British Chamber of Commerce Didzioji 5, LT-011128 Vilnius, Lithuania
TOURISM
Summer 2010
issue No. 33
Alistair Day-Stirrat
Ben Harvey
Ivona Rozanovska
Alistair Day-Stirrat
Sports Tours to Lithuania
Brits in Lithuania
The Child: Beautiful Individual with Indefinite Opportunities
Medical Tourism: Going places
page 5
page 4
page 7
page 9
Quote of the Issue: I hate a fellow whom pride, or cowardice, or laziness drives into a corner, and who does nothing when he is there but sit and growl; let him come out as I do, and bark. (Samuel Johnson)
Image and Branding Lithuania
As I sit with publicist Marius Jovaiša, the author of Unseen Lithuania (Neregėta Lietuva), discussing his new book Heavenly Belize, an aerial photographic album or homage to something close to paradise, I find myself distracted from the point in hand “Image and Branding Lithuania”. Fortunately, the Lonely Planet has provided me with a link. They have just rated the Curonian Spit, Lithuania, as the 3rd best beach to swing a hammock on in the world! It’s said that around 14 villages are buried under the endless, shifting dunes, making the Spit a kind of Baltic Sahara. Talking about Image and Branding Lithuania seems almost trivial when considering the deepening economic troubles the county is in. Marius is frank, “the situation in the countryside is bad. The agriculture industry can no longer sustain a
way of life. People are leaving for the cities or abroad. For people who are desperate the question of Branding becomes totally unimportant compared to feeding their families”. But out of this Marius suggest a curious phenomenon happens. “Once Lithuanians are living outside Lithuania they become more Patriotic. Once abroad they are inspired”. From this Marius is hoping people will start wearing the logo ‘Lithuania Heart of the Baltics’ on bags and Tshirts. He is even inviting Lithuanians who are travelling abroad to put photos and videos of themselves showing the ‘Lithuania Heart of the Baltics’ banner on his website www.baltijossirdis.lt (also www.heartofthebaltics.com). As a photographer Marius spends much of his time abroad, recently in Iran and Cuba. Coming back to Lithuania is never hard for him, he describes himself as a patriot who wants his children to go to school in Lithuania, and spend time with parents and grandparents. continued on page 3 >
10 years in Tourism Phil Teubler Baltic Holidays
On August 5th 1999 my life changed direction dramatically. As I stood on the tarmac at Vilnius airport baking in the summer sun, little did I know how this country would be at the centre of my business and how attached I would become to its people and traditions What I thought would be an interesting week’s holiday with my father visiting his home land, actually became a turning point in my life, never for me before has one short week been so influential. Like every true Englishman my first thoughts concerned the weather, ‘Golly it’s hot!’ Wasn’t I in grey and miserable Eastern Europe? Where was the cloud and drizzle? Stripping off my layers of jumpers as we travelled into Vilnius I marvelled at the glorious architecture and charm of the cobbled streets and fairytale buildings, as every moment passed my preconception of a country hidden for so long behind the iron curtain, was chalcontinued on page 3 >
Photo by Marius Jovaiša
By Alistair Day-Stirrat
Curonian Spit in Lithuania was rated as the 3rd best beach in the world by Lonely Planet
Lenin Land Lithuania Style – Edu-tainment in the Key of Soviet Kitsch Medeine Tribinevicius Attracting tourism is all about selling what you’ve got and one of Lithuania’s natural resource, besides pretty girls and bone white beaches, is Soviet kitsch. The infrastructure and monuments build during the Soviet period are being mined by tourist operators and solo travellers alike for their Cold War edge and Soviet nostalgia, and one of the beauties about this natural resource is that much of it is yet untouched – a lack of financial resources has stunted development of most of these places to their full entertainment potential. From abandoned nuclear missile silos to military installations to Soviet-era collective farms, the Soviet ruins of Lithuania are an unexplored wilderness at the ready.
Phil and his son in Palanga
At the forefront of creating accessible Soviet tourist experiences is Grūtas Park, an open-air park near the spa town of Druskininkai devoted to Soviet-era monuments and statuary. Often
referred to as “Lenin Land” of “Stalin World” by Western media, it was founded by the granddaddy of Soviet nostalgia tourism in Lithuania, former professional wrestler and mushroom magnate Vilumas Malinauskas. The park opened its gates in 2001 and features 86 Soviet-era monuments arranged in spheres – the Totalitarian Sphere (Lenin, Marx and Stalin), the Terror Sphere (father of the KGB Felix Dzerzhinsky and founders of the Communist Party of Lithuania) the Soviet Sphere (Lithuanian communist leaders and activists of all stripes), the Red Sphere (Soviet partisans) and the Occupation and Death Sphere (self-explanatory). These statues stand amongst tall fir trees and are surrounded by a barbed wire fence punctuated with watchtowers – an attempt at recreating the atmosphere of a gulag camp. Visitors pass by a boxcar when entering the premises, a reminder from a failed idea to offer a “deportation” experience train link from Vilnius to Grūtas Park. continued on page 3 >
BCC paper Summer 2010
2
Members’ Discount Scheme Updates
Alistair Day-Stirrat
Editor, Board Member of the BCC IT will be the theme for the next edition of the BCCL paper. We are looking for contributors. So, if you’re working in the field, have a passing interest, or can tell us where Lithuania is going, we want to hear from you.
BCC paper is a free of charge newspaper of the British Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania, published 4 times a year. It covers a variety of subjects related to the UK – Lithuania business, provides members news, introduces to new BCC members and provides a review of events organized by the Chamber.
