The following is a Q+A with the Founder and CEO of Open Nations, Svitlana Zalazhna. Svitlana has participated in Tech2Empower for Ukraine twice, and plans to join the program again in the fall of 2026.

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Can you briefly introduce yourself and Open Nations?

My name is Svitlana Zaluzhna, and I am the founder and CEO of Open Nations, a Lithuania-based NGO working with displaced Ukrainian families and host communities. Our work focuses on building trust, belonging, and social cohesion through family-centred programs, dialogue, and community-based initiatives across Lithuania, the Nordic region, and Ukraine.

On a personal level, I am a mother of three children. My professional background combines both business and education. I am an educator by training, with a strong foundation in pedagogy and anthropology, as well as formal business education and entrepreneurial experience. I am also a professional community dialogue facilitator and a family consultant. Before the war in Ukraine, I worked in private education as the director of a private school and founded a social entrepreneurship project focused on supporting Ukrainian families.

What inspired you to start Open Nations?

I am someone who likes to respond quickly and meaningfully to the real needs of the community. For me, it is important to have a certain level of independence — a clear vision, a shared mission, and the freedom for the team to act responsibly and creatively.

We began our work in 2022 within a friendly partner NGO, but over time it became clear that to truly live out the mission that is close to me and my team, we needed our own platform. Founding Open Nations was a natural step toward that — creating a civic organisation that fully reflects our values and approach.

It also allowed us to build long-term, trusted relationships with donors and partners, and to have a clear, legitimate organisational presence in Lithuania, enabling us to work sustainably and with impact.

You’ve participated in the WAKE program twice. What motivated you to return for a second time?

What really motivates us to work with WAKE — and to return — is how practical and focused the process is. The work with WAKE and the advisors leads to very concrete results and always gives a strong push forward for our team.

The first time we joined, our main need was to make sense of everything we had already done. We needed to analyse our experience and finally put clear language around our work — to name what we do, how we do it, and why it matters. After that process, our communication changed completely: it became clearer both for us and for others.

The second time, after three years of intensive work, our focus shifted. We needed to create an impact report — not just to complete our activities, but to clearly articulate to partners and the wider world what exactly we bring. We were working with large amounts of data: questionnaires, feedback, interviews, stories — and the key question was how to understand our real impact and define meaningful metrics. We succeeded in doing that, and I see it as a very strong result.

We already feel a clear need for a third participation. As an organisation, we understand what currently holds us back from moving forward, and we know that WAKE is a place where real organisational needs meet relevant expertise. At that intersection, a new foundation for growth is created — a solid base for the next leap.

What is one way the program or advisory collaboration supported your organization?

One very concrete example is our impact report. After working with WAKE and the advisors in May, we completed a full impact report by June–July, with a clear and well-structured PDF document.

Today, this report is an essential part of our fundraising strategy and communications. We share it with donors and partners, and it has become a kind of calling card for Open Nations. It allows us to clearly present our experience and results without having to repeatedly explain or justify what we do and how it creates impact.

How has this experience influenced the way you approach your work or leadership today?

First of all, it is about relationships and ongoing connections. We stay in touch with our advisors, and this creates a strong sense of support, continuity, and trust — even across distances and different parts of the world.

This experience has also given me much more confidence as a leader. When experienced professionals from other countries consistently acknowledge the value of our work, support us publicly, and amplify our voice, it changes how you perceive your own impact.

Especially in moments of doubt or setbacks, this kind of external validation and human support becomes very grounding. It reminds me that what we are doing matters, and it helps me lead with more clarity, steadiness, and belief in the long-term value of our work.

What’s next for Open Nations?

Looking ahead, we see three key directions for the next stage of Open Nations.

First, we aim to scale our family-centred integration programs beyond Lithuania to other European countries, particularly Norway. These programs are designed not only for Ukrainian refugees, but for families of different nationalities and host communities. Alongside piloting and adapting our models in new contexts, we also want to advocate at the policy level for a more human-centred, family-oriented approach to integration and work with migrants and refugees.

Second, we are focusing on the promotion and expansion of community dialogue practices. This includes training and facilitation in public and community dialogue, and developing dialogue competencies within both migrant and host communities, to strengthen social cohesion and support difficult conversations around complex topics.

Finally, we see it as essential to give back to Ukraine. The experience and knowledge we have gained in Europe can be valuable for Ukraine’s recovery and long-term resilience. We want to develop projects in Ukraine and for Ukraine, contributing our expertise to the country’s rebuilding process.

What does being a part of this global community of women leaders mean to you?

For me, it means sharing challenges, searching for solutions together, learning from one another, and inspiring each other.

It also means bringing forward a form of leadership that strengthens rather than destroys — leadership that is relational, intuitive, and deeply human.

Facing global challenges such as conflict, climate change, migration, energy, and limited resources, we need more balance in how decisions are made. Greater representation of women in leadership helps create more sustainable, inclusive, and long-term solutions for societies, communities, and future generations.

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