On May 25, DUOday will be held in Lithuania for the fourth time – a day when companies and organizations around the world invite people with disabilities to try out new professions and work roles. This year, the initiative will take place in 18 Lithuanian cities. This year, DUOday also starts in Lazdija district. DUOday’s partner in the Lazdija district coordinating the implementation of this initiative is the Lazdija social services center. Half a dozen Lithuanian employers have already announced their participation in the initiative. Ambassadors of the initiative and organizers of the initiative VšĮ “SOPA” calls for evaluating the benefits that this experience brings to employers, and invites organizations until April 7. hurry to sign up for DUOday.
DUOday is open to all employers, from the factory to the city library. It is important that a person with a disability has the opportunity to come to the organization and spend the day together in the working environment. Over the course of three years, over a hundred organizations have joined the DUOday initiative: the Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania, the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, the Embassies of the Kingdom of Sweden and France in Lithuania, Swedbank Lithuania, Telia Lietuva, Western Union Lithuania, Decathlon Lithuania, “Lietuvos paštas”, “Rimi Lietuva”, “Yara Lietuva”, “CV-Online LT”, “McDonald’s”, Vilnius University and many other business companies, public and public sector organizations.
Sports goods chain “Decathlon” has been participating in the DUOday initiative for the third year and has employed six employees with disabilities. “This is a wonderful opportunity for employers not only to discover new talents, but also to spread the word regarding disabilities, especially invisible ones that we know less regarding. Participation in DUOday is a simple and concrete way to open the doors of your organization to people with disabilities, give them the opportunity to discover the labor market, try themselves in a work role and carry out tasks like any other employee. In life, as in sports, we are stronger when we work together. Therefore, I invite all Lithuanian employers to join the DUOday initiative. “Decathlon’s mission is to offer sport to everyone, and our mission as an employer is to offer a job opportunity to everyone,” says Nicolas Fogola, CEO of Decathlon Lithuania.
Although for many organizations, DUOday is only the first step in getting to know people with disabilities, it is a great niche for potential employees and 8 people with disabilities stayed to work in the companies visited during DUOday. One of them is “Swedbank” in Lithuania.
“The DUOday initiative provides an opportunity to get to know people with disabilities, ask them questions, discover talents and understand how we can help them. Thanks to this initiative, our new colleague Martynas, who is visually impaired, joined us, who now takes care of testing the accessibility of the bank’s digital information. Program participants and our staff share experiences that enrich us all. I invite everyone who cares regarding diversity, equality and inclusion to join the initiative. Take another sustainable step for the benefit of all of us,” says Inga Skisaker, Head of Swedbank in Lithuania.
The organizers of DUOday emphasize that, by participating in DUOday, the employer will not only provide an opportunity to a person with a disability, but will also get to know people with a disability better, what talents they have and which of them can be applied in the organization’s activities, and will gain practical knowledge regarding adapting jobs or services to people. with different needs.
CV-Online LT manager Andrius Kaupys says that the company he manages participates in DUOday every year and does not even consider the option of not participating anymore: “We benefit from a DUOday guest who looks at our selection processes from the side, we check whether they are friendly to people with different abilities . This day enriches us. Each organization or company can offer something unique to the guest. As experts in the labor market, we not only show what the job of a recruitment specialist looks like, but also provide that person with professional advice, arrange their resume, and guide them in the right career direction. By participating in DUOday, you will gain a lot: you will diversify your professional routine, you will better understand people with disabilities, and maybe you will even find a new team member.”
During DUOday, a person with a disability spends the entire working day in the organization that invited him: he observes the company’s work processes, performs some tasks as far as possible, participates in meetings, has lunch together and communicates with the team. An organization representing people with disabilities, and as many as 24 of them have joined the initiative, among which the social service center of VšĮ Lazdijai will present the candidate in advance – his abilities and challenges. This year, all employees delegated by companies participating in DUOday will be invited to the event, where the organizers will talk regarding different disabilities and how to respond to the needs of people with disabilities in the workplace.
If you want to join DUOday hosting organizations, register by 04/07/2023 by filling out the following form: or contact VšĮ Lazdijai social services center manager for social affairs Raminta Mikelioniene tel. 8 606 64274, or e-mail Mr. raminta.mikelioniene@lazdijuspc.lt, coordinating this initiative in the Lazdija district.
We are very much looking forward to the companies, organizations, and employers who are active in the Lazdija district and who want to participate in the initiative joining this initiative. At the moment, the following have already joined the initiative: VšĮ “Lazdijų Turizmo informacinis centras”, Lazdijų district municipal public library, UAB “Inrim Lt”.
DUOday initiative ambassadors (Swedbank in Lithuania, Decathlon Lietuva, CV-Online LT, Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden in Lithuania, Yara Lietuva and Department of Disability Affairs) impressions regarding DUOday and the invitation to join can be downloaded in video format here: https://we.tl/t-RlHKNvdAoLlink on the SOPA Youtube channel:
More information:
Jurgita Kuprytė
Director of Public Company “SOPA”.
jurga@sopa.lt, tel. +37061600786
www.duoday.lt