Honorary Consulate of Republic of Lithuania in Tanzania

Weekly News from Lithuania, September 25

POLITICS

Linkevičius: We reaffirm our support for multilateralism, as we mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations

On 21 September, a high-level event ‘The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism’ in New York at the opening of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the UN. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this event took place primarily in a virtual format, with pre-recorded statements by heads of state and government.

"One year ago, nobody could have imagined that this anniversary would be marked by a global challenge unseen since the very foundation of this Organization. But here we are, unable to meet face to face, and yet ready to make our contributions to solving the most pressing global issues..."

Minister of Energy Žygimantas Vaičiūnas delivered a national statement at the 64th Annual Regular Session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference. The minister noted that countries developing a nuclear energy programme must adhere to the principles of transparency and accountability.

On 24 September, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius held a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Stef Blok. The meeting focused on bilateral relations, the situation in Belarus and Ukraine, the relationship with Russia, the security situation in the region, and topical items on the EU’s agenda.

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BUSINESS & SCIENCE

Lithuania to contribute €2.5m in EU's search for Covid-19 vaccine

The Lithuanian government has agreed to contribute 2.5 million euros to the EU's Emergency Support Instrument (ESI) to accelerate the creation of a Covid-19 vaccine.

ESI funds are used to support potential vaccine producers, and finance part of development as well as production capacity costs.

Director General of the elite European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Prof Edith Heard signed an agreement with Vilnius University (VU) on the establishment of a Partnership Institute in the Life Sciences Centre (LSC) of VU. This is an extraordinary achievement in the history of Lithuanian science.

September 24 marked the start of the joint scientific conference “Adjustments in and to an Uncertain World”, organised by the Bank of Lithuania, the National Bank of Poland, CEPR and CEBRA. In addition to experts from Lithuania and Poland, presentations were given and discussions moderated by researchers from the central banks of England and Canada, the Federal Reserve Banks, as well as the best European and US universities.

Continental Automotive Lithuania announced today that its plant in Kaunas has been awarded LEED Gold. This is the highest rated LEED Gold manufacturing building in Lithuania so far and the first Continental plant in the world to be LEED Gold certified.

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Dogo - Lithuanian-born app for dog training - announced its launch for Japanese market

CULTURE & HISTORY

'Tokens of rare humanity': Kaunas conference honours families who saved Jews

A conference in Kaunas, dedicated to the Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, paid tribute to Lithuanian families who saved Jews during World War Two.

Four families and eight individuals were given awards that were presented to their grandchildren.

Lithuanian silk designer Grete Svegzdaite was recognized at the New York Fashion Week. Lithuanian “GRETES SHOP” brand was selected among 70 young designers from all over the world to show their collections in this year’s New York Fashion Week.

The game Bad News, at first launched in Lithuania, is now being introduced in Latvia and Estonia, and becoming even more relevant and interesting to the public, because of the increasing amount of unconfirmed news that are circulating in the media space. The topics are usually very sensitive – vaccinations, coronavirus, news about Belarus, etc. It is sometimes difficult for the young, not to mention the elderly, not to get lost in the flow of information.

Lithuania has revealed its dancing stork mascot, nicknamed Ivartito, as the country gears up to host the FIFA Futsal World Cup championship in 2021.

Ivartito, which can be loosely translated as Goalito, danced around in the three host cities – Vilnius, Klaipėda, and Kaunas.

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September 25

TECHNORAMA Innovation Fair

The innovation fair Technorama 2020 opens a unique platform of innovative technologies in the virtual space. Visitors will have a chance to take a close look at the innovation on display (even take them into hands!), get acquainted with the activities of innovative companies in Lithuania

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October 16-18

Hack4Vilnius 2020

Hack4Vilnius - Vilnius city hackathon, happening for the third year in a row with a goal to find bet solutions for Vilnius to become a healthier, cleaner, more mobile and more innovative city.

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Highlight of the Week

Moment from Commemoration event of Vilnius Ghetto Liquidation day

Vilnius
Photo credits @ URM

Sep 25 2020

POLITICS

Lithuania's Foreign Minister Linkevičius met with the U.S. Secretary of State in Washington, D.C.

On 16 September, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with the United States Secretary of State Mike R. Pompeo. The meeting focused on the situation in Belarus and in the region, relevant bilateral and multilateral issues related to the relationship between Lithuania and the U.S., and international security policy.

Linkevičius thanked the U.S. for its consistent and visible involvement in ensuring security in Lithuania and in the whole region.

