A special space in Vilnius City for Belarusians: an appropriate place for gatherings and exhibitions

Today the Vilnius City Municipality Administration rented its premises to the Belarusian community. The premises were rented on one of the busiest capital streets, Vilniaus st. 20, for community gatherings. A short-term lease agreement was initially signed with PI “Dapamoga” for a month. At the next Council meeting in October, it will be decided to rent the premises for 5 years without competitive tender. PI “Dapamoga” will invite everyone who is in the need of help and information while fleeing repression in their own country.

In the 242.59 m² area, PI “Dapamoga” plans to provide assistance and information about protection and integration of citizenship’s rights, psychological state, leisure, training, conferences, crime prevention, social protection, integration of socially vulnerable groups and other help.

“Minsk is the closest neighbouring capital to Vilnius. Some Belarusians cannot realize their potential in their own country, and so we are determined to help them, as we once received foreign support for our country’s diaspora. It is an investment in democracy and the relations between the two countries,” states Vilnius Mayor, Remigijus Šimašius.

The public institution cooperates with the Charitable Trust “Strana dlia žizni” and the political information platform “Zubr”. These premises could offer many activities, such as Lithuanian language classes, provision of useful information to the refugees and operating authority, responsible for Belarusian regime crime data collection.

The collections of the Belarusian National History and Culture Museum, which has been operating in Vilnius since 1921 and was named after Ivan Luckevič, would also be presented in the premises of Vilnius City Municipality.

It is expected that in the premises of Vilnius City Municipality Belarusian citizens will receive psychological assistance, social security and other help. It is also expected that the museum’s exhibited collections will attract the residents of Vilnius and other guests who will face the opportunity to acknowledge the rich history and culture of the Republic of Belarus.

The capital is also providing more assistance and help to facilitate the relocation of Belarusians who were affected by the repression.

“Go Vilnius”, the official development agency of the City of Vilnius, strives that the Belarusian people affected by the repression would find all the relevant information at once about moving to Vilnius. Therefore, “Go Vilnius” website created a special section for Belarusians and it is available in Russian. The section contains all the most important question and answers including issues on visas, kindergartens or accommodation. Further information is available at https://www.govilnius.lt/relocation-from-belarus.

Also, remote seminars in Russian are organised on the most important integration issues for Belarusians who have expressly arrived in Vilnius. The participants of seminars can learn all the relevant information for settling in the City of Vilnius. They also have the opportunity to ask questions on individual matters. The upcoming such seminar will take place on 27 October 2020. More information is available at https://www.govilnius.lt/welcome-to-vilnius-by.