Honorary Consulate of Republic of Lithuania in Tanzania

Weekly News from Lithuania, January 22

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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Highlight of the Week

Press conference of the Foreign Minister regarding the arrest of Alexey Navalny

Vilnius
Photo credits @ URM/J.Azanovas

Jan 23 2021

POLITICS

Ambassador Audra Plepytė elected as the President of the UNICEF Executive Board Bureau

On 12 January, the Ambassador Audra Plepytė, Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the United Nations, was elected as the President of the Bureau of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Lithuania's Presidency will focus on protecting children’s rights and well-being, mitigating the negative consequences of COVID-19 on children worldwide, as well as distance learning, the use of new technology and innovations to promote children’s well-being, the prevention of bullying, keeping children safe in cyberspace, and ensuring equal opportunities for girls and children with disabilities.

On 12 January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis received a letter from Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who requested replacing the official Lithuanian name 'Baltarusija' with a form that would be more similar to the one used in the Belarusian language.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya argues in her letter that by changing the name of the country Lithuania would show respect for the sovereignty of its neighbour and would support the linguistic and cultural identity of the Belarusian people.

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Lithuanian and Israeli Foreign Ministers discussed opportunities for cooperation

On 11 January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis had a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi and discussed good relations between Lithuania and Israel. The Foreign Ministers expressed their belief that bilateral political and economic cooperation would be further strengthened.

On 14 January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis announced the laureate of Global Lithuanian Awards 2020 for lifetime achievements.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania has given the award posthumously to the sociologist, educator, social activist, Honorable Chair of the Lithuanian Community in Germany, founder of the Lithuanian Cultural Institute in Lampertheim-Hüttenfeld, Germany - Dr. Vincas Bartusevičius (1939-2020).

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BUSINESS & SCIENCE

Biomatter Designs Raises €500k to Develop AI For Generative Protein Design

Vilnius-born startup Biomatter Designs that pioneers the technologies for generative protein design, has raised €500,000 in seed funding led by Practica Capital, accompanied by 70V and angel investors. The raised capital will be used to further develop the company’s protein design technology and product pipeline.

Having grown one and a half times over the past year, cybersecurity solution company Tesonet is expanding its offices in the Green Hall 1 business centre in Vilnius and has signed a contract for letting a further 800 square metres of premises. The rapidly growing IT company’s offices at the Green Hall business valley are increasing in size by fifty per cent, reaching almost 2,400 square metres.

While the world is still getting used to the idea of 5G and how it will shape the new age of tech, ambitious Lithuanian engineers are already making their way through developing the technology behind the 6G wireless.

With the deployment of the fifth generation network, Lithuanian scientists have already kicked-off the groundwork for the sixth-gen network. It will be based on high frequency terahertz waves, which are presumed to correct the flaws of 5G’s mmWave network, and contribute to heightened development of artificial intelligence, holographic communications and high precision manufacturing.

The year 2020 will go down in history of the Port of Klaipėda as the most successful year throughout the lifetime of the Port of Klaipėda. According to preliminary data, last year 47.74 million tons of cargo were handled in the Port of Klaipėda. The best result so far was achieved in 2018 when 46.58 tons of cargo were handled in the port.

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CULTURE & HISTORY

Jonas Mekas: Filming Independence | Credits @ The Brooklyn Rail

Day of the Defenders of Freedom marks its 30th anniversary

The 30th anniversary of the defense of independence of Lithuania was marked under unusual circumstances. For the first time ever after 1991, the Seimas did not hold a traditional solemn commemoration. Instead, it called on the people of Lithuania to pay tribute to the defenders of freedom by lighting candles in their homes and to view the recorded broadcast of the commemoration of the Day of the Defenders of Freedom and the Freedom Prize award ceremony.

Lithuania has approved "Sakartvelas" (Sakartvelo) as its official name for Georgia, meaning that it has to be used in all official Lithuanian-language documents.

"Sakartvelas is the official name now," Audrys Antanaitis, chairman of the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language (VLKK)

The European Film Promotion (EFP) has announced that Lithuanian actress Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė has been shortlisted among the ten talented newcomer actors selected for the European Shooting Stars 2021!

For her first leading role in Andrius Blaževičius’ second feature film Runner, which was presented as part of the online Karlovy Vary Eastern Promises programme, Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė from Lithuaniareceived high praise from the experts: ″Elena proves a force of nature, full of passion and raw energy that virtually leaps off the screen”.

A new generation of Lithuanians has grown up since the country declared independence and defended it from Soviet troops 30 years ago. People who were kids in 1991 recall how they experienced the events of January 13 – and what it means to them today.

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Winters like this are a real treat for those longing for fairytale-like views. Snow-covered forests and hills, frozen lakes and white meadows. | Credits @ Lithuania. Real is Beatiful