These unprecedented times continue. Some of us can occasionally go to work in the archives, museum or office, but most of us are still forced to find new solutions for how to get everything done in our home offices or online. New times call for new coping strategies in both our personal and work lives.
The Baltic Heritage Network is also forced to set plans according to how the battle with COVID-19 continues to go. 2021 is a conference and new board election year for our organization. The Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania in Vilnius was supposed to be the venue for this year’s conference, but considering both the social and travel restrictions, as well as the overarching sense of uncertainty, it does not seem likely that our global family will meet in Vilnius this summer. The Corona crisis has also reduced the financial resources of our institutions. For these reasons, the NGO board has decided that the 2021 BaltHerNet conference will take place online on 15-16 September. Save the dates! The topic and call for papers will be announced at the beginning of April.
Challenging times have also hit the Baltic Heritage Network. This is related to a number of memory institutions in Baltic countries not being able to legally be institutional members and many individuals who had become members early on have decided to no longer be members. This has led to BaltHerNet losing members as well as income from membership fees. There are also members who still have membership fees owing. Unfortunately, we have not been able to organize our usual profitable lotteries and finally, year after year the support from the Estonian
Government has also decreased. In this way, the savings we had in our bank account has reached a critical limit.
BaltHerNet needs your help now! How can you help?
# If you are our member, please make sure that your membership fees are paid on time!
# If you participate in our events and read or contribute to our newsletter, but haven’t become a member yet, now is the best time to do so!
# If you have colleagues or friends who may be interested in our activities, invite them to join!
# If you have already done all of the above, then consider making a special onetime donation, which will soon be possible at www.balther.net
We are grateful from the bottoms of our hearts to everyone who has contributed to BaltHerNet’s activities! We have grown into a large and friendly global family that shares the same values and works together toward common goals. If you think that BaltHerNet should continue fulfilling our mission in the future, please find a way to show your support.
Stay healthy and keep up the good spirit!
Piret Noorhani – President