As a member of the British Chamber of Commerce and BCC Membership Card holder you can benefit from the following discounts and special offers:
Fiorentino Restaurant
– 15% discount on prices from Restaurant menu (Dish of the day, catering and events services are excluded from this offer)
Le Méridien Vilnius Hotel
- 50% discount for “Green fee” (Bridgewater game); 20% discount for one time entrance to the Health Club + SPA Oasis; 10% discounts for Health Club + SPA Oasis memberships, for family one time entrance + memberships in the Health Club + SPA Oasis. 10% discount in restaurant “Le Paysage”; 10% discount from best available rate for accommodation; Free room for newlyweds if they celebrate weddings in Le Méridien Vilnius hotel with minimum 50 pax
AVIS rent a car
– 25 % for short-term rentals within Lithuania and the Baltic states; special quotes for outbound and chauffeur drive rentals; tailormade full leasing and fleet management offers; corporate Charge and Avis Preferred cards
Best Western Hotel Vilnius
– 40 % discount for accommodation, conference halls and fitness centre and 15 % discount for restaurant and bar; 20 % discount for accommodation in newly opened Best Western Hotel Central in Druskininkai
Biuro Pasaulis - 22% discount for stationery
Black & Decker (Hardim, UAB)
– 10 % discount for Black & Decker and DeWalt electric tools
Bunnahabhain
– 20 % discount for Bunnahabhain; 10 % discount for other products. Discount is valid only at the Wine Boutique (Gero vyno parduotuve) on Subaciaus St. 2, Vilnius
CID Baltic
– offers a 10% discount for the off the shelf IT products. We provide the opportunity to get free of charge consultancy in the areas of effective software implementation in business process, software impact and successful software deployment.
Danske Bank A/S Lithuania branch – Bank will be paying 1 ON VILIBOR-0,2 % or 1 ON LIBOR-0,2 % interest for deposits.
consulting, and translation services
Hotel Vanagupė (Eskom, UAB)
– 10 % discount of rack rates for accommodation in the hotel; 10% discount on food and beverages in the hotel restaurant, terrace and bar
Kaunas Airport
- free Long term and Short term parking and free VIP escorting
Law firm JURIDICON - 20% discount for services
Motieka & Audzevičius, Law firm – free of charge first consultation for BCC members
ODONTIKA, Dental surgery - 20 % discount for services
Publicum
- 10% for all services and free of charge first consultation!
The BCC paper is distributed with Star1 airlines, at Vilnius International Airport, Kaunas Airport, main hotels in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda, travel agencies, restaurants, information and business centres, all BCC members, International Chambers in Lithuania, British companies interested in entering the Lithuanian market, the Lithuanian Government and trade organisations. Copies are also sent to the Lithuanian Embassy in London, UK Trade and Investment (the UK Government organisation which supports UK companies trading Internationally), British Chambers in the UK and Europe. Total print run: 5000 copies Next publication date: September 2010, focusing on IT BCC paper team: Editor in Chief – Chris Butler Editor – Alistair Day-Stirrat – Alistair.Day-Stirrat@odontika.com Publisher – Geoffrey Cohn – Geoffcohn4747@msn.com Members section and advertising – Sandra Kundrotė, e-mail: Sandra@bccl.lt , tel. +370 5 2690062 Design – Ernestas Šimkūnas, e-mail: ernestas.simkunas@gmail.com
ADVERTISING INFORMATION
NEW! Issue sponsorship package (4000 LTL/1160 €) now available: Sponsor banners on every other page of the paper; Full color back page (1000 advert cm²) advert; Half page editorial promotional material within the paper; Issue Sponsor logo on BCC weekly E-News; Issue Sponsor logo on BCC website; Issue Sponsor logo in all e-mail information related to sponsored issue, sent to BCC Members and contacts
Shakespeare Boutique Hotel
– 20 % discount for Shakespeare Hotel accommodation; 20 % discount at the “Sonnets” Restaurant and the “Globe” Bar
Prices Size
Size mm
BCC Member rate
BCC Non member rate
Back page 1000 cm²
273x366
1250 LTL
363 €
1560 LTL
453 €
Full page right 1000 cm²
273x366
1125 LTL
326 €
1400 LTL
405 €
- 10% discount for Recruitment Services.
Full page left 1000 cm²
273x366
1000 LTL
345 €
1250 LTL
363 €
Varul Vilgerts Smaliukas, Law firm
½ page 129 cm²
133x368
600 LTL
175 €
750 LTL
218 €
½ page 129 cm²
273x183
600 LTL
175 €
750 LTL
218 €
1/3 page 326 cm²
273x119
320 LTL
93 €
400 LTL
116 €
1/3 page 326 cm²
133x245
320 LTL
93 €
400 LTL
116 €
Strategic Staffing Solutions, UAB - free of charge first consultation; 10 % discount for all services
AB Ūkio Bankas
– special fees for BCC corporate members holding account with the bank. Private members can apply for a set of bank cards using this special offer: a MasterCard Standard including insurance plus a special debit card (Maestro Olialia or Maestro Zalgiris) and a virtual MasterCard card for safe internet purchases all for a price of one card and no need to pay service charges during the first year. When contacting the companies, please indicate that you are a BCC member, provide your company name and BCC Membership Card number. For more detailed information about special offers & discounts please visit our website www.bccl.lt and click on a flashing banner.
Finreda
– 10 % for corporate, accounting, audit organisation, legal, financial, tax and business
Pan Baltic discounts are now available!
