I have learned from my own experience that if you work hard you will succeed.

Lithuania is a small country, so our contribution would not be that large. We are not afraid of our responsibility. We receive 25 percent of our national budget from the European Union. We understand the value of solidarity.

I believe that the world has become more democratic and open. Women have become more outspoken, more active and competitive. They have achieved great accomplishments in many fields that were previously dominated by men.

I have learned from my own experience that if you work hard you will succeed.

My advice and wish to every woman in my country and in the world is very simple: Do not be afraid to be yourself, to have your dream, your vision, and to go for it. We can achieve a lot if we are sincerely committed to our goals and work hard to realize them.

My climb to political success was no elevator ride, and it has not always been pretty, but I persevered as one of a handful of women in the male-dominated world of politics.

While I am a lawyer by profession and have travelled to several countries, working and educating myself, I came from a rural background in a Third World country at a time when women were told what their place was and whose mothers enjoyed even less.