Honorary Consulate of Republic of Lithuania in Tanzania

Weekly News from Lithuania, January 8

POLITICS

Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis had a telephone conversation with the U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo

On 7 January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis had a telephone conversation with the U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and discussed topical issues of cooperation between Lithuania and the U.S., and international security policy.

On 6 January, Ministers of 13 member states of the European Union called on the European Commissioners for health and for international cooperation with the EU partners, as well as on the European Commission to set up a support mechanism to allow the Eastern Partnership countries to secure early access to COVID-19 vaccine.

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BUSINESS & SCIENCE

Lithuanian gaming marketplace Eneba scored €6.55 million in funding to support its rapid international expansion

Eneba, a Lithuanian marketplace startup which sells games and other gaming related products, just has raised €6.55 million in funding from InReach Ventures, Practica Capital FJ Labs and a group of business angels.

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Lithuania’s Fintech Industry in 2020: Review of This Year’s Key Developments

Lithuania’s fintech ecosystem continued to grow in 2020 on the back of government-led initiatives, favorable regulations, and booming digital finance activities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Q3 2020, Lithuania is home to more than 200 fintech companies and had issued 121 licenses going towards electronic money institutions (EMIs) and payment institutions (PIs). These figures make Lithuania one of the largest fintech hubs in Europe by number of licensed companies.

LTG Infra, the company responsible for the implementation of the Rail Baltica project in Lithuania, has launched the second stage of a tender, during which it will select a contractor for the railway bridge over the river Neris near Jonava. This will be the longest railway bridge in the Baltic States, spanning more than 1.5 kilometres.

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Ondato Rise €1.63 Million Investment And Expands in Europe To Power The Digital Economy, Naming London as HQ

Ondato, the digital & biometric authentication company, announces its expansion into Europe naming London as its new HQ. The business will now be based in London’s Canary Wharf district, using technology developed at its R&D center in Vilnius, Lithuania, where the company was founded. During 2021, Ondato will also be looking to expand in Germany, France, and Spain, after raising seed capital from Startup Wise Guys and OTB Ventures, Europe’s largest VC firm focussed on tech start-ups with a strong footprint in Central and Eastern Europe.

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CULTURE & HISTORY

KTU Folk Art Ensemble "Nemunas" celebrates 70th anniversary | Credits @ KTU

The innovative centre of Balt’s culture and tourism promotion “The Balts’ Road” established in Šiauliai

The first interactive Balts’ culture promotion centre in Lithuania and Latvia is waiting to open its doors to visitors after the quarantine. The main goal of this centre and the whole project LLI-187 “International Cultural Route Balts’ Road”, abbr. “Balts’ Road”, is to promote travelling and getting to know tangible and intangible cultural and natural heritage of Balts. Travel routes in the Baltic lands have been developed, there is a tourist guide, a website wwww.baltukelias.lt, and now, a unique space that will help to introduce to the past of Balts’ culture and its manifestations at present.

Vilnius Ghetto is a place of tragic Holocaust memories, yet even there, life and hope endured. The Ghetto’s cultural heritage apparently reveals it better than anything.

This virtual tour explores arts, education and creative endeavours within the Ghetto and the people behind them. The people who looked after Jewish culture in horrifying circumstances.

Some of the objects are long gone, many of them have changed a lot throughout the years as most of the local Jewish community, which was once very big and vital in Kaunas, was killed during WW2.

Founded in 1925, the Kaunas Municipal Vincas Kudirka Public Library is one of Lithuania’s oldest institutions of the kind. It’s also one of the most innovative ones – its creative team continually surprises us with new projects and initiatives beyond the traditional book sharing system.

A Lithuanian photographer whose drone shots made headlines around the world during the first Covid-19 lockdown, has taken to the skies once again, this time to help the people of Vilnius celebrate Christmas.

With Lithuania calling a nationwide lockdown in the lead-up to the Christmas and New Year holidays, residents of the country’s capital Vilnius are once again making the most of the situation – this time by sharing the holiday spirit from a safe distance.

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January 11

Virtual exhibition tour “Shenot Eliyahu/Elijah’s Years: The impact of Vilna Gaon on Lithuanian Jewish Culture”

Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in cooperation with Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania invites you to join a virtual exhibition tour by dr. Lara Lempertienė.