From 2010 BCC Members are entitled to use various of discounts provided by the BritishEstonian Chamber of Commerce and British Chamber of Commerce in Latvia members. Moreover BCC Corporate and BCC Sponsor members participating in the discount scheme will have a possibility to provide discounts for BCC Estonia and BCC Latvia members. Please check the BCC website www.bccl.lt (flashing banner) for more information.
BCCL discount scheme, how has it worked for our members?
Small 129 cm²
273x47
150 LTL
44 €
190 LTL
44 €
Small 129 cm²
133x97
150 LTL
44 €
190 LTL
44 €
Small 129 cm²
63x200
150 LTL
44 €
190 LTL
44 €
For further information or to book your ad space, please contact the chamber: Tel. +370 (5) 269 00 62/84, e-mail: Sandra@bccl.lt
UKTI BALTICS
CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2010 DATE
LOCATION
EVENT
PROJECT TEAM/ATTENDEES
9 June
Duxford
Business Development Visit to Enterprise Europe Event
Gintare.verbickaite@fco.gov.uk
10 June
Derbyshire
Visit to Baltic States Market Seminar
Gintare.verbickaite@fco.gov.uk
8-9 June
Vienna
Inward Mission to Vienna Corporate Education Event
Laura.lescinskiene@fco.gov.uk
14-18 June
Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius
ICT Sector Outward Mission to the Baltics
Laura.lescinskiene@fco.gov.uk
15-16 June
London
Inward Mission and Business Development Visit to Futuresource 2010
Gintare.verbickaite@fco.gov.uk
17 June
Vilnius
Queen’s Birthday Party
24 June
Vilnius
Jonines. Embassy closed
28 June - 02 July
South East, South West, Wales, West Midlands
Visit to Explore Export Event
Vilnius
King Mindaugas Coronation Day. Embassy closed
September TBC
North West
Visit to Meet the Chemical Commercial Officer and BDV to North West
Laura.lescinskiene@fco.gov.uk
September TBC
TBC
Inward Mission to GLEE Gardening and Pet Fair
Agne.liutkeviciute@fco.gov.uk
JUNE 2010
Mrs Daiva Kryžanovskienė, Director, AVIS Rent a Car & Leasing Company –As per Avis, we received around 2-3 local rentals and 5-6 outbound bookings, using BCCL discount scheme no increase recently. I personally used BW Central in Druskininkai, twice already. BCC discount worked perfectly and would really recommend this hotel to others. Mr Egidijus Dargevičius, General Manager’s Adviser, Best Western Hotel Naujasis Vilnius - we don’t have statistic how many people used the discount card in our hotels – approximately up to 50 contacts. The BW Central hotel is more popular than BW Vilnius. Mr Gintaras Baužys, General Manager, Greco Lietuva UADBB - We used to take services in Kaunas Airport for a long time. Considering convenient flight timetables it is very save and comfortable to use parking place near the airport. The staff is always willing to help and the system of parking discounts are really works. Personally I would kindly recommend Kaunas Airport as particular and save point of connection with Europe.
Laura.lescinskiene@fco.gov.uk
JULY 2010 6 July
SEPTEMBER 2010
*TBC – dates to be confirmed * - public holidays
BCC paper Summer 2010
3
TOURISM
Lenin Land Lithuania Style – Edu-tainment in the Key of Soviet Kitsch < continued from page 1
Comparisons to Disneyland have been made, but Grūtas Park is decidedly low-tech – no mechanically animated dancing bears here. The closest they get to the daily hustle and bustle of Disneyland is the Grand Opening celebrations held annually on May 1st (International Workers’ Day). Ceremonies include actors dressed as Lenin acting out scenes from his life and pontificating. Stalin glad-hands the crowd, gaggles of local schoolchildren dressed as Pioneers frolic in the Soviet-era playgrounds, spouting communist-era songs and herds of roving (and often tipsy) local young men dressed in Soviet uniform misbehaving as only Soviet soldiers can. It’s a sexy look at Soviet kitsch, and Malinauskas goes full hog. Visitors can enjoy traditional Lithuanian dishes and delicious mushrooms at the café, there is also a nostalgia menu featuring “nostalgia borscht” and “sprat po russki”, served on aluminium Soviet-era cafeteria trays. The souvenir kiosks sell everything from quirky Lenin t-shirts to shot glasses with the images of Lenin and Stalin embossed on them and the usual array of hammer and sickle emblazoned tchotchkas. Both local and international groups continue to protest Grūtas Park, calling the yearly celebrations a glorification of a ruthless regime, and complaining about the fact that the sculpture park also includes a petting zoo and Soviet-era jungle gyms. Did I mention Malinauskas is a millionaire? Much of the money he’s
made selling gourmet canned mushrooms has been invested into the park, buying many of the sculptures (and saving them from oblivion and smelting) as well as constructing two small museums to house the less hardy artefacts such as the myriad of publications, posters and household objects emblazoned with Lenin, Stalin and Marx made during the Soviet period and distributed with great effectiveness throughout the Soviet region. He has one of the largest collections of Soviet artefacts in Lithuania and detractors argue that they belong in a state museum. Protestors are also upset that Malinauskas profits from Soviet kitsch; they accuse him of making profit on the backs of those who suffered under the Soviet regime. Malinauskas counters with his own perspective – his family suffered under the hands of the Soviets as much as any other in Lithuania. His view is that he is putting history on display, rather than allowing it to disappear; the statues in his park were bought at a scrap metal yard and would most likely have been smelted out of existence if he had not rescued them. But despite controversy, or perhaps because of it, Grūtas Park is here to say, celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2011, the same year that former Soviet states will be celebrating 20 years since the collapse of the USSR. Tourists love an occasion and there will no doubt be an increase in tourism to the region; Grūtas Park is already on the tourist track, and you can bet there will be more curious
visitors looking to experience a little piece of the Soviet Union for themselves. The question of whether or not anyone should be making money from the spoils of the Soviet regime is nuanced. In countries with economies emerging from decades of centralization and with small resource bases, what else is there to sell if not culture and history? Westerners are still coming to Eastern Europe looking for the “wild east” of the early post-Soviet period, so why not give them a taste of what they want? Democracy = capitalism = obeying the laws of supply and demand. At Grūtas Park history is not ignored, it is preserved. The statues may be out of context but an extensive audio guide is offered in several Europe-
It’s this travelling abroad that has given Marius his insight into Branding Lithuania. “The Baltic sea is recognizable even when people do not know where Lithuania is. You mention Baltic Sea region, Sweden, Germany, Finland, and people get the idea. The Heart - serving as a bridge North-South, and from East-West”. Unseen Lithuania is really what Lithuania is,
unnoticed. But this could be as well its greatest asset. People are looking for retreats, like jungle lodges in Belize, away from the frenetic existence of big city living. The tranquil calm of Lithuania’s Curonian Spit in summer is far closer and could be far more accessible to the residents of Berlin, London, or Milan. We find we have something in common. His father is an archaeologist, and his cousin is a doctor living outside Lithuania.
