BEYOND DUTY – VISAS FOR LIFE High Level Diplomatic Event to Commemorate the Year of Sugihara 2020 24 September 2020
Venue: Grand Hall, Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), Kaunas (S. Daukanto 28) Hosted by: VMU and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Moderator: Rytis Zemkauskas, VMU associate professor On-site exhibition “Whosoever Saves a Single Life, Saves an Entire Universe”
08:30 Registration and welcome coffee 09:00 Moderator‘s introduction 09:05 Welcome remarks by Professor Juozas Augutis, VMU Rector 09:10 Speech by Linas Linkevičius, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania 09:20 Video message by Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan 09:30 Speech by Stef Blok, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands 09:40 Video message by Gabi Ashkenazi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel 09:50 Video conference call between Linas Linkevičius, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, and Hajime Furuta, Governor of Gifu Prefecture, Japan 10:05 The World Holocaust Remembrance Center (Yad Vashem) Awards ceremony (detailed schedule provided below) 11:00 Break. Refreshments provided by the Israeli Embassy
Symposium 11:15 Moderator‘s introduction Video message by Zvi Hauser, Chair of Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Knesset (Israel) 11:20 Refugees in Lithuania in 1939-1940 - Between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union Dainius Junevičius, Ambassador-at-Large for relations with Jewish communities (Lithuania) 11:35 How I Became Involved in Research Activities of Visas for Life Akira Kitade, freelance writer (Japan, by video conferencing) 11:50 Romanian Diplomats During the Holocaust: Protecting Lives Beyond Duty Cornel Feruță, Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Romania, by video conferencing) 12:05 The Diplomacy of Remembrance: The Role of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Michaela Küchler, Special Representative for relations with Jewish organisations, issues relating to antisemitism, international Sinti and Roma affairs, and Holocaust remembrance (Germany, by video conferencing) 12:20 Visas for Life Lead to Life in Diplomacy Jonathan Shrier, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Jerusalem (United States, by video conferencing) 12:35 Complexity of Human Nature: Why Help Others When You Don’t Have To? Dr. Linas Venclauskas, VMU historian, Deputy Chairman of Sugihara Foundation – Diplomats for Life (Lithuania) 12:50 Raoul Wallenberg – the Importance of Civil Courage Ulrika Sundberg, Ambassador, Special Envoy to OIC and for intercultural and interreligious dialogue (Sweden, by video conferencing) 13:05 Righteous Diplomats Jacek Chodorowicz, Plenipotentiary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the contacts with Jewish Diaspora (Poland) 13:20 Spanish Diplomats During the Shoah Miguel de Lucas, Director General of Centro Sefarad-Israel (Spain, by video conferencing) 13:35 Wrap-up by Professor Šarūnas Liekis, Dean of the VMU Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy (Lithuania) 13:45 Closing statement by Emanuelis Zingeris, Signatory of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania, Head of the Group for Inter-Parliamentary Relations with the State of Israel at the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania 14:00-14:30 Light refreshments
Awards Ceremony schedule 10:05 Song Shtiler Shtiler performed by VMU Music Academy students 10:10 Moderator’s introduction 10:13 Speech by Yossef Levy, Ambassador of Israel 10:15 Stories of the families read by moderator. A picture provided by each family is screened during reading. Families are invited one by one. Ambassador presents the award to each family, flowers are presented, and picture taken together. The families are given floor to deliver brief remarks of appreciation. The families take their seats afterwards. 10:49 Theme of Schindler’s List performed by a VMU Music Academy student (violin) 10:55 Remarks by Faina Kukliansky, Chairperson of the Lithuanian Jewish Community 11:00 Closing of the ceremony and family photo on the stage 11:05 Break. Refreshments provided by the Israeli Embassy Symposium Speakers
Ambassador Dainius Junevičius was born in Kaunas. In 1981, he graduated from Vilnius University where he studied semiconductor physics. After reestablishment of the Lithuanian independence, he switched his academic career to diplomacy and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania in 1991. He currently works as ambassador-at-large at the head office of the ministry. His previous postings include Warsaw, Athens, Kabul and Cairo. He also authored books on history of photography and history of the January 1863 Uprising in Lithuania.
Akira Kitade. Holds a BA in French Literature from Keio University in 1966. Between 1966 and 2004, worked for Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), and was stationed in Geneva, Switzerland, Dallas, Texas and Seoul. He retired from JNTO in 2004. Published several books, including Poet of the Snow, Charisma of Korea’s Tourism, Pusan Harbor Tales, and most recently, Visas of Life and the Epic Journey.