Lithuania will temporarily facilitate the procedures and conditions for issuing visas to Belarusian citizens as of 21 September. After their entry into force, the changes will significantly simplify the procedures for relocating workers and their families. This is especially important for Belarusian companies, which would decide to transfer their businesses to Lithuania. At the same time, this step implements an important part of the plan to help the people of Belarus.

According to President Gitanas Nausėda, Lithuania and Turkey are historically linked by friendly and goodwill relations, the origins of which date back to the old 15th and 16th centuries. Lithuania highly appreciates the fact that Turkey had never recognized the occupation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union. According to the President, it strengthened our hope of becoming free and restoring independence, the thirtieth anniversary of which we celebrated in the spring. We will always remember this sign of Turkish solidarity and understanding with sincere gratitude.

September 17, Minister of National Defence of Lithuania Raimundas Karoblis and Minister of National Defence of Poland Mariusz Błaszczak discussed regional security situation, bilateral initiatives for strengthening regional security – cooperation of armed forces to ensure defensibility of the Suwalki Gap and the aspiration to have a persistent U.S. military presence in Europe and the region – and other topical aspects of NATO agenda at a meeting in Vilnius.

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BUSINESS & SCIENCE

The startup scene in Vilnius is filled with stories of hard work
and dedication worth sharing with the world
| Credits @ GoVilnius

Bio-based resin invented by Lithuanian researchers: breakthrough in rapid prototyping

Lithuanian researchers from Kaunas University of Technology and Vilnius University synthesised and tested a bio-based resin for optical 3D printing. The bio-based resin made from renewable raw materials proved to be universal for both table-top 3D printers and state-of-the-art ultrafast laser, suitable for O3DP in the scales from nano- to macro- dimensions. This, according to the researchers, is a unique property for a single photo-resin.

Kaunas Startups – the promotion program for small and medium-sized enterprises, which is in its sixth year, participated in the European Enterprise Promotion Awards organized by the European Commission and became the winner of the national selection in the category of “Investing in Entrepreneurial Skills”.

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Ignitis Group to develop offshore wind farms with global energy leader Ocean Winds

Ignitis Group started the search for a strategic partner for the development of offshore wind farm projects in Q1 2019. After initiating a search, the group established a dialogue with European wind energy leaders and received initial interest from more than 10 potential partners, and 7 participants submitted official Expressions of Interest (EOIs).

Already more than two-thirds of work for the Rail Baltica project has been completed on the railway stretch between Kaunas and Palemonas. Upon completing this stage of European standard gauge railway installation, not only passenger but also freight trains will be able to arrive in Lithuania’s second-largest city Kaunas without intermediary stops.

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CULTURE & HISTORY

Women partisans among Lithuania’s Forest Brothers: from lovers to fighters

The role of women partisans is often ignored when discussing the history of Lithuania’s Forest Brothers, the anti-Soviet resistance fighters.

While some women took part in the fighting, the secrecy of an underground movement allowed some men to have several lovers at once.

The Lithuanian Film Center has joined the Vilnius University, along with partners the Vytautas Magnus University and The Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore, in a project dedicated to “Encouragement of collaboration between International Baltic Study Centres and Lithuanian Academic Research Institutions”. From now own, classic Lithuanian films will be used for teaching Lithuanian to speakers of other languages.

Lithuanian conceptual design will be among the presentations within this year’s London Design Festival (12–20 September), showcased as part of the international design exhibition Virtual Design Destination in the form of a collection curated by Audronė Drungilaitė and presenting works by Agnė Kučerenkaitė, Barbora Žilinskaitė, Evelina Kudabaitė, Etc.Etc. Studio (Inesa Malafej and Arūnas Sukarevičius), Marija Puipaitė and Vytautas Gečas, Monika Gedrimaitė and Severija Inčirauskaitė-Kriaunevičienė.

On a sunny Tuesday morning, 12 seals that were previously found in Smiltynė on Lithuania’s Curonian Spit were released back into the Baltic Sea.

Twenty seals were found in early spring, and after growing to at least 40 kilogrammes over five months, they were strong enough to return to the wild, according to a press release by Lithuania’s Sea Museum.

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September 28 - October 2

The Creative Bureaucracy Festival 2020

A week full of bureaucratic imagination. Week's program is jam-packed with fresh ideas, new insights and pride in what the public sector can accomplish.

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October 2 - 4

NASA Space Apps Vilnius 2020

Space Apps Challenge – it is 48th hours hackathon that unites space enthusiasts around the globe to solve challenges of Earth and space using free and open NASA data.
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