Concept for celebration of Centenary of the Restoration of Lithuania’s Independence

Our aims

Restoration of Lithuania’s independence in 1918 was an immense achievement of the people, who dared take responsibility for the future of all of us. Now we are able to celebrate the centenary of this event thanks to the inspired, responsible, and open people, too.  

Therefore, both the short- and long-term objectives of the celebration are oriented towards us, the people of Lithuania.

A short-term objective is to unite the citizens of Lithuania, as well as the diaspora, for the commemoration of centenary of the restoration of the State. We will seek the objective through the following:

• we will encourage volunteering by creating an opportunity for every citizen to engage in drafting and implementation of the centenary initiatives;
• we will create initiatives to unite the public for the festive programme, and we will invite the Lithuanian citizens and foreign visitors to take part therein.    

A long-term objective is to consolidate the social and civic responsibility through the following:  

• to unite the citizens of Lithuania, as well as the diaspora abroad, for the ideas of strengthening a modern State;
• to shape the global image of Lithuania as a modern and innovative state.  

The underlying idea: innovation, sharing, responsibility 

The idea of the concept for celebration of centenary of the restoration of the State embodies three principal values of the Lithuanian people:  innovation, sharing, and responsibility:  

• We are innovative: we are willing to learn; we seek to generate new ideas and put them into practice. 
• We are responsible: we care for our environment, community, the State, and the global future.
• We are open for dialogue; we share our experience and achievements with our fellow citizens and the entire world.

We cherish each of these values not only at the time of the centenary celebration. They are important for us for the long-term period, too: both from the point of view of the historical past of Lithuania, and its long-term prospects: 

• Innovation. During the period of the centenary celebration, each of us can become the author of the celebration, and the content of the celebration reflects the ideas and actions of the innovative people. Looking at Lithuania’s history and its development prospects, we can see innovation in every field: artistic, cultural, and in a broad sense, starting from the foundation of the State during the times of Mindaugas, restoration of its independence in 1918, up to the present-time shaping of the European future for Lithuania.         
• Sharing. We draft centenary initiatives not only for ourselves: we dedicate them both to our fellow citizen and the entire world. Our openness to the world is famous since the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, one of the most tolerant States in Europe at the time. Now, likewise, we share with the world the potential of our intellectual resources and technologies, comfortable human and business environment, and unique natural deposits.    
• Responsibility. The centenary of the restoration of the State is an opportunity for each of us to contribute voluntarily to shaping of our shared future. Historically, responsibility of our people was proved by the restoration of our State in 1918: it was a step of utmost responsibility, aimed at creating prosperity for Lithuania and its citizens. Meanwhile, now we are assuming responsibility for the creation of the future for both Lithuania and Europe, in which we play and integral and significant part.         

The major elements of the concept, innovation, sharing, and responsibility, are, in essence, in compliance with the principal values anchored in the National Progress Strategy “Lithuania 2030”: openness, innovation, and responsibility.     

Restored State of Lithuania turns 100. Inspired by the future

All the three elements of the idea, innovation, sharing, and responsibility, weave into a coherent story, while looking from the point of view of the past, present, and future of Lithuania:    

• Our responsibility is proved by the fact that throughout our history, from the foundation of our State to the present, we have not led a day-to-day existence, but we have lived with the future in mind.    
• Today we are independent, and it is this independence that enables us expressing our innovation and openness to the world.    
• We responsibly shape the future for the future generations and us by sharing our experience and achievements with our fellow citizens and the entire world.

We have incorporated the three elements of the idea into the aspect of the development of the State of Lithuania; this way we have crystallized the concept narrative that naturally generates the slogan for the celebration of centenary of the restored State: INSPIRED BY THE FUTURE:     

In 2018, we will celebrate the centenary of the restoration of the State. Yet the modern State was not born overnight. We have been shaping our history for more than 1000 years.   

For hundreds of years we have been open to the world. The Grand Duke Of Lithuania Gediminas invited the citizens of the Christian European cities to come to Vilnius as early as 1323 and work together to build a common future.