“The Baltic sea is recognizable even when people do not know where Lithuania is. You mention Baltic Sea region, Sweden, Germany, Finland, and people get the idea. The Heart - serving as a bridge North-South, and from East-West”, says Marius Jovaiša, publicist and author of Unseen Lithuania (Neregėta Lietuva)
Medeine Tribinevicius is a writer and translator. After spending almost four years living and working in the Baltics, she is currently pursuing an MA in European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Munk Centre (University of Toronto) and writing a book about kitsch tourist experiences in the former Soviet ‘hood – think Chernobyl bus tours and Gulag tourism. She blogs about such topics from time to time at: www.adventuresinleninland. wordpress.com
10 years in Tourism
Image and Branding Lithuania < continued from page 1
an languages providing information on the statues and on the history of the Soviet Union. So with the basic facts and history in place, why not use a little bit of kitsch to attract some visitors? Let’s turn that dour Soviet frown upside-down with a little bit of edu-tainment.
< continued from page 1
lenged. Here was a country like a rare antique in a furniture shop, waiting to be found, shared and treasured, discovering what its kinsman, proud of their traditions and rich history, have always known. What followed was a wonderful 6 days. A friend of my fathers Jurgis Zabaliunas and his son took the time to show us Lithuania, Jurgis drove us all around the country, from Vilnius, to Kaunas, to Palanga and Nida to small villages and off the beaten track towns. The only thing I didn’t see or hear during that week were other tourists, I didn’t hear one other British accent and that got me thinking…. When I returned home I wondered if it was possible – could I set up a travel company and become a tour operator? Could I specialise in sending people on holiday to Lithuania? After I researched the market I realised nobody was really promoting Lithuania in the UK, so encouraged by my family and friends I threw caution to the wind (ash free wind) and set about building my business. Overcoming the mountain of red tape involved in becoming a bone fide tour operator was, at times a little over whelming, but slowly and surely I applied for the appropriate licenses and learnt my trade. The road was at times rocky; I was sometimes surprised at people’s limited attitudes finding resistance in unlikely places but on the other hand people often surprised me with their support, generosity and helpful attitude, lithuaniaholidays.com was born! During the early days when the company was in its infancy, and Vilnius was not well publicised, I decided to contact all the UK national newspapers to see if I could get a journalist interesting in visiting; the plan was they would fall in love with Vilnius, write a fantastic article, singing the praises of Lithuania and my company! The gods were obviously smiling on me as one day I got my lucky break calling the Guardian Newspaper. Nervously I held my breath expecting to be put on hold by some secretary, instead Andy Petrasich answered, not only was he the Guardian’s deputy travel editor at the time, but it further transpired his father was from Vilnius, Andy had always wanted to visit and he was very interesting in writing an article and travelling with lithuanianholidays.com. The plan worked, Andy wrote a wonderful article and lithuanianholidays.com received many
phone calls from interested clients, hotels began to take me seriously as I booked client after client with them. It was a great start to the business and I will always be thankful to Andy. Today we are called Baltic Holidays and I still spend a lot of my time talking to prospective clients about Lithuania and the other Baltic countries, since 1999 we have added Latvia, Estonia, parts of Russia, Poland and Finland to our destinations. Every day I am still confronted with ideas and thoughts about these wonderful places that are simply not true, that they are freezing in the summer, they are grey and depressing, that the food is awful! It takes time and effort selling these countries but it is always worth it. After a client experiences one of our tailor made tours, with private guides and drivers, they always return home full of enthusiasm, and vim and vigour for the region. It is important to us that our clients meet locals and get behind the ‘skin’ of the country; we feel this way they really get to experience the real Baltics in the short time they have, and to know is usually to love! We have spent a lot of time and money promoting the beach and countryside, trying to get clients to, not only enjoy Vilnius, but to see other parts of the country as well. Lithuania has it all going for it, a wonderful capital city, full off charm and spirit, picturesque countryside, and a stunning coast line. I personally feel it has yet to reach its potential, and although it may never have the mass tourism appeal of say Spain or Greece, with the low cost airlines now flying to Lithuania it can attract more and more UK tourism. Lithuania offers the opportunity for a wonderful city break, beach holiday or countryside retreat, and developed along with it neighbouring countries the appeal is limitless. I strongly believe that the Lithuanian government should place more resources into promoting this amazing country. Of course I am not politician and all of Europe is facing challenges right now, but in the UK tourism is a huge part of our gross national product. In Lithuania wise marketing and money well spent, and more of it, would really put Lithuania on the map as regards tourism. In my experience Lithuania always exceeds my client’s expectations. Phil Teubler is founder of Baltic Holidays. www.balticholidays.com
BCC paper Summer 2010
4
TOURISM
Brits in Lithuania Interview with Ben Harvey, BCC private member, has been living in Lithuania for 13 years. “When I first decided to come to Lithuania, I knew very little about it. As a safety net I initially committed to only six months as I really didn’t know what I was getting in to. However 6 months has become 13 years and the adventure continues” Ben, has ‘Lithuania got talent’? Yes, and organisations and the government need to do all they can to keep it here! When you see the number of people in positions of leadership and operating at board level at an age which is comparatively young when you look at Western Europe, it shows that when given the opportunity the new generation of leaders are rising to the challenge. The challenge for organisations is to identify their key talent at the earliest opportunity in order to support their growth, help them realise their potential, and ultimately to retain them. This is
