Weekly News from Lithuania, September 18

Sep 21 2020

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POLITICS

Lithuania's Foreign Minister Linkevičius met with the U.S. Secretary of State in Washington, D.C.

On 16 September, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with the United States Secretary of State Mike R. Pompeo. The meeting focused on the situation in Belarus and in the region, relevant bilateral and multilateral issues related to the relationship between Lithuania and the U.S., and international security policy.

Linkevičius thanked the U.S. for its consistent and visible involvement in ensuring security in Lithuania and in the whole region.

Lithuania will temporarily facilitate the procedures and conditions for issuing visas to Belarusian citizens as of 21 September. After their entry into force, the changes will significantly simplify the procedures for relocating workers and their families. This is especially important for Belarusian companies, which would decide to transfer their businesses to Lithuania. At the same time, this step implements an important part of the plan to help the people of Belarus.

According to President Gitanas Nausėda, Lithuania and Turkey are historically linked by friendly and goodwill relations, the origins of which date back to the old 15th and 16th centuries. Lithuania highly appreciates the fact that Turkey had never recognized the occupation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union. According to the President, it strengthened our hope of becoming free and restoring independence, the thirtieth anniversary of which we celebrated in the spring. We will always remember this sign of Turkish solidarity and understanding with sincere gratitude.

September 17, Minister of National Defence of Lithuania Raimundas Karoblis and Minister of National Defence of Poland Mariusz Błaszczak discussed regional security situation, bilateral initiatives for strengthening regional security – cooperation of armed forces to ensure defensibility of the Suwalki Gap and the aspiration to have a persistent U.S. military presence in Europe and the region – and other topical aspects of NATO agenda at a meeting in Vilnius.

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BUSINESS & SCIENCE

The startup scene in Vilnius is filled with stories of hard work
and dedication worth sharing with the world
| Credits @ GoVilnius

Bio-based resin invented by Lithuanian researchers: breakthrough in rapid prototyping

Lithuanian researchers from Kaunas University of Technology and Vilnius University synthesised and tested a bio-based resin for optical 3D printing. The bio-based resin made from renewable raw materials proved to be universal for both table-top 3D printers and state-of-the-art ultrafast laser, suitable for O3DP in the scales from nano- to macro- dimensions. This, according to the researchers, is a unique property for a single photo-resin.

Kaunas Startups – the promotion program for small and medium-sized enterprises, which is in its sixth year, participated in the European Enterprise Promotion Awards organized by the European Commission and became the winner of the national selection in the category of “Investing in Entrepreneurial Skills”.

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Ignitis Group to develop offshore wind farms with global energy leader Ocean Winds

Ignitis Group started the search for a strategic partner for the development of offshore wind farm projects in Q1 2019. After initiating a search, the group established a dialogue with European wind energy leaders and received initial interest from more than 10 potential partners, and 7 participants submitted official Expressions of Interest (EOIs).

Already more than two-thirds of work for the Rail Baltica project has been completed on the railway stretch between Kaunas and Palemonas. Upon completing this stage of European standard gauge railway installation, not only passenger but also freight trains will be able to arrive in Lithuania’s second-largest city Kaunas without intermediary stops.

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CULTURE & HISTORY

Women partisans among Lithuania’s Forest Brothers: from lovers to fighters

The role of women partisans is often ignored when discussing the history of Lithuania’s Forest Brothers, the anti-Soviet resistance fighters.

While some women took part in the fighting, the secrecy of an underground movement allowed some men to have several lovers at once.

The Lithuanian Film Center has joined the Vilnius University, along with partners the Vytautas Magnus University and The Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore, in a project dedicated to “Encouragement of collaboration between International Baltic Study Centres and Lithuanian Academic Research Institutions”. From now own, classic Lithuanian films will be used for teaching Lithuanian to speakers of other languages.

Lithuanian conceptual design will be among the presentations within this year’s London Design Festival (12–20 September), showcased as part of the international design exhibition Virtual Design Destination in the form of a collection curated by Audronė Drungilaitė and presenting works by Agnė Kučerenkaitė, Barbora Žilinskaitė, Evelina Kudabaitė, Etc.Etc. Studio (Inesa Malafej and Arūnas Sukarevičius), Marija Puipaitė and Vytautas Gečas, Monika Gedrimaitė and Severija Inčirauskaitė-Kriaunevičienė.

On a sunny Tuesday morning, 12 seals that were previously found in Smiltynė on Lithuania’s Curonian Spit were released back into the Baltic Sea.

Twenty seals were found in early spring, and after growing to at least 40 kilogrammes over five months, they were strong enough to return to the wild, according to a press release by Lithuania’s Sea Museum.

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September 28 - October 2

The Creative Bureaucracy Festival 2020

A week full of bureaucratic imagination. Week's program is jam-packed with fresh ideas, new insights and pride in what the public sector can accomplish.

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October 2 - 4

NASA Space Apps Vilnius 2020

Space Apps Challenge – it is 48th hours hackathon that unites space enthusiasts around the globe to solve challenges of Earth and space using free and open NASA data.
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