News

On 13 November in Paris, during the 40th session of the General Conference of UNESCO, Permanent Delegation of Lithuania held an event to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Way. The 10th anniversary of the inscription of the Baltic Way in the International Register of UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” Programme was also recalled during the event.

In her speech, Permanent Delegate of Lithuania to UNESCO Ambassador Irena Vaišvilaitė emphasized the consequences of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, whose 50th anniversary had been marked by the Baltic Way.

‘‘This half a century period cost a lot of human sacrifice and suffering, it halted the development of our countries. Countries affected by the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact know the price of freedom very well, that is why Lithuania in the UNESCO environment is also at the forefront of protection of the states whose territorial integrity and sovereignty are under attack“, the Ambassador said.

Participants of the event had an opportunity to see a documentary film ‘‘The Inimitable Baltic Way“ by Laura Paukštė and the creative team “TymDrym”, commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania. UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information Moez Chakchouk welcomed the participants of the commemoration as well.

The Baltic Way is a peaceful demonstration that took place on 23 August 1989, when two million people joined their hands over a distance of 600 kilometers linking Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.  During the event at the UNESCO headquarters, the Permanent Delegate of Lithuania drew attention to technological conditions at that time, when, in the absence of social networks, the coordination of the demonstration was done via radio, in the local communities.