Honorary Consulate of Republic of Lithuania in Tanzania

Weekly News from Lithuania, February 28

February 28, 2020

POLITICS

L. Linkevičius meets with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova Aureliu Ciocoi in Geneva. The meeting focused on the implementation of the Association Agreement between Moldova and the European Union, Moldova's progress in
implementing reforms, cooperation within the United Nations system, and the latest developments in bilateral relations.

Lithuania is set to join the European Plastics Pact in an effort to tackle plastic pollution and reduce the use of disposable plastics.

"The Environment Ministry welcomes this initiative and proposes joining it at the governmental level, because the implementation of the objectiveswill help Lithuania achieve the goals set in other EU circular economy legislation," Environment Minister Kęstutis Mažeika told the Cabinet.

President Gitanas Nausėda and First Lady Diana Nausėdienė welcomed a Japanese delegation that came to Lithuania on the occasion of the year of Chiune Sugihara. Nobuki Sugihara, son of humanist Chiune Sugihara, also attended the meeting.

Lithuania declares nationwide emergency due to coronavirus threat

The Lithuanian government declared on Wednesday, February 26, a nationwide emergency in an effort to minimize the threat of the novel coronavirus spreading into the country. The government also decided to set up a State Emergency Operations Center, headed by Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga, to coordinate efforts against the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Deputy Health Minister Algirdas Seselgis said the step was taken in light of the growing number of coronavirus cases in the world and the spread of the infection in Europe.

BUSINESS & SCIENCE

Lithuanian Transport Giants Launched “Sandbox” Platform

The transport innovation environment (sandbox) is officially launched in Lithuania. Startups will get exclusive access to Road Maintenance, Lithuanian Railways and Lithuanian Post infrastructure, data and experts’ advices.

Julius Norkūnas, the director of the center, says that this initiative aims to stimulate the creation and development of innovations applicable in the transport sector in Lithuania, as well as their implementation in state-owned companies.

London-based fintech company Revolut will relocate to Lithuania and Ireland because of Brexit, the company said earlier in February.

“Brexit is the initial cause but it’s also a reflection of the great customer appetite we’ve seen across Europe,” Revolut’s banking chief executive Richard Davies told the Telegraph daily on February 3.

Trafi, a Lithuanian mobility services startup, will help the main public transport agency in Munich, Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG), to create and release a city-owned Mobility-as-a-Service program that connects public, private, and shared transportation options.

“Sharing is part of our DNA as a public transport operator. The MVG’s current goal is to also cover the first and last mile by cooperating with new partners and offers. Our customers want to reach their destination from and to their front door, and not just from stop to
stop,” says Ingo Wortmann, chairman of the MVG management board.

Lithuania’s Utenos Trikotažas became the first producer in the world to fully comply with the Greenpeace environmental standards, according to the company’s press release.

“This [...] proves that truly clean, fair and completely transparent production is in fact possible. And not in boutique shops, but at an industrial level,” Viola Wohlgemuth from Greenpeace is quoted in the press release. Utenos Trikotažas is now producing tshirts for Greenpeace.

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CULTURE & HISTORY

Lithuanian author long-listed for prestigious UK literary award

Noir Press announced that Lithuanian author Grigory Kanovich has just been long-listed for the EBRD Literature Prize - a prestigious award celebrating literature in translation.

The Irish Times commented that Devilspel was ‘Powerful, demanding and at times transcendent, the novel asks the reader to not only engage with the concept and experience of suffering, but to embrace it, and the human spirit’s capacity to overcome it. ‘

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Interwar Architecture

Lithuanian Interwar Architecture project is an interactive educational platform that connects Lithuanian interwar architecture and the modern technologies. From an outsider‘s perspective interwar seems like a distant period of time that is not a current topic anymore. However, at the same time the architecture of the interwar period represents the beginning of modernism in Lithuania. The duality of what‘s old and new helps us tell the tale of the architecture of this period. Architectureis always close to the community and that helps us explore the contemporary lifestyle.

A Lithuanian student from Kėdainiai swapped designing clothes for modelling them at one of the biggest fashion events in the world.

Ieva Dovidonytė, who is a second year Fashion student at the University of Northampton in the UK, strutted her stuff on the catwalk for three shows at February’s London Fashion Week.

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New catalogues presenting the latest works by Lithuanian filmmakers – online

Lithuanian film centre publishes new catalogues “Lithuanian Feature Films 2019–2020“, “Lithuanian Documentary Films 2019–2020“ and “Lithuanian Animation and VR Films 2016–2020“ presenting new and upcoming films of Lithuanian production companies. Here you will find all the information about 31 feature films, 39 documentaries, 29 animations and 9 interactive and virtual reality films.

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March 2

Digital Lithuania Academy Forum: Navigating the Data Space

Digital transformation is an integral part of both, private and public sectors today. Are we ready for the digital future? Let's discuss!

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March

The Month of La Francophonie in Kaunas’2020

Little Paris, the interwar nickname of Kaunas, isn’t the only thing in common between Lithuania and France. In fact, the friendship between the two countries is very close, and there are a lot of stories to tell, starting much, much earlier than 1930.