Our history is closely related to the implementation of innovations and creativity. In 1579 in Vilnius we founded one of the first universities in Central and Northern Europe. In 1791 we prepared the first written constitution in Europe.

In 1918 we were the first Baltic State to restore an independent state.

During the occupation we were driven forward by the faith in the future freedom. In 1988 the independence movement Sąjūdis was established which led to a breakthrough of the barriers of the totalitarian system and the creation of an open Europe without borders.

Today we are free and open to the world. We feel responsible for the future of Europe, so we aim to enrich it with innovations and achievements.

We unlock the intellectual potential of a young society to Europe and the world and we also offer advanced digital infrastructure, convenient areas for persons and businesses, unique nature and art and cultural heritage. Therefore, we await the anniversary of the modern state with optimism and feeling inspired by the future. We believe that as early as 2030 we will be among the 10 most advanced countries in Europe.

 

RESTORED STATE OF LITHUANIA TURNS 100. INSPIRED BY THE FUTURE

 

Key concept: a bridge to the future

In order to achieve integrity of the centenary initiatives, the narrative of the programme is accompanied by a unified visual and verbal concept. Its content expresses innovation of our people, responsibility and sharing, which is reflected by the concept of the BRIDGE:

• The BRIDGE: the expression of the creative abilities of the people inspired by the wish to share without any barriers;
• At the same time, the BRIDGE is an archetypical symbol that means a connection of two points. Celebrating the centenary of its restoration, the State is building bridges between the past and the future, between the citizens of Lithuania and the diaspora, and between our country and the world.

During the period of celebration of centenary of the restored State, we will build unifying bridges that lead to the future by developing the following programmes: ‘Centenary Volunteers’, ‘Centenary Ambassadors’, and ‘Centenary Partners’.

Ambition: 1 million volunteers

One of the most important programmes is the initiative of ‘Centenary Volunteers’. We aim to attract 1 million volunteers that would contribute to the celebration of centenary of the restored State in one way or another. The aim of this project is to promote our social and civil responsibility.

The programme of ‘Centenary Ambassadors’ is yet another project based on civil responsibility. We will invite well-known members of the society in Lithuania and abroad, as well as the community leaders to become the Centenary ambassadors to mobilise our society and promote the name of Lithuania in the world.

The programme of ‘Centenary Partners’ is a project for the social responsibility of businesses that will encourage the companies to provide material support for the implementation of the initiatives dedicated to the centenary celebration by the public institutions, civil society organizations and citizens.

Our bridges to Lithuania and the world

During the celebration of centenary of the restoration of the State, we will implement initiatives of active citizens in Lithuania and abroad.

‘Our bridges to Lithuania’ is one of the main initiatives in 2017-2020. Its participants will account for the major part of the centenary volunteers. The people of Lithuania and the communities will create and share their works and creations dedicated to Lithuania for the occasion of the centenary celebration. The initiatives include renovation of parks, planting of trees, decorating schools, organising events, as well as preparation of areas designated for cultural activities. In this way the whole of Lithuania will be connected via a bridge of centenary creations.

A parallel initiative ‘Our bridges to the world’ will be implemented abroad by creating and sharing our works with the world. By including the representations of the Republic of Lithuania abroad and the diaspora communities we will encourage the Lithuanians living abroad and the Lithuanian companies carrying out international activities to create and publicly present their works, events and projects that are important for specific countries and their societies.

Result: responsible civil society

Results of the Programme for celebration of centenary of the restoration of the State reflect the objectives and targets related to our social and civil responsibilities.

Our goal is to attract 1 million volunteers by 2020 from the residents of Lithuania who would contribute to the creation and implementation of the centenary initiatives.

We will mobilize at least 1 million participants for the events of the centenary program.

By implementing the initiatives of the program of the centenary celebration and other projects that promote civil responsibility we aim for the Civic Empowerment Index to grow by at least 5 per cent by 2020.