Philanthropists Irena and Algirdas Juozapavičius have established a €1 million endowment sub-fund in the VU Foundation in the name of their son, Mantvydas Juozapavičius (1976–2023), from his inheritance following his passing in 2023. The returns from this sub-fund’s investments will support various initiatives, activities, and areas at Vilnius University and in closely connected organizations, related to M. Juozapavičius’ life, studies, and career.

Juozapavičius family reception with the Rector of Vilnius University. From left to right: Justinas Noreika, Irena Juozapavičienė, Prof Rimvydas Petrauskas, Mykolas Juozapavičius (photo by Ugnius Bagdonavičius)

M. Juozapavičius’ parents have identified specific areas of support, with plans to fund:

• Vilnius Lyceum alumni studying at VU, or other activities related to Lyceum alumni and VU;

• Initiatives of VU IIRPS students and alumni who belong to the student corporation “RePublica”;

• Activities and initiatives of the VU Life Sciences Center.

More About Mantvydas Juozapavičius

Mantvydas Juozapavičius was an active Lithuanian public figure with a broad education and experience in information management and genealogy. He studied at Vilnius Lyceum from 1991 to 1994. In 1998, he completed his bachelor’s degree in political science at the VU Institute of International Relations and Political Science (IIIRPS). In 2000, he earned a master’s degree in international communication and international public relations from the VU Faculty of Communication. He began doctoral studies in e-governance at the VU Faculty of Communication but was unable to complete them due to health issues resulting from an accident.

He began his professional career as an assistant to Member of Parliament Audronius Ažubalis in the Lithuanian Parliament (1997–2000, 2008–2012), and later worked as the international secretary of the Young Conservatives League (1999–2001). He also served two terms as vice-chairman of the oldest center-right youth organization in Europe, the Democrat Youth Community of Europe (DEMYC), from 1999 to 2003.

M. Juozapavičius worked as a freelance specialist, providing various services in information management and data analysis (2013–2023). His international experience includes serving as an election observer in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1998, representing the OSCE. He also worked as an assistant project manager at the company “Alora” (2000–2001), during which he managed the project “Communication Strategy for the European Commission Delegation in Lithuania.”

M. Juozapavičius’s academic education was further enhanced by courses at prestigious universities: at Rice University, he studied “Interactive Programming in Python” (2015), and at the University of Illinois, he completed courses in “Pattern Discovery in Data Mining” and “Cluster Analysis in Data Mining” (2015). Additionally, he gained knowledge at the University of Michigan, where he participated in the “Programming for Everybody (Python)” course (2015). Since the beginning of his studies at VU in 1994, he was actively involved in the activities of the VU folk ensemble “Ratilio”.

About the Tragic Accident

In 2002, M. Juozapavičius participated in a professional conference held in the natural surroundings of Hungary. During the event, while jumping into a body of water, Mantvydas suffered an unfortunate accident. His life was saved by Slovenian citizen Anže Logar, who was awarded the Cross for the Rescue of the Dying by President Valdas Adamkus in 2007 in Vilnius for this heroic act.

State awards ceremony on the occasion of February 16, 2007. From left: Irena and Algirdas Juozapavičius, Mantvydas Juozapavičius, President of the Republic of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus, Anže Logar, Mykolas Juozapavičius (Photo by Džojos Gundos Barysaitė, Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania)

In 2020, A. Logar, while visiting Lithuania as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia at the time, spoke to the news portal “lrytas.lt” about his friendship with M. Juozapavičius and the circumstances in which he had to save his friend.

“This Lithuanian – the well-known public figure Mantvydas Juozapavičius – I met with him while visiting Lithuania. He is my age-mate, and we first met in 2002 at a political camp in Hungary, where he had an accident while jumping into the water. Mantvydas drowned. Since then, he has been paralyzed, but that does not stop him from looking at life very positively.

We met again in 2007, when I was awarded the Cross for the Rescue of the Dying, and now I am happy to have had the chance to meet Mantvydas again at his home. This was my first meeting after arriving in Vilnius,” said A. Logar, then Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia.

Philanthropic Activity

Mantvydas Juozapavičius was an active philanthropist who contributed to various initiatives in both the education and social sectors. He was a regular monthly supporter of the VU Endowment Fund and, in 2023, together with his family, donated €100,000 to the Prof. A. P. Piskarskas Sub-Fund to strengthen research in laser physics.

He also supported the activities of the Vilnius Lyceum alumni community and financially contributed to Ukraine’s efforts to win the war, showing solidarity with the country and its fight for independence. His philanthropic work reflects a deep commitment to strengthening education and social justice.

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You can also donate via a bank transfer:

IBAN → LT55 7300 0101 8903 4800 (Swedbank)
Payment purpose → Donation to M. Juozapavičius Sub-Fund
Recipient → Paramos fondas Vilniaus universiteto fondas (company code 304222713)

For contribution contracts over 100 thousand euros notarization is required. Vilnius University Foundation will take care of it. Contact us in a convenient way.