On the upcoming occasion of the 100th anniversary of the University of Lithuania, the Lithuanian World University Symposium will take place at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas on 27-29 October 2022. The organizers invite the Lithuanian and global Lithuanian science and art community to discuss the significance of the tradition of the University of Lithuania for our country and the Lithuanian diaspora. The symposium will also discuss how university studies, science and art have been affected by the recent global pandemic and what the response to it in Lithuania and the world could be.
The University of Lithuania, founded in 1922, became the trailblazer of the Vytautas Magnus University, which, after the closure of the University in 1950, continued to exist in one form or another in other Lithuanian institutions of higher education and in the academic gatherings of the Lithuanian diaspora. The “University of Exile” existed among the Lithuanian diaspora through the activities of the student organizations that were active at VMU and were reestablished in the emigration, through the activities of the departed professors and former students, and through the World Lithuanian Symposiums. In 1989, during one of them, an idea of reestablishment of the Vytautas Magnus University was raised. After a plenary session dedicated to the restoration of VMU, 41 foreign members of the VMU Senate were elected.
The 2022 Symposium and its inaugural events will emphasize the importance of the shared wisdom of Lithuanians around the world, and in light of recent events and the upcoming 100th anniversary of the University of Lithuania, will invite discussion on themes that give meaning to freedom and its forms. The event will be held live at VMU and remotely on the Zoom platform. The event will also be available on the VMU Youtube channel. The full event program and registration will be announced in April.
The program of the symposium includes the following plenary sessions:
Opening Session—Freedom and Its Forms
Who Carries the Flame in the Darkness: The Tradition of the University of Lithuania in Lithuania and Diaspora
The Reality of Education in the Time of Virtual Reality
Can One Thrive in Unpredictability?