The Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies is pleased to announce that Zane Vāgnere (Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia) has been awarded the 2021–2022 Jānis Grundmanis Graduate Fellowship for Study in the U.S. to enroll in the Harvard Kennedy School’s (HKS) Mid-Career Master in Public Administration (MC/MPA) program.
The Jānis Grundmanis Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship, established in the memory of Dr. Jānis Grundmanis, is an annual fellowship of $20,000 for graduate or postgraduate study in the United States.
The 2021 applications were evaluated by the AABS 2021-2022 Grants and Awards Committee consisting of AABS VP for Professional Development Dr. Ineta Dabašinskienė, AABS President Dr. Daunis Auers, and AABS Director-at-Large Dr. Andres Kasekamp.
Harvard Kennedy School’s Mid-Career Master in Public Administration
Zane Vāgnere, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia
The exponential development of technology will continue to disrupt the status quo in terms of the economy, the way people make decisions, and how they engage in society. Policy makers in all areas are facing the challenge of how to address the unintended or undesired consequences of perpetual and disruptive change while maintaining an open environment that fosters innovation and allows people and business to flourish. Providing solutions in the context of such complexities requires a new type of leader with strong competencies in interdisciplinary and international cooperation, in steering network-based team collaboration, and in enabling effective and efficient interaction between the public and the private sectors.
Harvard Kennedy School’s (HKS) Mid-Career Master in Public Administration (MC/MPA) program offers an array of courses and seminars that go to the very heart of these challenges. The program is designed for established professionals to elevate their abilities and empower them to expand their reach and make a greater impact.
The MC/MPA program consists of the MPA summer program and two semesters of full-time studies in residence at HKS. A number of core courses on economics, leadership, political institutions and public ethics will concentrate on developing new leadership capabilities and exploring new approaches and methods. My special focus will lie on studying the impact that tech development has on the media, public opinion, and societal structures. I am also looking to better understand the role and motivation of corporations when engaging in corporate citizenship. Last but not least, the program will provide me with a non-European international perspective.
Zane Vāgnere, recipient of the AABS 2021–2022 Grundmanis Fellowship
Zane Vāgnere is an experienced professional with a long standing commitment to public service on Latvian and European level. In 2010, Zane started her 8-years diplomatic tenure as Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of Latvia to the European Union (EU). In this role, she represented Latvia’s interests at the Council of the EU in the media, culture, copyrights, and social integration policy areas. In 2015, during the first Latvian Presidency of the Counsel of the EU, she chaired the EU Cultural Affairs Committee and the Copyrights and Audiovisual Working groups, initiating high-level political discussion on technological and geopolitical challenges of the EU media landscape, including disinformation campaigns.
Since 2018, when Zane was appointed Deputy State Secretary at the Latvian Ministry of Culture, she has been responsible for EU and international cultural cooperation and matters concerning social integration and media policy. In this role, Zane leads a large team of professionals working on a wide range of topics including modernization of the national media ecosystem, increasing media literacy, facilitating the integration of the broader society and the development of civic society.
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