According to data from the National Center of Mental Health, approximately 1,000 people commit suicide in Lithuania every year. That makes it one of the highest-risk countries not only in Europe, but in the entire world.
Suicidologists state that about 10 people in the closest social circle of a person who committed suicide will experience emotional and psychological trauma. Jurgita Jurkute was unfortunate enough to experience two people close to her end their lives this way.
Having broken her silence, Jurgita is now speaking up for people in her situation, and challenging the silence that often follows a suicide in the family. She believes that understanding these feelings instead of hiding them can help reduce Lithuania's troublingly high suicide rate.
For the last decade Jurgita Jurkute has been a well-known television presenter, actor and recently, a social activist. She uses her popularity in Lithuania to talk about issues related to suicide, and openly shares her personal experience.
Jurgita holds a degree in Acting from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater and a degree in Social Work from Vilnius University.
Jurgita Jurkute campaigns to encourage women in Lithuania to achieve emotional and personal growth through higher self-esteem. She advocates for finding time for one's personal needs and for being open to receiving help from others. Jurgita has joined with like-minded people to create a social space for women called Trys seserys (Three Sisters), a secondhand boutique that uses its profits to fund professional seminars meant to empower women.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx
1 май 2016
