Yesterday, 3 out of 7 laureates of the Global Lithuanian Awards 2020 declared their refusal to admit the awards from the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda. GLL respects and accepts this civic position of the laureates. We believe that the laureates raised some critical questions on diversity and inclusion policies in Lithuania, and we are glad the Awards became a platform to talk about them.
GLL upholds and promotes the values of openness and diversity; we discussed them in our previous events.
The institution of the President of Lithuania is a long-standing and important partner of our organization; therefore, we will seek to use the forthcoming meeting with the President and his team for a constructive discussion on the issues raised. We believe there is an urgency to promote an understanding and acceptance of diversity in society in peaceful ways.
We are talking to all the laureates of this year’s GLL Awards to make sure all opinions are heard and understood correctly. We intend to proceed with our plans to meet with the President on July 16.
Some background info:
The Global Lithuanian Awards 2020 took place virtually in January this year. The ceremony of awarding was postponed to summer 2021 due to quarantine restrictions. An independent jury chooses the laureates of the Awards, and the President traditionally presents the statuettes. The Presidents meeting Awards laureates is scheduled for July 16. After the short ceremony, a round table discussion with the President’s team and the laureates is planned.