Success of the Connected Lithuania project: More than 30,000 people are able to use state services online

More than 30,000 people feel encouraged and trained to use online public services.

This was the aim of the national project ‘Let’s Join Lithuania’, during which residents learned to use e-health, the State Health Insurance Fund, Sodra, e-delivery, e-police, Regitra, migration, digitised cemeteries, public transport, libraries, document signing and other electronic services.

Residents of each municipality participated

From August 2025 to 30 April this year, the project ‘Let’s Join Lithuania’ involved residents from all 60 municipalities. More than 10,000 people completed public e-service training in all municipalities and more than 20,000 people attended workshops.

In the training and workshops, residents got acquainted with the most relevant public services: Sodra, STI, Employment Services, e-Police, municipalities and others. They also learned to use the e-delivery system, to prepare simple documents and to submit them to governmental and municipal authorities. They also learned how to sign documents using e-tools, verify e-signatures, access information provided by public authorities and municipalities, find the necessary learning resources, use the internet more securely and seize other opportunities in the digital space.

In the workshop, participants practically tested the most important e-services and learned to register with a doctor, use employment and social service systems, manage transport, personal data, migration, and use libraries, cultural services.

The vast majority of 75% of participants in the training and workshops were women. More than two-thirds of participants are over 55 years old. Admittedly, as Algimantas Merkys, an expert at Connected Lithuania, points out, practical e-services sessions also attracted younger people who wanted to strengthen their digital literacy skills. Some of the participants are jobseekers who need digital knowledge at all stages: job search, job interviews and post-employment.

The project reached people living in isolation and away

Half of all participants had secondary education, 43% had higher education, and 7% had basic education. According to A. Merkis, this shows that the project managed to achieve one of the main goals - to involve people living in greater social exclusion, as well as in more remote areas.

The survey showed that an absolute majority – over 99% of participants – feel ready to use the e-government services they need on their own after training and workshops. The vast majority of participants rated the highest on the content of the training events, with 94% of participants. The same number of respondents would like to participate in similar activities in the future.

"Most importantly, participants feel that they have gained autonomy and self-confidence when dealing with online matters. They were quick to see how much time and other resources were saved by the ability to use state e-services without having to wait in queues, check office hours, travel long distances, use fuel, or pay for parking in the city centre. Older people were particularly happy to have more privacy – they don’t have to ask their children or grandchildren to buy something or book a doctor’s appointment online,’ says Rita Šukytė, head of the ‘Window to the Future’ association and representative of the ‘Linked Lithuania’ project.

Breaking the stereotype that technology is only for young people

The events of ‘Connected Lithuania’ helped to break the stereotype that only young people can learn to use digital technologies wisely.

“Without digital knowledge, nowadays it is easy to feel excluded from society as more and more services move online. Most importantly, after such activities, participants realised that learning and development can be done at any age," says Daumantas Šimanauskas, a lecturer working in Marijampolė County.

Knowledge-based self-confidence and the ability to use e-services safely and independently is another important point that participants brought back from the training.

“People enjoyed their first success in connecting to an e-system without helpers. Until then, it seemed like an insurmountable barrier to them, and when I logged in, I realised that I could do it myself. Another eureka moment is the perception of personal gain. Not in the abstract “digital skills are needed”, but in a very concrete way: “It’s good for me because I can register where needed, contact my children, make an application or arrange things without leaving home,” says Rita Mačiukienė, a lecturer from Šiauliai County, smiling.

Participants shared what they would like to learn in the future

Participants shared what they would like to learn in digital literacy training in the future.

“The vast majority of the surveyed population expects to further increase their knowledge on the most popular training topics: employment, social, transport or e-health services. Another part would like to get acquainted with artificial intelligence, learn how to download various mobile applications, understand the functions of smart devices or pay utility bills online. Still others would like to find answers to questions such as safe online shopping, browsing YouTube or listening to audiobooks," says Šukytė, who reviews the answers to the survey of participants in the ‘Linked Lithuania’ project.

Many participants hope that such educational events will not be the last. Understanding this, the national project aims to continue engaging the population in education.

40 self-study lessons for the convenience of the population

Lithuania has created 40 self-learning lessons for Lithuanian residents, which usually show step-by-step how to use electronic public services: e-health, the State Health Insurance Fund, Sodra, e-delivery, e-police, Regitra, migration, digitised cemeteries, environmental protection, public transport, libraries, document signing and other electronic services.

Each lesson presents information in a way that everyone can understand – even if they lack digital literacy skills.

Residents will be able to use these lessons free of charge and for an unlimited period of time on the website of the national project ‘Linked Lithuania’, by selecting ‘training’ and ‘self-study’.

About the project

New Population Training Project "Lithuania Connected: improving digital skills’ (2024–2026) aims to familiarise the country’s population with key online eGovernment services and help them acquire new skills needed in today’s digital world.

The project contributes to the ‘Next Generation Lithuania’ recovery and resilience plan and aims to respond to the challenges of the ongoing digital transformation and to contribute to the EU’s Digital Decade target of that 80% of the EU population having at least basic digital skills. (Approximately 1.6 million people) of the country’s population aged 16–74 have at least basic digital skills.

The project was implemented by the State Digital Solutions Agency together with the Association "Window to the Future" and the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania.