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Weekly News from Lithuania, December 6

December 6, 2019

Arrived in #London, accompanying President @GitanasNauseda at @NATO Leaders' Meeting as Allies are gathering to mark 70 years of unbreakable collective defence stance & to discuss further #NATO's strengthening & adaptation. #NATOmeeting pic.twitter.com/G3Da3U68ZG
— Linas Linkevicius (@LinkeviciusL) December 2, 2019

POLITICS

Our world is changing and NATO is changing with it. But our commitment to one another endures, giving us the strength to overcome our differences and rise to any challenge #WeAreNATO |
Credits @ NATO

Lithuania will provide help to quake-stricken Albania

Lithuania will provide assistance to Albania which was struck by a strong earthquake last week.

According to Deputy Government Chancellor Deividas Matulionis, the government will allocate financial support of up to 50,000 euros and will send two construction experts to the Balkan state.

"We'll provide a certain amount of money and experts who, along with experts from other countries, will assess the condition of the destroyed or damaged buildings and look at what to do with them next," he told BNS.

At the NATO Leaders Meeting in London, President Gitanas Nausėda said that Russia’s aggressive actions were the greatest threat to NATO.

“We should have no illusions, Russia is the main and, in my view, the biggest threat to the security of the Baltic States and NATO. It is important to identify external threats to the unity and strength of the Alliance. I urged NATO leaders to strengthen defense of our region to deter Russia”, the President said after the NATO Summit in London.

The GovTech Lab initiative by the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation and Create Lithuania was awarded at the Innovation In Politics Awards 2019.

‘GovTech seems to be just a word. It is clear that it consists of two parts, ‘gov’ and ‘tech’, which mean that we need to work together to create the value of technology for our society. Technology offers opportunities for a better public sector capable to serve the society,’ said Vice-Minister of the Economy and Innovation Elijus Čivilis when colleting the award in Berlin.

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Anti-soviet partisan Kentra-Aušra awarded Freedom Prize in Lithuania

Albinas Kentra-Ausra, a partisan and chronicler of the Lithuanian Atgimimas (Revival) movement, has been awarded the annual Freedom Prize in Lithuania.

Kentra was born in 1929 and was detained and imprisoned by the Soviets 1946 for his active ties with the partisans, and was moved to the Spassk labour camp in Russia in 1949. He returned to Lithuania in 1954 and later studied English language and literature at the Vilnius University, later continuing his foreign language studies in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

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BUSINESS & SCIENCE

#Lithuania is ranked 4th among TOP?#FinTech countries in the world, by @findexable. ?? is regarded as one of the most attractive fintech destinations in the EU thanks to progressive regulation& focus on prioritizing progress& helping fintech newcomers enter the market smoothly. pic.twitter.com/hi8e5fGPzT
— Lithuania MFA (@LithuaniaMFA) December 4, 2019

Lithuanian Companies Are Offered 40000 € to Transfer CERN Technologies

Lithuanian Innovation Centre (LIC), together with Sunrise Valley Science and Technology Park and Kaunas Science and Technology Park, invites companies to apply for the program of Lithuanian Business Incubation Centre (BIC) of CERN Technologies (CERN Incubator), and develop innovative products using CERN technologies. The list of technological excellence of CERN includes particle accelerators, vacuum technology, data and digital sciences, sensors, detectors, superconducting magnets, mechanical, material, electrical engineering and a host of other innovative technologies that can be applied not only for scientific but also for commercial purposes.

December 3, the President visited the London business center where he met with Catherine McGuinness, Chair of the Policy and Resources Committee at the City of London Corporation, other corporate officials and members of the financial community. Gitanas Nausėda took part in a round table with management teams from large companies working in finance and financial technologies.

The President spoke about Brexit’s possible impact on the economy and the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. He underlined that Lithuania would support close UK-EU political, defense and economic ties even after Brexit.

Italy's Etea Group is planning to build a facility in Lithuania's northern city of Panevezys to produce ethyl alcohol from residual materials from wheat processing, the business daily Verslo Zinios reported on Tuesday.

The group plans to invest 24.5 million euros and create up to 25 jobs in the facility which is planned to be launched in 2021.

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Lithuania's Kaunas to test new waste-to-energy plant

A waste-to-energy combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Kaunas, built by a joint enterprise of Lithuania's Ignitis Group and Finnish energy group Fortum Heat, underwent tests this week.

During the first weeks, equipment testing will involve the use of natural gas, and upon confirmation that all installations work as expected, the first shipment of waste will be brought to the production facility, probably in late January, Ignitis Group said.

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CULTURE & HISTORY

#Lithuanian writer Alvydas Šlepikas's novel "In the Shadow of Wolves" on @thetimes list The best historical fiction books of 2019! #culturelt #booksfromlithuania @OneworldNews @LTEMBASSYUK @LtCultureUK pic.twitter.com/iHykH0Bj6A
— LT_CultureInstitute (@LCI_Lithuania) December 3, 2019

90 cafes of the capital invite seniors for a free cup of coffee and tea on Sundays

In the eve of the most beautiful winter holidays, seniors are invited to enjoy a warm and friendly campaign “Let’s meet for a cup of coffee” held for the 19^th year in the capital. A record-high number of businesses responded to the municipality’s invitation to join the beautiful initiative and serve seniors coffee or tea – as many as 90 cafes, restaurants, hotels and bakeries will welcome seniors from 24 November till 5 January, inviting them to spend Sunday afternoons chatting over a cup of coffee or tea.

A play by a Lithuanian playwright has been produced by a theatre company in South Korea. The story about a group of women in a hospital seems to have struck a chord with Lithuanians and Koreans alike, says the author, Birutė Kapustinskaitė.

December 2, the 16th international animation festival Animateka starts in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. For the first time ever, this year’s program is dedicated to the Baltic animation. Program „Focus on the Baltics“ was created in cooperation with national film centers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

A new global study by The Sole Supplier, Europe’s leading sneaker news and retail platform, analysed 81 global IAAF-certified marathon courses.

To make things simpler, The Sole Supplier, Europe’s leading sneaker news and retail platform, has standardised the latest data available for key categories - including the number of toilet and medical stations, average finish time, entry fees, air pollution levels and the quality of local accommodation - to rank marathons around the world from best to worst.

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From December 6

Ice skating in Lukiškės Square!

Ice skating is one of favourite winter pastimes, especially in the run-up to Christmas.

Outdoor CHRISTMAS ICE SKATING RINK of Vilnius – open from 6 December 2019 until 8 March 2020 at Lukiškės Square.

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December 7

Concert of Ola Gjeilo „Sunrise Mass“, Klasika Visiems

Annual project Klasika Visiems (Classical music for Everyone) invites the public to an unforgettable night with New Ideas Chamber Orchestra and a choir of apprx. 400 voices at the Vilnius University, St. Johns' Church.

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December 7

Student Company and Startup Christmas eXpo 2019

Entrepreneurial-minded students from across Lithuania will offer innovative and nowhere seen ideas, offer services and products they have created themselves in a largest annual student startup expo.

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GLOBAL LITHUANIA

Credits @ Lithuanian Tribune

Lithuanian choir conductor brings Baltic choral tradition to the Netherlands

November saw the powerful début of the Baltic Project Choir, founded and led by Lithuanian choir conductor Sigita Žurauskaitė, in the northern city of Groningen, the Netherlands. The two-night program is part of a long-anticipated cultural initiative to bring Baltic choral tradition to new audiences abroad, featuring a compilation of traditional folk song arrangements and modern classical compositions by Baltic composers.

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Highlight of the Week

Main Lithuanian Christmas tree, already beeing called the Queen of European Christmas trees according to "European Best Destinations"

Vilnius, Lithuania
Photo credits @ LRT

Dec 10 2019

		Darius Skusevičius @skusev

Think globally, act locally - with this motto @LithuaniaMFA, first from state institutions, joined… https://t.co/CEyyNs7LVh

8:53 AM - Sep 19, 2019

See skusev's other Tweets

POLITICS

Minister Linas Linkevičius met with the Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan

Credits @ Jurijus Azanovas / URM

Armenia and Lithuania 'not rich beneath the earth', but have talent – Armenian FM says in Vilnius

Armenia would like to expand cooperation with Lithuania in the areas of high and IT technology and science, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said in Vilnius. Bilateral cooperation could include "information technology, life sciences, financial technology," said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linkevičius. Mnatsakanyan was first appointed foreign minister in May 2018, and stayed on after a new government was formed in January. It's the first minister's to Lithuania.

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Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda at Rukla military base
Credits @ Office of the President of Lithuania

The President met with representatives of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation

President Gitanas Nausėda met with Governor Tadashi Maeda and members of the delegation of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Economic cooperation between Lithuania and Japan as well as future prospects and investments in the Lithuanian economy were discussed during the meeting. The President emphasized the importance of Japanese experience and investments of Japanese companies in implementation of strategic transport and energy projects.

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Lithuania’s Foreign Minister meets with delegation of American-Lithuanian Business Council

On 19 September, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with members of the American-Lithuanian Business Council’s business mission. The delegation was comprised of representatives from the eleven U.S. companies operating in Lithuania in different sectors.