Ben Harvey and his dog Molly in Pervalka on the Curonian Spit ideally done by taking a tailored, individual approach with the right people being identified as having the potential to be successful at the highest levels. The challenge to young leaders and rising stars is to recognise that they need to continue their development, not just in terms of what they know, but also in terms of how they work with other people.
Are business leaders in Lithuania ready to have a Brit coaching them? Given that I am working with a number of senior businesspeople in Lithuania, my answer is yes, but there is room for significant change in terms of how coaching is perceived. I do see a number of organisations working hard at embedding a coaching style of management into their culture, but I do think there is significant room for growth in terms of how many senior and board level people work with an executive coach. One issue is how executive coaching is understood, i.e. what is its purpose and what is the value it can bring. Another issue is the number of experienced coaches operating in Lithuania who are capable at working at that level. Typically I am working with new or relatively inexperienced leaders, and as most leaders acknowledge, it’s a lonely place, and it’s often hard to know how you are doing. Coaching is about working with ideas as well as issues. Typical topics include how to manage or motivate people, how to work with certain individuals where there is a perceived clash of styles, how to cope with the pressure of leadership and finding the right work/life balance. The starting place for most issues are with the individual themselves – i.e. how they can manage themselves first, and then lead others, or what kind of leader are they, and how do they want to be perceived. You travel a lot in your role as a coach. Are you very individual specific in tailoring your coaching? and do you adapt your methods for different cultures depending on where you are in the world? As a coach you have to build a relationship of trust with your client in order to bring value, so to achieve that I have to see and treat everyone as an individual. While I have my own style of coaching I do need to be able to adapt that to the style of my client – I need to work with their energy levels, their way of thinking and their way of communicating. As such I am wary of placing too much emphasis on national stereotypes or arriving with any preconceived ideas of what my client may be like. We all have our own personality which influences our interests, like/dislikes etc. We often work in teams which have their own set of dynamics. We may work in an organisation with its own set of values and leadership culture. All of this will impact on how an individual will approach their work, and how they feel about their work. When I work with groups, national differences can be more evident. For example when I work in Belgrade or Bucharest groups tend to be nosier, more expressive, and it is clear what people are
thinking and feeling. When in Warsaw or Vilnius groups are typically quieter, more reserved and as a consequence it’s harder to know what is going on, as the data isn’t out in the open. Again I need to adapt my style to be able to work with the challenges that both types of group present. When I talk about particular models, I can expect certain reactions. For example when I talk about the skill of influencing others, I explain the difference between ‘pushing’ your ideas onto people versus ‘pulling’ people towards your ideas. Typically I find that people in organisations are very familiar with the push, or directive, style of influence and management. It can be a challenge for people to accept that a pull style is an equally valid approach, and an effective influencer or manager needs to find the right balance between both styles. Why the career change into coaching after so long with one of the ‘big 4’? The idea of helping people learn has always appealed. When I was 18, I took a year out before going to university and I spent nine months as an outdoor education teacher for a school in Australia. While I was working in the London office of PricewaterhouseCoopers I was getting involved in the training of new recruits. But it was a significant change, and some said risk, when I decided to move away from accounting and finance to training and development in 1999. I was effectively starting a new career, from the bottom. I was fortunate that I didn’t have to change employers as an opportunity presented itself to become a training & development resource for PwC’s Central & Eastern European network of offices. I had to develop myself, and quickly, and I was extremely fortunate to attend many development programmes and work with a diverse range of professionals - academics, businesspeople, psychotherapists. The decision to leave PwC and start my own business in 2005 was more to do with family than my own career. It was a way to allow me to stay in Lithuania. But in a sense it was another big risk. I’m happy to report it’s worked out so far. You first came to Lithuania 13 years ago. What made you want to stay? When I first decided to come to Lithuania, I knew very little about it. I was looking for a secondment out of the UK, or more precisely an adventure, and I was most interested in finding a small, young office where I could be involved in many aspects of the business, and I also wanted to be in an environment which was very different to what I
Ben Harvey with family was used to – in terms of language, culture, history etc. As a safety net I initially committed to only six months as I really didn’t know what I was getting in to. However 6 months has become 13 years and the adventure continues. I’ve stayed here mainly because of family. I met my wife, Egle, here and we will be celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary this year. We have a daughter, Emily, who is 5. Egle has her own very successful career and Emily is settled in nursery school and is busy making many friends. Of course, I enjoy living here as well. I like the size and pace of life Vilnius offers – I do not consider myself a ‘big city’ person. Although I enjoy short bursts of time in cities like London or Moscow, it’s always a good feeling to be heading back to Vilnius. We are asking people to name a favourite destination in Lithuania (other than Trakai castle), what’s yours? Siemens Arena whenever there is a big basketball game on. I’m a sports fan so I enjoy following basketball and going to watch Lietuvos Rytas play. Whenever Rytas play Zalgiris or have a big European fixture there’s always a big crowd, and the atmosphere and the stadium itself are excellent. However, in terms of a destination I enjoy Pervalka which is a small village on the Curonian Spit. We bought a small apartment there a few years ago and I enjoy going there at any time of the year to unwind and recharge.
