Weekly News from Lithuania, January 22

Jan 23 2021

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POLITICS

Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis talked to EU Ambassadors via virtual discussion, highlighted the importance of the EU's values-based leadership

On 21 January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis talked to the EU Ambassadors in Lithuania via virtual discussion and stressed that, in response to global challenges, the EU’s foreign policy needed to be value-based.

“The European Union must find ways to help Eastern partners obtain access to COVID-19 vaccines. It is not only the principle of good neighbourliness. It is also a geopolitical issue and a problem of the EU's credibility,” said the Foreign Minister.

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Mission completed – Lithuania transferred the lead of the NATO maritime group to the Netherlands

Lithuanian Navy officer Commander Audrius Venckūnas handed over the command of Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) to officer of the Royal Netherlands Navy Commander Dr. Jan Wijchers. The Lithuanian Navy was in command of SNMCMG1 from summer 2020.

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BUSINESS & SCIENCE

Lithuania: your Fintech gateway to Europe | Credits @ Invest Lithuania

CSR in Lithuania: a study in getting it right

The ethical merits of Corporate Social Responsibility have long been established. But the benefits of CSR go far beyond what the famous economist Milton Friedman once referred to as mere “window-dressing”. <...>

Within this context then, it should come as no surprise that CSR is playing an increasingly more important role within the companies that comprise Lithuania’s growing GBS ecosystem. The numbers provide strong evidence of this: statistics compiled from Lithuania’s Business Services Report 2020 show that the share of GBS centres conducting CSR activities doubled from 38% to 76% between 2018 and 2019. Drilling down further, it must be noted how different and broad these CSR activities have become.

First place on Facebook’s social network and 2.1 billion video views. Crafty Panda, the Lithuanian online magazine Bored Panda video channel, whose DIY content is primarily being created in Vilnius, can be proud of such achievements in November.

These are impressive but expected results. This is how Tomas Banišauskas, the director and founder of Bored Panda,evaluates the leading position on Facebook and billions of video views.

Klaipėda Free Economic Zone (FEZ) has installed the air monitoring hardware and software, integrated with the city’s community information platform www.klaipedoskvapas.lt. This solution will contribute to a cleaner, more sustainable environment as well as the wellbeing of Klaipėda’s residents. It will also facilitate more accurate identification of odour sources.

The nanosatellite for US-based Aurora Insight, integrated for launch with Falcon 9 by Exolaunch, will measure and map the radio frequency spectrum

NanoAvionics, a leading nanosatellite bus manufacturer and mission integrator, has announced that the first of two nanosatellites, built and integrated for US radio frequency spectrum and wireless data provider Aurora Insight, will be part of SpaceX’s “Transporter 1” rideshare launch onboard a Falcon 9.

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Dr. Rima Budvydyte, one of the L'Oreal Baltics program For Women In Science awardees,
is a Senior research fellow in the Institute of Biochemistry at
Vilnius University Life Sciences Center | Credits @ L'Oréal Group

CULTURE & HISTORY

Photo of the Day: Lithuanian Naval Force minesweeper Kuršis
| Credits @ Lithuanian Armed Forces

Setting up a back-up Lithuania. Reimagining future past with Nova Lituania

The film Nova Lituania, explores a geographer’s idea of a “reserve Lithuania” on the eve of the Second World War. Alexander Langstaff reports for New Eastern Europe, partners of LRT English.

It is 1938 and distinguished Lithuanian geographer Kazys Pakštas predicts the end of the world. Hatching a plan to set up a “back-up Lithuania” abroad, he fails to convince anyone except the country’s solitary prime minister.

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Top Magical Places in Lithuania

Time to reveal a secret: there are some truly unexpected ways to make your wishes come true in Lithuania.

The new year brings along fresh dreams of success, happiness, or love. While some of them require hard work, others need a slightly different approach—a drop of magic, for instance. Together with the tourism information centers, the national tourism development agency Lithuania Travel reveals a secret: there are some truly unexpected ways to make your wishes come true.

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GLOBAL LITHUANIA

How Lithuanians Conquered the World: The Case for a Migration Museum

Think of great names in the history of sport and science, film and fashion, and Lithuania isn’t the first country that springs to mind. But did you know that Manchester United Football Club, the fashion scene of swinging ‘60’s London, Einstein’s theory of relativity, and even the Beatles all share Lithuanian claims to fame.

As we know, Lithuania was once a mighty kingdom stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea – a fact often overlooked today. In the post-Soviet period, it was common for Lithuania to lose its separate identity altogether and be lumped in with Estonia and Latvia as the ‘Baltic states’ – often accompanied by patronising terms too, such as ‘tiny’, ‘plucky’, or ‘former Soviet state’.

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