“Dynamic economic relations between the two countries show that Lithuania is an attractive and reliable country for global businesses with a favorable environment for the development of different sectors. The U.S. is Lithuania’s strategic partner in many areas. Our goal is to further strengthen trade, promote mutual investment and business cooperation not only in traditional, but also in innovative sectors of the economy,” said Lithuania’s Foreign Minister.

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		Lithuania MFA @LithuaniaMFA

Saturday the Republic of Namibia ?? opened its Honorary Consulate in #Kaunas. An entrepreneur Vismantas Raškinis wa… https://t.co/AdZYnbIbkW

3:16 PM - Sep 17, 2019

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BUSINESS & SCIENCE

Lithuanian Finance Minister Urges Use of Fiscal Stimulus Where Possible | Credits @ Bloomberg

Robotic process automation may help to unleash employee creativity?

Global business services (GBS) ecosystem is currently thriving in Lithuania. According to Invest Lithuania, GBS industry has contributed 1,5% to the country’s GDP in 2019. To date, the majority of the international companies in Lithuania are continuously creating new products as well as implement innovative business development solutions. Robotic process automation (RPA) is one of those solutions. Currently, around 85% of the services centres in the world are deploying RPA.

The first ever in Central and Eastern Europe hackathon of this type was a two-day event that could be described as a marathon for creating innovative solutions to sports-related issues and unites all sorts of start-up, technological and expert partners. At the end of the process, the start-up teams presented prototypes for their solutions with the help of IT professionals, coders, designers and other specialists that are there to complete the task.

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#WalkableVilnius in a minute | Credits @ Go Vilnius

CULTURE & HISTORY

		Go Vilnius 9:30 AM - Sep 16, 2019

Can you handle this beauty? It’s called #Vilnius and it should be on your #must-visit list if it isn’t already. Just take a close look and imagine yourself standing on the top of Gediminas’ Tower taking in views of the Old Town. Now’s the time to start planning your trip. #govilnius #gediminascastle #vilniusoldtown

Comment

'Joker' Composer Hildur Guonadottir Wins Emmy for HBO's 'Chernobyl'

To capture the experience of Chernobyl, the composer recorded sounds at a power plant in Lithuania.

Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir nabbed her first Emmy for the haunting score to HBO limited series Chernobyl on Sunday night at the 2019 Creative Arts Emmys. She also recently scored Todd Phillips' Joker, which last weekend won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Lithuanian Oscars Committee announced its selection for this year’s Academy Awards: it’s a Lithuanian-Latvian-Estonian documentary essay Bridges of Time (lit. Laiko tiltai) brought by directors Audrius Stonys (Lithuania) and Kristīne Briede (Latvia).

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September 21

River Cleanup: Neris ir Nemunas

First time in Lithuania - global initiative River Cleanup, to encourage community and sustainable living by getting together people to clean up the river banks of Nemunas and Neris.

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September 19-29

International Documentary Films Festival

Vilnius Documentary Film Festival (VDFF) is an international documentary film festival launched in 2004 in Lithuania, and is the main documentary film platform in the Baltics.

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September 29

European Heritage Days’19

This year’s European Heritage Days invite you to have fun discovering the cultural heritage! We have to admit that we see cultural heritage objects every day and by exploring it we “read” the history of our parents, grandparents and people who have lived in an ancient times. It helps us understand our origins and identity. Therefore, events (cognitive walks, lectures, exhibitions, workshops, hiking, hide and seek games, etc.) for different age groups will be held during the

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GLOBAL LITHUANIA

		Lietuvos ambasada Pietų Afrikoje/Lithuanian Embassy to South Africa 10:55 AM - Sep 20, 2019

Lietuvos užsienio reikalų ministerijos delegacija diskutavo su kolegomis Pietų Afrikos Respublikoje kaip suaktyvinti verslo ryšius, paskatinti akademinius mainus ir turizmą tarp Lietuvos ir Pietų Afrikos / Lithuanian Foreign Ministry delegation in South Africa to discuss boosting economic and political cooperation between the two countries

Comment

Expat living in Vilnius: French do not understand Lithuanians in this area

Historian, lecturer, polyglot Frenchman Arnaud Parent speaks, writes and lectures in Lithuanian. He lives in Vilnius and is busy writing the biography of French physician Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert, who lived in Vilnius 1781-1783 in Lithuanian.

As the new academic year began Sept. 1st, Arnaud Parent noticed that in France there is no such thing as First Day of Classes with celebrations that are common in Lithuania every Sept. 1st. Last year he defended his PhD in history in Lithuanian at Vilnius University and Lithuania‘s History Institute. Admitting that he likes to live among books, he now teaches the French language to students at Mykolas Romeris University.

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