JKLJS encourages Lithuanian students to explore home market opportunities Lithuanian Youth Association in the United Kingdom (“JKLJS”) is a youth organisation, which unites and represents young Lithuanians studying and working in the UK. The association promotes Lithuanian identity, language and culture. Likewise, it facilitates the integration of young Lithuanians in to the British society. One of the activities of the association is called “JKLJS internship”, a project which has been running for the fourth consecutive year. It encourages Lithuanian students in the UK to return back to Lithuania and input their best knowledge and experience to the Lithuanian job market. The project also provides real opportunity for students to compare the Lithuanian and British work experiences.
Bank and law firm Lawin. In 2009 the association carried out work for Danske Bank and was delegated to conduct the interviews and perform numerical and reasoning testing for the selected candidates. It also started negotiations with Omnitel, the leading telecommunications provider in Lithuania, and agreed to select candidates for positions in finance, product creation and marketing departments. The programme has successfully continued this year, with further expansion and collaboration with the largest public relations company Publicum and another provider of legal services Raidla Lejins & Norcous. Both the representatives of the companies and the students showed a keen interest in taking part in the project.
The inspiration for “JKLJS internship” came from the political debates regarding the best policies to encourage the Lithuanian emigrants to return and explore home market opportunities. The project took off after the second Lithuanian students conference in London in 2008, a yearly event that attracts around 200-300 participants and the speakers include members of the Lithuania’s government, economists and prominent Lithuanian businessmen.
The association also maintains close partnership with the Lithuanian City of London Club helping to organise the City Big Brother, during which City based Lithuanian professional provide mentoring and support for Lithuanian students looking to work in the finance industry. In addition, JKLJS has close ties with the Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce and helped to organise the Christmas fair and Gala dinner for the Lithuania’s Prime Minister last year.
As a result of the conference, JKLJS formed ties and started offering internships at Danske
According to one of the project coordinators Indre Dargyte, “majority of the Lithuanians study-
Participants of JKLJS Students Conference, London 2010 ing in the UK perceive their future in Lithuania, hence actively looking for opportunities to start their professional career in Lithuania. The internship schemes take place in the summer time, usually during the months of July and August, when majority of the students are back home for their summer break. We are happy to see that the number of students participating in the programme is constantly increasing, with some being offered full time positions after the end of their experiences.” In contrast to other internships schemes in Lithuania, where the interns usually perform mechanical tasks or cover for absent employees, “JKLJS internship” project is designed to attract,
train and assess potential future employees. The students are given real tasks and responsibilities and are fully integrated across all departments of the companies. JKLJS plans to expand this initiative in the future by offering internships at Lithuanian companies and government bodies in the UK, as well as the government sector in Lithuania. Currently JKLJS brings together around 2000 members and has 9 branches across the UK: London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bradford, Warwick, York, Birmingham, Newcastle and Nottingham. In 20102011 the association plans to open more branches in Wales and Southern England regions. For further information please contact us at info@jkljs.org
BCC paper Summer 2010
5
TOURISM
Sports Tours to Lithuania By Alistair Day-Stirrat In recent years we’ve witnessed the British Davis Cup team get trounced by Lithuania, seen national and top tier club football teams from Wales, Scotland and England playing competitive fixtures in Lithuania, rugby teams from across Europe visiting for World Cup qualifying matches and even Ice Cricket being played. When people normally think of Lithuanian sport they imagine weight lighters and basketball. Not PGA Golf professionals managing the golf courses! Professional sports people and sporting holiday enthusiasts have suddenly taken to Lithuania as an affordable and interesting place to visit, with something for everyone, and facilities to match. When the Scottish national side take on Lithuania with an away game in their opening European Championship qualifying campaign Friday September 3, 2010, they are certain to get a warm welcome (if the kilts don’t scare the locals away). Stuart Kemp, managing director of the imaginatively entitled ‘Baltic Sports Tours’ has been
consecutive Test wins in men’s rugby. Their 77–5 away win over Serbia on April 24, 2010 was their 18th straight, surpassing the previous record set by New Zealand in 1965–69 and tied by South Africa in 1997–98. Recent victories over Israel and the Netherlands put Lithuania on the verge of qualifying for the 2011 Rugby World Cup Finals. European semi-finals matches will eventually see the winner playoff to decide the 20th and final qualifier. Four teams, the best non-qualifier from each region, except Oceania, will compete for the last place at the 2011 Rugby World Cup finals in New Zealand. The winner of this playoff will compete in Pool B, along with Argentina, England, Scotland and Georgia. The national team plays its home fixtures at the Geležinis Vilkas Rugby Club (GVRFC) ground in Vilnius. Marius Molotokas (GVRFC President) says, “Touring teams are amazed where we play, right in the central park in Vilnius. A few years ago we had more teams coming, particularly for end of season or pre-season socials and team building trips. But then there were no flights. This year we had a team from Liverpool University visit in April, it was a bit early (the rugby season is actually May- July, then SeptemberNovember) and had to play on Astroturf”. About
“V Golf Club” situated on the grounds of the 5* Le Meridien Vilnius
fast. We have over 60 registered players in Kaunas and Vilnius, some very good players and also beginners. Ice cricket is a bit of fun and fortunately this winter it was cold and the ice was very thick. Our first home international will be filmed
for the Sport1 TV channel which is fantastic – we won our first international match away against Latvia this year, of course they want to record the home tie”.
