The Honorary Ambassadors of Šiauliai’s Jubilee Year – the Voice of the City in Lithuania and Around the World

The year 2026 is special for the City of the Sun – Šiauliai celebrates its 790th anniversary. It is not only a significant historical milestone, but also a unique opportunity to take a fresh look at the city’s identity, its people, history, and future. To mark this occasion, a distinguished community is being brought together – the Honorary Ambassadors of Šiauliai’s Jubilee Year, whose activities, achievements, and personal stories are known not only in Lithuania but also internationally, and whose contribution becomes an important part of the jubilee year narrative.
The organizer of the jubilee year is the Šiauliai City Municipality, and the event organizer is the Šiauliai Cultural Center.

The year 2026 is special for the City of the Sun – Šiauliai celebrates its 790th anniversary. It is not only a significant historical milestone, but also a unique opportunity to take a fresh look at the city’s identity, its people, history, and future. To mark this occasion, a distinguished community is being brought together – the Honorary Ambassadors of Šiauliai’s Jubilee Year, whose activities, achievements, and personal stories are known not only in Lithuania but also internationally, and whose contribution becomes an important part of the jubilee year narrative.
The organizer of the jubilee year is the Šiauliai City Municipality, and the event organizer is the Šiauliai Cultural Center.

At the end of last year, the Šiauliai Cultural Center invited the city’s cultural, educational, tourism, and sports institutions, non-governmental organizations, business companies, and communities to submit nominations for the title of Honorary Ambassador of Šiauliai’s Jubilee Year. The initiative received active interest – several institutions responded by proposing actively engaged individuals living and creating in Šiauliai, other places in Lithuania, and abroad. Candidates were evaluated according to clear criteria: their connection to Šiauliai, the scope of their activities, achievements, and their contribution to shaping the city’s image at national and international levels.

The Honorary Ambassadors are people for whom Šiauliai is not only their hometown or an important stage of life, but also a value-based part of their identity. An Honorary Ambassador is the face and voice of Šiauliai, contributing through their activities, authority, and example to the creation of a contemporary city identity, the promotion of Šiauliai’s name in Lithuania and beyond, and the strengthening of pride in the city and a sense of community. This role is symbolic and flexible – the forms of ambassadors’ involvement are coordinated individually, taking into account their possibilities and the nature of their activities: from participating in jubilee events to promoting the city’s name through personal or professional paths.

Among the Honorary Ambassadors of Šiauliai’s Jubilee Year are prominent figures from culture, media, music, sports, public life, and other fields. One of them is Jonas Nainys–JOVANI, whose creative journey began in Šiauliai and grew into national recognition.

“During my studies, I fell in love with the City of the Sun – in Šiauliai my path in television, radio, and behind the DJ booth began. I played in all the city’s nightclubs of that time and was an active member of the Student Representation. Many events, new projects, and first lessons that later helped me establish myself in Vilnius – ZIP FM, LNK, and becoming the first Lithuanian DJ to fill the ‘Žalgiris’ Arena,” says Jonas Nainys–JOVANI.

Among the ambassadors is also Edvardas Žičkus, a journalist, documentary filmmaker, and producer, who also took his first professional steps in Šiauliai.

“I am grateful to my hometown, where my parents, relatives, and friends still live, for my first steps toward big journalism – from the video studio at the Šiauliai Schoolchildren’s House to the then Šiauliai Television. Although several decades have passed since then, the first timid steps and the trust given in advance will always remain in my memory, trust that I hope I have justified many times over,” says Edvardas Žičkus.

The Honorary Ambassadors of Šiauliai’s Jubilee Year also include the group 3SUNC, which constantly reflects the city’s rhythm and energy in its creative work, writer and translator Dalia Staponkutė, guardian of historical memory Raimundas Balza, world-class accordionist Martynas Levickis, songwriter and performer Virgis Stakėnas, and many other widely known personalities. Each of them represents Šiauliai in different fields, yet all are united by a clear connection to the city and a desire to contribute to its future narrative.

All the Honorary Ambassadors of Šiauliai’s Jubilee Year can already be found on the official jubilee year platform www.siauliaisvencia.lt, which also publishes information about jubilee events and initiatives.

Šiauliai – our city, our history, and our future. The jubilee year is the time when the city’s name and its people sound with one voice.

Photos by V. Dambrauskas, D. Narbutaitė, L. Gricius.

For more information, please contact the Director of the Šiauliai Cultural Center, Deimantė Bačiulė, tel. +370 671 42 889, e-mail deimante.baciule@siauliukc.lt.