Cornel Feruță. State Secretary for Global Affairs and Diplomatic Strategies in the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs since January 2020. Holds the diplomatic rank of Ambassador. Starting with 2013, he held various positions within the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) including Assistant Director General, Chief Coordinator and Acting Director General. Between 2012 and 2013, he was Director General for Political Affairs and Political Director in the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2013, he was Chairman of the PrepCom II of the NPT Review Conference. In 2012 he was briefly Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Romania. From 2007 to 2012 he was Romania’s Ambassador to the IAEA, UN and other international organisations in Vienna. He was President of the 55th IAEA General Conference in 2011. He served two consecutive mandates as Vice-chairman of the IAEA Board (2008- 2010) in the capacity of governor for Romania to the IAEA Board of Governors. He also served as the OSCE Chairmanship Coordinator for post-conflict rehabilitation in 2011 and Corfu Coordinator on Enhancing the OSCE’s effectiveness in 2010. In 2009, he was Chairman of the OSCE Economic and Environmental Committee. From 2005 to 2007 he served as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania. In 2004, he was Director of the Western Balkans and Regional Cooperation Division and Advisor in the Minister’s Cabinet. He graduated from the Faculty of Political and Administrative Sciences of the Bucharest University, and holds a degree in Political Sciences and a MA in International Relations.
Michaela Küchler is currently the German Foreign Office Special Representative for Relations with Jewish Organisations, Holocaust Remembrance, Antisemitism, and international affairs relating to Sinti and Roma. She works on issues such as building cooperation with international organizations like OSCE/ODIHR, UNESCO and the EU, cooperating with countries in the field of combatting antisemitism, maintaining dialogue with Jewish organizations throughout Germany, the USA and central and Eastern Europe, as well as funding projects on remembrance of the Holocaust and the genocide of the Sinti and Roma. As current Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, her priority is combatting denial, distortion and relativization of the Holocaust.
Jonathan Shrier has been the Deputy Chief of Mission for the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem since October 2019. A career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, he most recently served in Peshawar, Pakistan, as the Consul General and Principal Officer. He previously served in Israel as the Counselor for Economic Affairs, and in Kabul, Afghanistan, overseeing cooperation and assistance programs. Earlier, Mr. Shrier acted as the Secretary of State’s Special Representative for Global Food Security, and served on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, His interagency experience includes service as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy; as Director for International Energy Security at the National Security Council and National Economic Council; and as Director for Investment at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. He also served at the U.S. Embassies in Beijing, China, and in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Mr. Shrier earned degrees from the National Defense University (M.S. in National Security Resource Strategy), University of London (M.B.A. in International Management), London School of Economics (MSc in International Relations), and Dartmouth (A.B. in Government). Linas Venclauskas holds a PhD in history, his thesis was on modern Lithuanian antisemitism from second half of 19th century to 1940. His field of research is national minorities in Lithuania, their identity and stereotypes attributed to the national minorities. He lectures at Faculty of Humanities at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) in Kaunas, Lithuania. He served as a vice-dean of Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy at VMU (2009 – 2015). Since 2015, he is deputy chair of NGO Sugihara Foundation - Diplomats for Life, as well as its researcher. He contributed to the Sugihara House in Kaunas by arranging an exhibition Casablanca of the North: Kaunas 1939 – 1940 (2016) and its catalogue, and by editing a collection of articles Casablanca of the North: refugees and rescuers in Kaunas 1939 – 1940 (2017). Besides, he served as personal guide at Sugihara House for the President of the Republic of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus (2006), the Queen of the Netherlands Beatrix (2008) and the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe (2018).
Ambassador Ulrika Sundberg is the Special Envoy to the OIC and for interreligious and intercultural dialogue at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs since September 2019. She served as Consul General of Sweden in Mumbai, India (2016-2019). Before taking up this post, she served as Sweden’s Ambassador to Ireland, to Belgium and to Pakistan (2009-2016). She was Ambassador and senior political adviser to the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe (2008-2009) as well as Head of the Swedish diplomatic mission in Khartoum, Sudan (2006-2008). Previous postings include Deputy Head of Mission at the Swedish Delegation to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva, working with UN issues and reforms at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (1996-1999) and at the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the UN and UNDP in New York (1992-1993). She also worked as Consul and Legal Advisor at the Swedish Consulate General in New York (1993-1996), and in the Swedish Embassy in Lima/La Paz, Peru/Bolivia (1990-1992). She holds a master in law (LL.M) from University of Stockholm. She is specialized in international law, human rights and conflict of laws, and is currently Vice President of the Siracusa Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights (since 2015). Jacek Chodorowicz. Born in 1964 in Warsaw. He graduated from Faculty of History at the University of Warsaw. He completed the course for diplomats in the Dutch Institute for International Relations. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland in 1992 and was Head of Sub-Saharan Africa Section in the Department of Africa, Asia, Australia and Pacific (1993-1995), twice the Director of the Department of Africa and the Middle East (1999-2001 and 2008- 2012). He served as Chargé d’Affaires in the Polish Embassy in Harare (1995-1999) and was ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic (2002-2008) and to Israel (2012-2018). Since 2018, he is Plenipotentiary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for contacts with the Jewish Diaspora and Head of Polish Delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
Miguel de Lucas is a career diplomat since 1993 and has served 9 years in Spanish Embassies in Nigeria, Paraguay and Cameroon. He worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Departments of Asia Pacific and Development Cooperation. He has also been assigned at the Spanish Prime Minister Office. Since October 2007, he is with Centro Sefarad-Israel, an institution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that promotes the relations between Spain and the Jewish World. He has promoted the creation of the Erensya Platform which seeks to establish bonds between Spain and the communities of the Sephardic Diaspora. He is currently the Director General of Centro Sefarad-Israel and Head of the Spanish Delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.