Being successful in business is all about knowing where to position yourself. Are you a British player, looking for opportunities in Lithuania? Are you established in Lithuania and seek to strenghten your position? Contact us for advice and support.
Geležinis Vilkas R.C. (Lithuania) after International Friendly match with Dorchester R.F.C (UK). Marius Molotokas, President of Geležinis Vilkas Rugby Club standing of the left
living in Lithuania and coordinating tours to the region for several years. “Sports Tours have taken off massively. Recently we had the French under 18’s football team do their pre-season here. The new Ryanair base in Kaunas with 18 international destinations many of which fly to Britain, as well as expanded routes from Vilnius airport (we now have more than 41 destinations) make Lithuania a convenient and affordable destination. People see it as fun, exciting and different. The sporting facilities are improving massively, and people are welcomed”. Golf Golf tourism is on the up in Lithuania. There are 3 excellent golf courses within a 40 minute drive from the centre of Vilnius. The flagship course being the championship “V Golf Club” situated on the grounds of the 5* Le Meridien Vilnius. A 9-hole course in Kaunas, and one resort in Klaipeda make up the full quota. Nick Solski, Director of Golf at The V Golf Club say’s; “Golf tourism is now expanding beyond Spain and Portugal. Golfers want quality courses as well as excellent “après golf”. Vilnius old town is definitely the place to do that. The value for money in Lithuania is unbeatable, and after a round on our PGA designed golf course, the Le Meridien Vilnius spa is the ideal place to relax before the evening in the city. ‘Baltic Sports Tours’ can arrange the entire package. Rugby Rugby in Lithuania has a long history. In the 1961’s, when it was thought rugby would become an Olympic sport, the soviets established a rugby base in Saule. Amazingly, the Lithuania national Rugby team has not lost an international game in 3 years. During their 2008–10 European Nations Cup campaign, they set a new record for
the game in Lithuania, “Rugby is under invested in, we still have 9 teams and 2 leagues though, and Lithuania could surprise many with only a little more investment. Touring teams help us a lot to develop the game”. Cricket The same can be said for cricket. The Israeli National Cricket Team will be touring this winter in early 2011 to play ice cricket on the stunning Trakai island castle lake - their first ice cricket experience. This summer Lithuania are hosting teams from the UK with New Victoria CC and Mastor Cricket Club both coming in July. Lithuania is also proud to invite Latvia for the first home international played in Lithuania.
Vilius Volodkevičius, Chairman of the Vilnius Cricket Club
“We have 2 teams visiting us from the UK this summer, which is great. We want more as it gives us something to improve for” says Vilius Volodkevičius the Vilnius Cricket Club (VCC) chairman. “Cricket is a young sport in Lithuania. We emphasize social cricket and like to enjoy a BBQ with friends and family. Of course we play to win but sometimes it doesn’t happen but we improve
UK Trade & Investment British Embassy Vilnius +370 5 246 2927 be-commercial@britain.lt www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk
BCC paper Summer 2010
6
TOURISM
Litvak Heritage Trails: Tracing their ROOTS Geoffrey Cohn
BCC Member of the Board
This story takes us back to times that are remembered in Lithuania when the Dukes ruled with an open understanding that all people were required to defend the kingdom. A group of honest worriers brought from the far off land came to defend the Nobel Dukes they are the Karaites a sect of Jews from far away Babylon, this was the start of a long a glorious relationship between Lithuania and the Jews of the world. The Jews of today come to Lithuania to trace the heritage trail of Litvak knowledge. The population of the country consisted of over 40% being of Jewish faith. It may seem small but without Lithuania, there is no Ashkenazi story… Perched onto the northern reaches of Europe, with its tiny Baltic coastline, Lithuania seems no more than an addition to its larger neighbour Poland or until recently its imperial occupier, Russia. Yet, such images can be deceptive. Lithuania was
the last European country to fully embrace Christianity, and its foundation by Grand Duke Gediminas in the 14th century led to a union with Poland creating the largest European empire of the time, stretching from the Baltic all the way to the Black Sea, and including much of what is today Ukraine and Belarus. This was the time of its greatest Jewish settlement, and over the next few centuries, Lithuania became a focal point of Jewish life, and the origin of the famed Jewish ‘tribe’, the Litvaks. Never as wealthy as Germany, nor numerically as big as Poland, Jewish Lithuania stood for intensity and dynamism: the greatest centre of Yiddish literature; the birthplace of Jewish Socialism; the epicentre of Jewish Talmudic scholarship, and pioneer of the awe inspiring Musar movement… Indeed such was its strength, it seems that part of our challenge as contemporary Jewish tourist is to ask what was the greatest of all its achievements – which is the truly great chapter of Jewish Lithuania? And by extension how can we return after it was so cruelly ripped apart? When Vilnius was occupied by Poland after the First World War, Kaunas became the capital city. Despite being capital cities and in the case of Vilnius the ‘Jerusalem’ of Lithuania (‘Yerushalayim d’Lita) these cities have been strangely ignored by modern Jewish tourists. Nevertheless, the trip is an important Jewish Journey into a world whose powerful and intense culture speaks to the present day.
