human Studies Centre, psychologist, Dr. Gintaras Chomentaus, such days like July 6 – Mindaugas Coronation Day – is a good opportunity to evaluate how much we have achieved in creating the state and uniting people living here for the general welfare of the country.
“On Statehood Day, let us remember that we are a strong and united society. It is a good opportunity to see yourself positively and to feel the connection with others. Our research on the emotional climate in Lithuania shows that we feel that we are the hosts in our country, and we are needed for our country,” says G. Chomentauskas in a press release.
According to research data on the emotional climate conducted for ten years by the Centre for Human Studies, confidence in the country and its institutions is growing in Lithuania. “We see that we have created more trust in the state – more trust in state institutions, police, and other officials. Although there is still a lot of public dissatisfaction with the level of lifestyle in the state, there is a breakthrough – we believe our social structure will help us. This increases the sense of stability of life,” says the Head of the Centre for Human Studies.
Proud or Lithuania but suspicious of Lithuanians still
However, he emphasises that it is important for Lithuanian society to overcome a significant challenge: although we feel able to influence the life of society, we do not yet trust each other. As many as 75 percents say they do not know which people can be trusted. The rate of anomia, i.e., the sense of alienation of people, continues to remain unchanged year after year.
Marius Jundulas, CEO of Gjensidige, emphasizes that business in Lithuania must also take responsibility for the emotional climate of society. “We are creating a business in our own country and with our country’s people – and their attitude towards life will determine how successfully we will grow together, how much we will be willing to invest in the future. It is important for society to see life in bright colours and to have hope – only in such a society will people be happy and willing to create,” M. Jundulas thinks.
He emphasises a positive trend – Lithuanian residents already claim they can influence the life of society, i.e., they have the power to change society for the better.
According to M. Jundulas, businesses must help society to live more harmoniously and improve mutual relations.
“Today, we are already talking about what we can do for the public, to make a change. We tend to invest in improving the climate of society, strengthening people-to-people contacts, and closer relationships. This trend requires long and consistent work to make our society more self-sustained,” says M. Jundulas.
The levels of trust are up
He points out that almost 80% of the research participants believe that if necessary, people will help their neighbours. M. Jundulas also links such confidence to the immediate environment with the growing sense of public security – the more people around whom we can trust, the better is the sense of security and commonality in society.
“In a safer society, there is a growing hope that we will have a good future. This is also evidenced by the survey data – the number of people who think that children in Lithuania have good prospects is growing. People see more support for raising children in Lithuania. Emigration indicators also give reasons for optimism – the numbers of emigrants and those who intend to leave have been declining recently,” says M. Jundulas.
He believes that the sense of stability and security for the people of our country allows us to build our future here, in Lithuania, rather than looking for happiness abroad.
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