On 29 July in Vilnius, at a convention of country chairmen of the Lithuanian World Community and the Lithuanian Youth Union, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis invited world Lithuanians to engage actively in the discussion on the strategy of “Global Lithuania”.
On 29 July in Vilnius, at a convention of country chairmen of the Lithuanian World Community and the Lithuanian Youth Union, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis invited world Lithuanians to engage actively in the discussion on the strategy of “Global Lithuania”.
“No strategy will be viable, if it is viewed as something imposed, and if it is not trusted. It will become a viable document and basis for our future actions only when we create and implement it together,” the Minister said during the opening of the convention.
On 27 July, Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a public discussion regarding the “Global Lithuania” strategy. “Global Lithuania” is a strategic plan for developing ties between the state of Lithuania and part of the Lithuanian nation living abroad. The ties would be based on respect and partnership. The strategic plan has an objective to create preconditions for strengthening the Lithuanian identity in the global space.
The strategy aims to include Lithuanians living abroad into Lithuania’s political, economic, cultural and social life, and to contribute to creating Lithuania’s welfare, progress and the development of national interests.
Minister A.Ažubalis emphasized the importance of strengthening ties within the nation and the involvement of Lithuanians living abroad into the life of the country.
“We share a task of existential importance to strengthen ties among our people and involve all of us in the process of state-building, regardless where we live or of what colour our passport is. Therefore, we all – the country’s institutions, organizations and world Lithuanians - have to aim to implement this task,” Minister A.Ažubalis noted.
According to the Minister, an institutional framework has been designed to develop the ties between the state and Lithuanians living abroad: there is the Commission of the Seimas (Parliament) of the Republic of Lithuania and the Lithuanian World Community, and a commission for coordinating the affairs of Lithuanians living abroad chaired by the Prime Minister. Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the network of diplomatic missions and consular points develop ties with Lithuanians living abroad.
“We only have to fill the existing potential with a meaningful content,” the Minister said.
On 29-30 July, the participants of annual convention discuss ways to include more compatriots living abroad into joint Lithuanian activities, to preserve the archives of Lithuanians living abroad, to maintain a magazine of world Lithuanians “Pasaulio lietuvis” and other issues that are important for Lithuanians living abroad. The convention is partly financed by Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Currently, the Lithuanian World Community consists of local Lithuanian communities, registered in 41 countries worldwide. Over a million people of Lithuanian origin live all over the world, some of them are Lithuanian citizens.