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Highlight of the Week

Moment from National Book Fair

Vilnius
Photo credits @ D.Umbrasas / LRT

Mar 06 2020

February 21, 2020

POLITICS

L. Linkevičius: Montenegro has set example of Euro-Atlantic integration in Western Balkans

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro Srđan Darmanović.

“Lithuania remains a strong supporter of Montenegro’s European integration. We welcome the country’s full alignment with the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), its participation in the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy missions, and efforts to implement the necessary reforms, especially in the area of the rule of law”, said L. Linkevičius.

Transport ministers from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Romania urged the Commission to assess how the provisions of upcoming Mobility Package will affect the EU Green Deal ambitions. Their meeting with the Vice-president Timmermans and Commissioner Valean came after the European Commission recognized such potential negative impact at the final stages of negotiations last year and promised to come up with possible solutions before the controversial EU legislation comes into force.

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Interview with Iron Wolf Commander Col. Petkevičius
| Credits @ NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup Lithuania

BUSINESS & SCIENCE

Debunk.eu was presented during Google News Innitiative conference | Credits @ Google

Leading Swiss engineering consultancy plans to double its Vilnius team

Engineering consultancy CSD Engineers has announced plans to double the size of its team in Vilnius. Over the next few years, the company will hire additional civil engineering and design specialists with French or German language skills, experience in BIM – and a passion for big projects.

Lithuania is home to the fastest growing fintech sector in the European Union, and the second fastest growing in Europe, behind only the UK.

A study carried out by Invest Lithuania and Rockit Vilnius, which looked at the state of fintech in 2019, reveals an impressive 24 per cent increase in the number of Lithuanian companies operating in the sector. This has brought multifaceted social and economic benefits to the Lithuanian IT industry, leading to diversification and sophistication.

The Fintech Landscape in Lithuania report, a yearly study providing a snapshot of Lithuania’s Fintech sector, was released. The report, which looks at the state of Fintech in 2019, confirms the continuation of the strong growth trend of previous years, with the number of Fintechs increasing by 24% to 210 and the number of jobs in the Fintech sector increasing by over 30% to 3,400.

In 2020, a pilot version of the centralised Open Data Portal was launched in Lithuania to allow businesses, the scientific community and the public to conveniently access and use open data that is managed by the public sector. It is estimated that accessible and active use of open data in Lithuania would generate the benefit of almost 2% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

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TALKING DIPLOMACY PODCAST

Humour in Diplomacy

We are excited to announce a brand new piece of content - podcast Talking Diplomacy, which will cover a range of topics on diplomacy, international relations and nuances of diplomatic life that are invisible from outside.

First episode - on humuor in diplomacy and diplomacy in humour, how it works and what part of diplomatic work it takes. Our guest - ambassador, historian, writer Alfonsas Eidintas.

This episode is in Lithuania, however, as the title suggests, we are planning to release episodes in English as well - stay tuned!

Listen on Spotify

CULTURE & HISTORY

Campaign to celebrate 30th Anniversary of the Restoration of Lithuania's Independence
| Credits @ LRV

Biggest book fair in Baltics kicks off in Vilnius

The international Vilnius Book Fair kicked off in Vilnius on Thursday with a special focus on the Lithuanian legendary artist Jonas Mekas.

Over 500 different talks, presentations and various events are held during the four opening days, attracting more than 60,000 visitors, according to the press release.

In line with this year’s focus on Jonas Mekas and his words, “you should live without formulas [and] be open to the world,” the event seeks new ways for freedom in self-expression.

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Interwar Architecture

Jörgen Kipp, Purchasing Manager at HELLA Lithuania, came to Kaunas two years ago to live and work. He says that from day one, the city became a pleasant discovery for him.

Jörgen Kipp, Purchasing Manager at HELLA Lithuania, came to Kaunas from Germany two years ago to live and work. He says that from day one, the city became a pleasant discovery for him, and today he has become sincerely accustomed to saying, “I am going back home, to Kaunas.”

The act laying Lithuania's legal foundations was lost for almost a century. Some said it was shredded by bees, others claimed it was forgotten and lost inside a book. In 2017, a little known professor from Kaunas embarked on a quest to Berlin in search of Lithuania's original Act of Independence.

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Until March 14

Expo "Freedom Fighters"

Exhibition by Giedrius Paulauskas "Freedom Fighters" showcases full original uniforms and outwear of Lithuanian freedom fighters for the first time.

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February 27 - March 7

19th Japanese Film Festival

The Embassy of Japan in Lithuania together with the Japan Foundation is glad to announce the annual Japanese Film Festival. The 19^thFilm Festival this year is going to bring us films of various genres, which will be screened in Vilnius and Kaunas from February 27^th until March 7^th.

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GLOBAL LITHUANIA

The tallest skyscraper in the world, the Burj Khalifa in United Arab Emirates, lit up in Lithuanian colours to mark the country’s Independence Restoration Day on February 16

Lithuania to open embassy in Australia

The Lithuanian government decided on Wednesday to establish the country's embassy in Australia.

Under the Foreign Ministry's proposal, the embassy should be opened in Canberra in July.

"We propose to establish our embassy from July 1 to properly protect our country's interests, develop political contacts, maintain relations with the diaspora, develop business relations, and provide consular services," Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius told the Cabinet.