1 / 34

LITHUANIA: who we ARE who we WILL BE who we COULD BE TOGETHER

LITHUANIA: who we ARE who we WILL BE who we COULD BE TOGETHER From “Northern Jerusalem” to Start–up Nation No.2 Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius. Who we ARE. By 14th century Lithuania was the largest country in Europe Multicultural phenomenon throughout 5 00 years

tan
Download Presentation

LITHUANIA: who we ARE who we WILL BE who we COULD BE TOGETHER

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. LITHUANIA: who we ARE who we WILL BE who we COULD BE TOGETHER From “Northern Jerusalem” to Start–up Nation No.2 Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius

  2. Who we ARE

  3. By 14th centuryLithuania was the largest country in Europe Multicultural phenomenon throughout 500 years Placeof origin of 15 Nobel prize winners Ability to “Think Big” Lithuania: small nation with European history… …with a big ambition for future

  4. Close in the glory and in the tragedy Photo: Vilnius ChoralSynagogue • Jews began living in Lithuania as early as the 14th century; • Vilnius – Northern Jerusalem – city of Gaon of Vilna • Before WWII Jewish community constituted (200 000) 7% of Lithuania’s population, Vilnius – 45% of city’s population; • 1940-1945 Lithuania: part of Bloodlands - land of tragedy and shame – holocaust of 95 % of Jewish community

  5. 1933 – 1945 the tragedy in the Bloodlans: Holocaust “In the middle of Europe in the middleof the twentieth century, the Nazi and Soviet regimes murdered some fourteen million people. The place where all of the victims died, the bloodlands, extends from central Poland to western Russia, through Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic States. ” “Its form arises not from the political geography of empires but from human geography of victims.” Timothy Snyder. Bloodlands, 2010

  6. Litvaks: from glory to tragedy “In Lithuania, which the Soviets did not dare annex until 1939, these minority guarantees worked very well, and the large Jewish community there was perhaps the most contented in eastern Europe between the wars.”(Paul Johnson. A History of the Jews. 1993).

  7. Litvaks: from glory to tragedy “The future will be better than the past. Although when I view the 500 year history of Jewish life in Lithuania with Jewish eyes, I have to note that Lithuanian and Jewish relations were always good. We had the opportunity to live Jewish, and the life of the Jewish community was full-fledged. I myself studied in Hebrew at a primary school.Of course, after the Nazi occupation life turned upside down, and 90 percent of Lithuanian Jews were murdered. So it falls to us to remember everything – the wonderful opportunity to be Jews in Lithuania and the price of being Jews in Nazi occupied Lithuania.” (President Shimon Peres, interview to “Lietuvos rytas”,2009 )

  8. Heritage of Litvaks: Northen Jerusalem • Historically, Vilnius was called Northern Jerusalem because of the biggest heritage of Jewish culture outside of Israel. • Jewish emigrants from Lithuania and neighbouring countries (Litvaks) form a significant part of the Jewish Diaspora in various countries across the world. Among them there are many world renown personalities: famous politicians, artists, entrepreneurs, public leaders. They are all united by their origin, their Lithuanian roots. • Despite the tragedy and cruel destiny that struck the Jewish people, the Litvaks are searching for their roots, their cultural, historical, geographical identity. • This large community has left behind a great amount of Jewish cultural heritage in Lithuania that should be preserved and shared with anyone who is Litvak, or related to Lithuanian Jews, or is simply interested in Jewish history and culture.

