EFHR’s Impressions After the Freedom Picnic

On 24^th of August, the 4^th edition of Kaunas’ festival of ideas Freedom Picnic (Lithuanian: Laisvės piknikas) invited many known Lithuanian politicians, leaders, journalists, economists and celebrities to participate in an open debate, answer the public’s most pressing questions, and encourage visitors to generate ideas through inspiring workshops.

Participants of the Freedom Picnic had an opportunity to meet and interact with three representatives of the European Foundation of Human Rights (EFHR): Evelina Dobrovolska, Monika Guliakaitė and Marta Bednarczyk.

EFHR lawyers, Evelina and Monika, offered their expertise in the

field of human rights, national minorities and hate crime. Participants of the picnic could ask our experts about anything related to their rights and freedoms. Those that did not dare to ask personally, could do so through an online communication platform sli.do. EFHR is pleased that there were many people interested in Foundation’s activities, especially the youth, who were particularly active in exploring issues such as discrimination, hate speech and equal opportunities.

Apart from legal consultations, EFHR had prepared an interactive quiz about human rights, allowing each participant to win attractive prizes, such as cinema tickets, bookshop coupons and reusable canvas bags. Picnic’s guests could also learn about the issue of the spelling of personal names in Lithuania and take a picture with a do-it-yourself EFHR photo frame.

EFHR intern Marta encouraged visitors to learn more about the international volunteering opportunities possible under the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) framework of the Erasmus+ programme. “If you’re between 18 and 30 years old, you can spend from 2 to 12 months working for an NGO abroad. It’s not only a great way to expand your horizons and gain professional experience but also to meet many wonderful people and possibly learn a new language,” advocates Marta.

The first Freedom Picnic was organised in 2016 as a response to the state’s lack of ideas and unsatisfying communication with the public. EFHR participated in the event for the first time. The entire team of EFHR expresses sincere gratitude to the organisers of the festival for the inspirational event and to everyone who expressed interest in our activities.