INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC-PRACTICAL CONFERENCE “Sustainability Directions: Societal, Business and Educational Transformations and Future Opportunities”

On 19 March 2026, Kolping HEI, whose activities are based on the principles of sustainable development, integral ecology and corporate social responsibility and which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, organised a remote international scientific and practical conference entitled “Sustainability Directions: Societal, Business and Educational Transformations and Future Opportunities”. The Conference aimed to bring together researchers, scholars, and practitioners from various fields for a dialogue on sustainability directions, focusing on identifying current challenges and analysing future opportunities, and presenting recent research findings. The aim was also to promote the dissemination of academic and practical insights, sharing best practices and innovative solutions that advance sustainable development goals.

Welcoming remarks of Lina Kalibataitė, the National Secretary of the Lithuanian Kolping Society, Jonas Petkevičius, the Deputy Minister for Education, Science and Sports, and Vytautas Kirka, the Director of Kolping HEI, opened the Conference. The moderator, Kristina Karosevičienė, a lecturer and the Head of the Centre for Economics and Business at Kolping HEI, also welcomed the participants.

Over 100 participants attended the Conference, and 55 speakers from Lithuania and abroad – Latvia, Poland, Germany and India – shared their insights and best practices during the plenary session and three working sessions, presenting a total of 34 papers:

Section I: Social well-being, inclusion, and community empowerment, moderated by Vytautas Kirka, the Director of Kolping HEI;

Section II: Sustainable education, societal and human development, moderated by Dr Vida Lukamskienė, the Head of the Social Welfare Centre at Kolping HEI;

Section III: Sustainability innovations, business, economics, and environmental solutions, moderated by Prof. Dr Daiva Beržinskienė-Juozainienė, Deputy Director for Academic Affairs of Kolping HEI.

The papers presented at the Conference were notable for their relevance and academic and practical value. We are grateful to the session moderators for their professional work, the speakers for their insightful contributions, and the participants and audience for their active involvement and time.

Authors are warmly invited to submit articles based on conference presentations for publication in the peer-reviewed journal “Challenges and Social Responsibility in Business”, indexed in EBSCOhost. Your contributions are vital to advancing our shared goals; please submit your articles (in Lithuanian or English) by 30 April 2026 to [email protected]