  9. Close rather than distant: Litvak -Lithuanian roots Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu President Shimon Peres Speaker of the KnessetReuven Rivlin Minister of Public Security Yitzhak Aharonovitch Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001 Ehud Barak 6th Prime Minister from 1977 until 1983 Menachem Begin (1913-1992) President of the Supreme Court of Israel from 1995 to 2006 Aharon Barak 11th Prime Minister from 2001 until 2006 Ariel Sharon

  10. Dynamism is the exact name for Lithuania Key milestones EU Presidency European Basketball victory Nordic Baltic Hi-Tech Service Hub EU accession referendum RegainedIndependence today 2015 2020 2030 1990 2000 2003 2004 2011 2012 2013 2014 Crisis and post-crisis period 3 million innovative citizens EU and NATO membership Maastricht criteria Introduction of EUR WTO membership The calendar of dynamism

  11. Personal experience of change and dynamism Year 2000 – 10th Anniversary of Lithuanian Independence Year 2010 – 20th Anniversary of Lithuanian Independence Russian financial crisis GDP drop by - 1.7 %(1999) Global financial crisis GDP drop by - 14,8 % (2009) A. Kubilius - Prime Minister of Lithuania A. Kubilius - Prime Minister of Lithuania What is next ?...Prime Minister of Lithuania – 2020 ? 2030 ?

  12. Lithuania 2010: dificult, but dynamic recovery • Lithuanian economy is now recovering swiftly and …. Source: IMF forecast, May 2010 • continues to be one of the fastest growing in the EU over last 10 years (GDP 2000-2010) Source: Eurostat

  13. Lithuania 2010: dificult, but dynamic recovery

  14. International credentials Total nominal hourly labour costs (% change compared with same quarter of previous year), Q1 2010 Fiscal consolidation: 8% of GDP 2009 4% of GDP 2010 •New package : - 5 % of GDP 2011 – 2012 - Pension reform (2026 – 65 years) - Labour code reform “The East European economies, for all their faults, have shown more flexibility in both labor markets and in what they produce than have many older EU members.”

  15. Europe’s unsung hero “Lithuania more than a year ago firmly faced up to the economic crisis and took stern measures. Government spending was slashed by 30 percent. Public-sector salaries were cut 20 percent to 30 percent. And pensions were knocked down an average of 5 percent. In the years ahead its recovery should outpace that of most members of the EU because Lithuania isn’t wedded to slow-growth policies, as are most Western European states.” Forbes, 26th May 2010

  16. Who we WILL BE START – UP NATION No. 2

  17. My favorite book: “Start-up Nation” “Since founding, Israelis have been keenly aware that the future—both near and distant—is always in question. Every moment has strategic importance...“ “...when an Israeli man wants to date a woman, he asks her out that night. When an Israeli entrepreneur has a business idea, he will start it that week.”

  18. Lithuania – 2030: mentality of dynamism Next 20 years - dynamic global change: Dynamismof the people is a prerequisite. Dynamism of technologies is a destiny. Lithuania -2030: challenge of values and challenge to the leadership Dynamism– not to be afraid of change and of global competition Ability to learnthe variety of the world - language skills, e-skills, mobility Creativityand effective execution

  19. Valued resources for dynamism: talent pool of 3 million •40% of the 25 - 34 year olds have higher education •30% of overall population with higher education compared to the EU average (24%) • 40% of talent in science and technology • 90% of Lithuanians speak at least one foreign language • 50% speak two foreign languages • 30% speak English • 46higher education institutions: 200,000 students and 3,000 graduates annually •50%of researchers are below the age of 45

  20. Valued resources for dynamism: leading ICT and Internet capacities World’s fastest upload Internet in 2009, Mb/s EU’s highest mobile penetration • Sources: www.speedtest.net; Study by University of Oxford (England) and University of Oviedo (Spain), 2009; GSM European Coverage report; European Commission, 2009 Global leadership in mobile e-signature World’s fastest upload Internet in 2009 World’s 5th and Europe‘s No. 1 fiber broadband penetration Europe’s highest fiber optic density EU‘s greatest GSM penetration (147%) World’s No. 1 in the number of mobile telephone subscribers per 100 population Europe’s densest network of public Internet access points 13 out of Baltic TOP 20 IT companies are Lithuanian

