House of Europe: ending the year with a premier of a documentary

Production of the documentary In an Alien Land

Lithuanian National Television (LRT) film crew went on a field trip to Lebanon in November 2015 to prepare a documentary about the life of Syrian refugees in Lebanon revealing legal and social challenges they face, everyday realities, as well as their personal values and future hopes. In December 2015 - January 2016, the documentary In an Alien Land (Svetimoje žemėje) was twice broadcast on LRT attracting the attention of more than 283 300 viewers.

A TV Advertisement for the documentary, December 2015.

Bulletin on Migration 

In December electronic bulletin on migration was issued and sent out  to policy makers and opinion leaders, in particular, members of the Parliament, public officials, politicians, journalists, representatives of NGO sector and national academia.

The bulletin aimed to address migration crisis and its impact on global development. The issue featured the following topics:

• Migration from Lithuania in the 19th century and the potential of Lithuanian immigration policies after recent amendments (prepared by Lithuanian journalist and migration expert Gintarė Gedrimaitė);
• The importance and lack of enduring immigration strategies in Lithuania (prepared by Reseacher at CEPS (Centre for European Policy Studies) Lina Vosyliūtė).
• The tendencies of migration in the Mediterranean analysed (excerpts from International Organization for Migration and the Knoll blog).
• Refugee stories (based on information collected from the Red Cross in Lithuania, „The New York Times“, „Desperate Reasons for a Desperate Journey“ and Human Rights Watch).
  
  

Cover of the Bulletin no 2.

Roundtables with journalists

In December 2015, two roundtable discussions with journalists were organised. The events were open to the public and encouraged an exchange of views between business, media and NGO representatives.

At the first roundtable development and environmental challenges in Nigeria as well as migration and refugee issues in Lebanon were discussed. Journalist Rosita Garškaitė who visited Nigeria shared her insights and presented the current situation in Niger delta after recent oil spillovers. TV Journalist Edvardas Špokas described the TV crew experiences in Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon  and the idea behind the forthcoming documentary In an Alien Land (Svetimoje žemėje).

A Roundtable with Journalists, 3 December 2015.

The second roundtable was addressed the issue of traditional crafts in Kenya. Nanook.lt contributors Berta Tilmantaitė and Karolis Pilypas Liutkevičius who went to Kenya to prepare photo stories and a short documentary about everyday life of local tribes presented their fieldwork experience. A number of questions were raised throughout the discussion concerning the possible role of the global North in fighting the extinction of traditional crafts in developing countries. The similarities between traditional Lithuanian and Kenyan crafts were also discussed there.

A Roundtable with Journalists, 17 December 2015.

Photo exhibition

The photo exhibition The World as You See It is further displayed in different locations. In December 2015, it was on display at the “Swedbank” headquarters in Vilnius. At the end of the year, during the closing national events of the European Year for Development it was exhibited at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Exhibition The World as You See i” at the Lobby of Swedbank, December 2015.