Integrating Equality and Non-Discrimination Principles in Local Governance: A Strategic Approach

Dr Raminta Puėtaitė is professor at KTU whose research interests include social sustainability, organizational ethics management, responsible research and innovation, organisational social responsibility, and social and environmental impact assessment methodology. Using innovative teaching methodologies (e.g. design thinking, hackathon, problem-based learning), Dr. Pučėtaitė teaches Leadership and Human Resource Management Ethics, Ethics and Values in the Public Sector, Public Sector and Business Ethics in Lithuania and abroad. Since 2023, she is the Chair of the KTU Gender Equality and Violence Prevention Commission.

Dr. Vytautas Valentinavičius is a lecturer and researcher at Kaunas University of Technology and a lecturer at the European Humanities University in Vilnius. From 2014 to 2019, he worked at the Office of the Ombudsperson of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, heading the Human Rights Division. He holds a PhD in Political Science from Kaunas University of Technology, a Master’s degree in Political Science with honors from Vilnius University, and a Master’s degree in Journalism from Vytautas Magnus University. With over 20 years of experience in the field of human rights, he has been involved in NGO activities and contributed to the establishment of the National Human Rights Coalition. His areas of interest include Eastern Europe, public policy, political communication, human rights, democratization, and public policy analysis.

Jolanta Vaičiūnienė is an expert in the field of public administration, focusing on local democracy and civil society issues, local governance, community development, migration, sustainable public procurement, citizen science and social policy. She is the Head of the Municipal Training Centre at Kaunas University of Technology. While working at the Centre, she has gained more than 20 years of experience in leading international and European projects in higher and vocational education sectors. Jolanta has managed a variety of projects that have strengthened the capacity of municipal governments throughout Lithuania and has provided knowledge sharing for public officials, NGO leaders, students in other European communities. Also, she is a member of the Research Group "Civil Society and Sustainability" at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities. She is co-editor of Palgrave Macmillan’s book series “Rethinking University and Community Policy Connections”.