  21. track record this year… 35 FDI projects and 5300 new jobs in 2010 Agents of change and of global dynamism in Lithuania

  22. Radical start of cycling into the future Major reforms in higher education and R&D 2009: market based competitive funding of studies, autonomy of universities and the power of choice by students; business and government cooperation Development of knowledge infrastructure (2009-2010): huge investment of EU funds (10 %) into 2 most advanced high-tech clusters around Vilnius and Kaunas universities: “Sunrise Valley” (Vilnius) and “Santaka Valley” (Kaunas); Creation of modern financial and legal framework for innovative economy (2009-2012): seed money, risk capital, business angels, intellectual property rights, etc “Hunting” FDI in high-tech industries

  23. Who we COULD BE TOGETHER • Memory of Holocaust • Litvaks’Heritage • R&D, Hi-techBusiness cooperation • Tourism, people to people • Who will win in basketball? More than 5000 km

  24. 2011 – yearofRemembrance of Lithuanian Citizens – Holocaust Victims Government approved the Programme for Commemoration of the Year of Remembrance of Lithuanian Citizens – Holocaust Victims 2011 Photos: Paneriai Memorial Museum, subsidiary of National Vilnius Gaon Jewish Museum

  25. People and Heritage • Jascha Heifetz- a violin virtuoso born in Vilnius, widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time. • Dr.Tsemakh Shabad– a Jewish pediatrician from Lithuania; a hero prototype from famous tale “Doctor Aiskauda”. His statue was opened in Vilnius old town in 2007. Julian Rachlin – a Vilnius-born violinist who performs on the world’s major stages. This year he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Lithuania. • Romain Gary - Vilnius-born French Jewish novelist. He was also honoured with statue in Lithuanian capital Vilnius that depicts a boy clasping a galosh (from Gary’s 1960 work “Promise at Dawn”). It is worth mentioning famous Jewish personalities who share Lithuanianroots. Just a glimpse at a few of them:

  26. The NEW BIG idea- to be together • We are proud of Litvaks, it’s a pity that we lost real “Northern Jerusalem” • Through Lithuanian businesses comes an initiativeto create a project “Northern Jerusalem”. • The project would consist of various initiatives such as restoration of synagogues and other historical monuments in Lithuania, also creating of Virtual Litvaks’ Museum as a main tool to collect, preserve and share Jewish culture in Lithuania. • The initiators ofthe project are willing to invite interested persons and companies around the world to join the project. • All donors of the project will be honored in theHall of Fame established in the centre of Vilnius.

  27. Close rather than distant: Virtual Litvaks’ Museum Virtual Litvaks’ Museum would be main tool to preserve and share heritage of Jewish culture in Lithuania. Also it would give Litvaks from around the globe a possibility to re-connect with their homeland, virtually visit places they have never been and share relevant information. Collected and digitalized Litvaks’ heritage stored in this virtual Museum will help Lithuanian Jews find their origins, share knowledge and information about the land of Fathers in virtual space. In future, it will become a virtual platform, joining sons and daughters of our country, who have not forgotten the land of fathers and wish to contribute to the revival of their Lithuanian identity, as well as praise our common homeland, Lithuania.

  28. Closeratherthandistant: biotechleadership

  29. Example of our joint business

  30. Close rather than distant: ICT leadership

  31. Close rather than distant: Medical and holiday tourism • Tourists from Israel are among the mostactive medical and SPA clients in Lithuanian healthcare institutions and resorts, enjoying: • highest-quality services in more than 400privatehealthcare centres and more than 70 SPA centres; • More than 62 000 healthcare specialists; • Unique natural healthcare and beauty treatment methods and resources – mineral water springs and healing mud; • Unique ecological nature and vast active leisure opportunities ; • Attractive costs.

  32. Close rather than distant: same basketball God ŠARAS

  33. Looking forward for LT-IL final next year

  34. Thank you SMART COUNTRY IN A SMART REGION

More Related