41 percent of surveyed expat Lithuanians said they contributed to positive changes in Lithuania by promoting the country's name. Meanwhile 29 percent said they financially supported relatives in Lithuania, according to the results.
20 percent said they helped people in their country of residence to establish contacts with people in Lithuania. 11 percent said they implemented various projects with partners in Lithuania. 10 percent said they took part in public discussions in Lithuania, and 8 percent said they made investments in Lithuania.
"Relatives in Lithuania were more often supported by people aged 30 and over, businesspeople, executives, specialists, civil servants, and workers. Executives, businesspeople and members of communities or organizations uniting Lithuanians living abroad were more often among those who promoted Lithuania's name and helped establish contacts between representatives of their country of residence and Lithuania," the report said.
7 out of ten Lithuanians living abroad believe there are no obstacles to communication with Lithuania and only personal initiative and will are needed.
91 percent of those surveyed believe preserving their Lithuanian identity is important.
"Key ways to preserve the Lithuanian identity, mentioned by respondents, were attending events related to Lithuania and reading Lithuanian books (58 percent each). 44 percent mentioned taking part in community activities. 39 percent mentioned cultural amateur activities, and 10 percent mentioned working or taking classes at a Sunday school," Lina Juodkienė, a representative of RAIT, said during a presentation of the findings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
88 percent of respondents have said they take interest in what is happening in Lithuania, and 12 percent said they don’t. Of those who do, 82 percent said the internet was their key source of information about Lithuania, 36 percent said they find out about events in Lithuania from relatives or friends, and 26 percent mentioned the social media.
Over a third (38 percent) of expat Lithuanians said they take part in Lithuania's public life one way or another, but the majority of Lithuanians living abroad are just observers.
"The most popular forms of taking part in Lithuania's public life is attending events in Lithuania (57 percent), taking part in elections (54 percent), keeping contact with some group of interest (52 percent), and taking part in Lithuania's cultural life (40 percent)," Juodkienė said.
353 Lithuanians living abroad, aged 18 and over, were surveyed on 18 June to 15 July.
According to figures by International Organization for Migration (IOM) Vilnius Office, 337,000 people emigrated from Lithuania between 2001 and 2010.