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Highlight of the Week

Foreign minister G. Landsbergis met with S.Tsihanouskaya in Vilnius

Vilnius
Photo credits @ URM/J.Azanovas

Jan 08 2021

POLITICS

Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis: Lithuania’s foreign policy and diplomacy must respond to the new challenges faced by the world today

On 11 December, after taking the oath of office at the Seimas (Parliament), the incoming new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis, says that Lithuania’s foreign policy must continue to be based on the principle of national consensus, while maintaining our strategic geopolitical attitudes. However, we also need new instruments, increased activity and a strengthened diplomatic service in order to be able to respond to the new challenges faced by the world today and to better defend Lithuania’s national interest.

President Gitanas Nausėda participated remotely in the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the OEDC convention. The leaders of OECD member countries discussed organization’s achievements, state of affairs in the world economy, long-term trends, and the specific contribution of the OECD to shape “better policies for better lives”.

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Lithuania awards Hope of Freedom Prize to Belarusian journalists

Five Belarusian reporters have been awarded the Hope of Freedom Prize from Lithuania for their tough work during the anti-government protests in the neighbouring country, the Lithuanian Union of Journalists said

Ekaterina Borisevich and Elena Tolkachova, who work for the independent news website Tut.by, Tatiana Korenkova of BelaPAN, and Ekaterina Andreeva and Darya Chulcova from the Warsaw-based TV channel Belsat will receive 1,000-euro prizes established by the Lithuanian Union of Journalists and the Lithuanian Journalists’ Society.

On 17 December, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis had a telephone conversation with his Norwegian counterpart Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide, Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde, and the Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod, and discussed the COVID-19 situation in the region, important issues of bilateral cooperation, as well as support to democratic forces in Belarus.

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BUSINESS & SCIENCE

The first-ever Alter State Nordic-Baltic Women Innovation Sprint has announced three winners

On December 10, the top 15 teams presented their innovative ideas during the virtual Alter State Nordic-Baltic Women Innovation Sprint final event. After the tense and competitive pitch session, 3 teams were selected by the international jury board. The first-place winner was the "Know Your Food" team, which develops a solution to inform customers about the sustainability indicators of the food products.

Startup Wise Guys together with EIT Digital have launched their 3rd annual Baltic Startup Scene report, the largest to-date. For the first time ever, Baltic startups saw a reduction in total funding in 2019. Despite this, survey insights along with funding data for 2020 reveal that investor and startup optimism is rebounding, with 2020 H1 significantly outperforming 2019 H1 in terms of funding, even with the onset of a pandemic-induced economic downturn.

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Lithuania’s AI Lab Aims At Making a Leap In AI Progress. Invites Startups to Create

Lithuania is widely known as a global fintech hub, however, its growing AI potential is hard to ignore with multiple AI startups emerging in recent years and a wide range of companies actively executing AI solutions. A country of roughly 2.5 million people currently hosts over 40 mature AI companies and 100 startups developing AI solutions. To further maximise Lithuania’s artificial intelligence potential, business and academia partnered at establishing a country’s own AI Laboratory.

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EU-Startups Podcast / Episode 11: Interview with Milda Mitkute – Co-founder of Vinted

For episode 11 of the EU-Startups Podcast we interviewed Milda Mitkute, the Co-founder of the Lithuanian unicorn Vinted – Europe’s leading online marketplace for second-hand fashion. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Vilnius, Vinted today counts over 34 million members across 13 markets. Vinted’s mission is to make second-hand the first choice globally. A team of over 500 people across Vinted’s offices in Vilnius, Berlin, and Prague develop and support the platforms continued growth.

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CULTURE & HISTORY

Video presentation of Skuodas region | Credits @ Skuodas region municipality

MO Museum in Vilnius Creates Outdoor Installation to Inspire Citizens

When the global pandemic caused massive shutdowns, artists and museums were forced to find new ways to display their pieces and invite people to experience art in a safe way. MO Museum in Vilnius, Lithuania, decided to bring the art outside to soothe and inspire citizens.

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Listen to the Echotecture of Kaunas

Listening to the recording is a novel tour around buildings of different architectural styles and uses.

ECHOtektūra, or echotecture, is a long-term project by Kaunas-based scholars, artists and architects. Today, the project is available in the shape of a music album but contains much more. Its name originated from a conjugation of two concepts: echolocation and architecture; the project is dedicated to representing architectural spaces and aesthetics to the visually handicapped.

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Until December 29

Virtual Concert Hall Festival

Lithuanian Union of Composers invites to unique experience of virtual concert hall with newest music of Lithuanian composers.

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Until January 3, 2021

The Art of Feeling Christmas

The Art of Feeling Christmas is an art installation outside Modern Art Museum MO in Vilnius. Architecture and outdoor spaces will lit up in a new perspective.

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