Honorary Consulate of Republic of Lithuania in Tanzania

Weekly News from Lithuania, September 20 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

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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

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'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

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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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Highlight of the Week

Lithuanian Diplomatic Star Award, presented to Eeva Catharina Sikow-Magny

Vilnius, Lithuania
Photo credits @ Jurijus Azanovas

Sep 23 2019

		Lithuania MFA @LithuaniaMFA

The #ECHR accepted that #LTFreedomFighters and their supporters "had played an essential role in protecting the nat… https://t.co/jIKEZ3IawY

1:39 PM - Sep 11, 2019

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POLITICS

Lithuanian Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Darius Skusevičius met with the Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Wolf | Credits @ Jurijus Azanovas / URM

The President met with the Governor of Pennsylvania

President Gitanas Nausėda met with Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Wolf. Cooperation in defense, economy and culture was discussed at the meeting.

Speaking about the military cooperation between Lithuania and the United States and the partnership between the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Pennsylvania National Guard, the President expressed delight at the fact that the US remained our strategic security partner. Continuous participation of the Pennsylvania National Guard troops in military exercises in Lithuania demonstrated military presence of the US and additional security guarantees for our region.

Lithuania's Economy Minister Virginijus Sinkevicius, proposed on Tuesday for the position of European commissioner in charge of environment and oceans, named the development of circular economy, reducing the use of plastic and reducing ocean pollution will be among his priorities, informed LETA/BNS.

What is this girl thinking after 30 years? This was the question asked in the Russian newspaper "Komsomolskaja Pravda" together with a published photo of a girl in 1990 April during the protest for Lithuanian independence. Both the Baltic Way and independence of Baltic countries still irritate Kremlin that continues to create myths and spread sarcasm about Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

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On the job with Lithuanian bodyguard Simona - #WeAreNATO | Credits @ NATO

BUSINESS & SCIENCE

		Startup Lithuania 12:02 PM - Sep 12, 2019

#LTstartups Today is the day! Two Lithuanian startups MoQ and Eddy Travels will pitch at Baltic Brand Ranking 2019 event! Best of luck LT team!

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Vilnius Series: Invest Lithuania

Earlier this summer, I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Lithuania to check out the startup scene there. I’d never been to Lithuania before, but the country has long been on my radar. Part of the reason for this is the many initiatives the country is putting forward to help develop their technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem, with a special emphasis on fintech. These actions have been garnering quite a bit of attention (see here, here and here), with good reason. When it comes to building advantageous policies for startups, Lithuania has learned from some of the best outcomes of it’s neighbors Estonia and Latvia, and added some unique elements of their very own.

The jury of Baltic Startup brand ranking has announced the top 10 Baltic startups to battle it out for the Grand Prix. Six of those come from Latvia: Printify, Nordigen, Gamechanger Audio, Giraffe360, Lokalise, CastPrint. Two on the list are from Lithuania – Eddy Travels and MoQ and two Estonian startups – Veriff and HUGO.legal. Altogether nearly 100 startups applied for the Baltic Startup brand ranking.

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		Manfred Reudenbach @MReu134

DYK - ?? @BeAirForce was the first Ally to start @NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission after ?????? joined the Allian… https://t.co/kKN23bjrRi

8:14 PM - Sep 2, 2019

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CULTURE & HISTORY

Reconstructed Vilnius Square opened in Tbilisi | Credits @ Lithuanian Embassy in Georgia

The work of famous Lithuanian artist Kristina Inčiūraitė will be presented in Rome

The body of work of famous Lithuanian contemporary artist Kristina Inčiūraitė will be presented in Rome this autumn: a solo show at AlbumArte, an independent space for contemporary art, and the musical performance “The Fragment as a Proverb” at MAXXI, the National Museum of 21st Century Arts.

New additions to the always-open Open Gallery in Vilnius include artworks by the Dutch duo TELMO MIEL and the Lithuanian Eglė Žvirblytė; the co-founder of the gallery praises the transformational power of street art, informs "Vilnius Go".

Open Gallery is a long-term interdisciplinary project, situated in the post-industrial Naujamiestis district. Aimed at reinvigorating the formerly decaying neighbourhood with art, the Open Gallery showcases murals, installations, and sculptures, hosts performances and non-commercial cinema.

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Lithuania’s fans | Credits @ Getty Images

‘A second religion’: Lithuania’s insane fan section is easily the best in world basketball

Imagine playing a game on your home court, only for the crowd of the opposing team to completely turn the tables on you.

Rewind just a few months, and that’s what the Netherlands had to endure. It was a FIBA World Cup qualifying game in Amsterdam, and Lithuania was in town for the matchup. The first meeting between the two teams ended in overtime, with the Lithuanians picking up the win in the nation’s capital, Vilnius. This was the perfect chance for the Dutch to give them a taste of their own medicine, but in their own capital; except, something was off.

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September 13-15

Nations’ Fair 2019

You will definitely smell the aromas of the fair first – various stands offering national food in the streets of Vilnius will lure you from afar. Get acquainted with national customs and traditions, from famous German sausages, pastries made by Georgians and Karaims, and other delicacies that will definitely tempt you to taste everything. But this is not just a foodie paradise; the most active masters of arts and crafts from the national communities living in Lithuania will present their arts, songs, and dances for the audience.

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September 13-14

Reading festival 2019

5th anniversary of the Reading Festival in the heart of Vilnius, inviting to be open and stay truthful to oneself. Open discussions, book presentations, concerts and free workshops combines a positive vibe of book-worms with urban way of life.

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September 21

Kaunas Architecture Festival 2019

The Kaunas Architecture Festival (KAFe) is only held once in three years, which makes it one of the most awaited events this Autumn. It’s not enough to call it ‘event’, though, as the festival will go on for two months and includes various workshops, exhibitions, walks, talks, books presentations and an international forum.

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TOURISM & GLOBAL LITHUANIA

Vilnius makes bid to host Ronaldo and Messi Dinner | Credits @ GoVilnius

Making yourself at home: 10 of the best cities for expats

Did you know that Vilnius in Lithuania is a great place for digital nomads to settle in? Lonely Planet lists Vilnius among top 10 cities for expats around the globe: "Vilnius is an outward-looking city of art collectives, tech start-ups and bookish young professionals.”

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The woman watching climate change

A Lithuanian scientist records the shrinking Toyuksu glacier above Almaty, Kazakhstan, and, from her unrivalled perspective, bears witness to the onslaught of climate change.

Life at 3,500m is one of solitude, where capricious winds whip four seasons past in a day, affording the hours an elasticity that is anchored only by the rising and setting of the sun. In the northern Tian Shan mountain system that skims the edge of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest metropolis, existence at this altitude would seem impossible if it wasn’t for Aušra Revutaite, a Lithuanian scientist who has called this remote outpost home for more than 30 years.

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