17-04-2023

The new Chief Archivist of Lithuania - PhD Inga Zakšauskienė

The new Chief Archivist of Lithuania - PhD Inga Zakšauskienė takes office on the 17th of April.

I. Zakšauskienė submitted her PhD thesis in Vilnius University on the topic "Western radio broadcasts to Soviet Lithuania". Scientific activities of I. Zakšauskienė include the topics of the Cold War, media history, the impact of information in enclosed societies, and information wars.

She started to work at the Faculty of History of Vilnius University in 2011, interned at Stanford University (USA) in 2017-2018. I. Zakšauskienė also participated in the activities of the Totalitarian Regimes Research Group of the Hoover Archive (USA) in 2012-2016 and worked at the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture as an expert of the first evaluation board of Immovable Cultural Heritage in 2013-2021. She is the initiator and executor of various historical research and dissemination projects and author of books.

I. Zakšauskienė begins her new duties with the aim of increasing the role of archives in actualizing the memory of events important to Lithuanian society. "While conducting research in various Lithuanian and foreign archives, I got to know archives as a user, so I know how a source turns into a product. These experiences shaped my vision of archives, how a modern, active archive that meets the needs of society and the state should function. I will strive to turn the archive from a document storage institution into a space for the dissemination of freedom ideas and the education of society. In implementing this vision, I will first of all strive for a conceptual transition from the passive storage of documents to their active use, convenient systematization, publication and dissemination of sources, participation in scientific research, creation of historical memory and communication, involving various groups of society, emphasizing the importance of the primary source in the age of information overload. I would call the success of the set goal the availability of all high-quality digitized and described content to users, the creation of services that provide added value, participation in the formation of historical memory involving various groups of society, integration with European digital platforms for the preservation of cultural heritage, and the establishment of sustainable relationships with Lithuanian and international research institutions and universities", says dr. I. Zakšauskienė.

The Chief Archivist of Lithuania is appointed by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania for a term of five years.