As with all Jewish Journeys, this is a trip whose content is shared between the sites of the past and our discussions from the present. Recently a group of 30 people arrive in Vilnius from London using “Star 1” the Lithuanian based Airline, and checked into the Hotel Artis Centrum. The following morning, we begin our story between two powerful sets of symbols: the ‘sacred’ sites of Lithuania, and the much lamented former Jewish Quarter. In these small streets, existed one of the most significant and influential communities of the modern period. The Hill of Three Crosses and the Cathedral followed by Lunch at the Shakespeare hotel with HE Simon Butt The British Ambassador to Lithuania, after lunch off to ‘The Seven Streets’: The sites of the former Jewish Quarter of Vilnius, incl. Gaona Street, Zydu Street, the site of the former Great Synagogue, the grave of the Vilna Gaon. The following day the tour continues, descending into the complex and tragic world of the Shoah. Starting in the area of the former Ghetto, the focus shifts between the dilemmas of the Jewish community in its efforts to survive; and the determination of the Nazis and their collaborators to carry out their plans. We conclude in the forests of Ponar (Paneriai where the bulk of Vilna Jewry was killed. After this hard and very sad day, the tour had dinner at Bistro 18 where they met with Dovid Katz Professor of Yiddish language Literature and Culture Vilnius University, this goes on late into the night with many questions from all those present to Dovid. Shabbat and they journey to Kaunas, the pre war capital of Lithuania, with its separate Jewish ‘universe’, the district of Slobodka. The name resonated then as it does today as the centre of the ‘Musar’ movement, a very special (challenging?) type of intense Jewish life, Musar. Driven by an obsessive commitment to an ethical life and the search for self-perfection, this was no ordinary Jewish community. The tour also includes the long lost world of Abraham Mapu, author of the first Hebrew novel and the consulate building of Sempo Sughira, the Japanese diplomat whose lonely efforts to rescue Jews from the Nazis cost him his livelihood. The journey concludes in Lithuania’s pre modern capital Trakai, a preserved UNESCO World Heritage site. And strangely too, it is home to one of
General view of the whole tour group from Southgate Reform Synagogue.
Rabbi Colin Eimer, Sylvia Sheridan group organiser, HE Simon Butt the British Ambassador to Lithuania and Jeremy Leigh author and the tour guide.
the last remaining communities of Karaites, a sect of Jews whose origins began in Babylon in opposition to the rabbis of the Talmud. It is a picturesque setting for a discussion of its principles and the broader question of who defines Judaism. After this short stay the group have been filled with there peoples heritage and are all looking forward to returning to Lithuania with more friends. www.litvakheritagetrails.com To continue the Litvak Heritage Trails search of 1500 years gone by, that have helped build this land, where in the past the New Jerusalem for its people was dreamt.
“Shugihara House made a visit to Kaunas especially interesting. The little-known story of the Japanese consul who, during the war issued thousands of visas to Jews trying to escape, is told here in a small exhibition inside the old consulate building. Despite very little funding, the charming custodian is on hand to patiently answer questions, and help people trying to trace ancestors. A visit to Lithuania, Jerusalem of the North, is not complete without discovering this very special story about a remarkable hero.” (Nikki Leftly, BCC Private Member)
Icelandic volcano caused travel mayhem Nadejda Popova
Travel and Tourism Industry Analyst at Euromonitor International
Any signs of a recovery following the impact of the economic crisis on the airline industry are wiped out that the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland has brought Europe’s most important airports and air traffic to a standstill. More than 7 million passengers stranded worldwide due to the eruption of the volcano and its ash (a mixture of glass, sand and rock particles) which is considered a particular threat to aircraft engines causing them to stall. The ash crisis lead to thousands of flight cancellations and the closure of European airspace. The airspace of more than 20 countries was totally or partially closed. Among the countries affected are Belgium, parts of Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, parts of France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Northern Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the UK. The level of disruption following the blanket closure of European space is unprecedented. Even after the impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, European airspace was not closed for such a long period, illustrating the severity of the crisis. According to IATA, the financial ramifications on the airline industry is estimated to be US$200 million per day in lost revenues, along with additional costs for redirecting travellers and aircraft, lost ancillary revenues, provision of assistance at airports such as the supply of meals and refreshments,
along with accommodation if an overnight stay is required for customers. Eurocontrol (European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation) estimates that more than 63,000 flights were cancelled between 15 April 2010 and 19 April 2010. Euromonitor International’s Research Manager, Camilla Butler, stranded in Berlin due to the travel chaos commented: “Even if they open UK airspace, we still need to wait before Germany will open its. There are no options on the train or ferry until Saturday (24 April), and even the coaches are fully booked till Saturday.” Airlines questioning the ban Leading European carriers such as Air FranceKLM and Lufthansa tried to increase the pressure
Table 1
the world for volcanic eruptions do not appear to require the kind of restrictions that are presently being imposed in Europe.” Calls were also made for financial support by the EU to the airline industry amid the volcanic crisis as many airlines will be severely affected by the flight cancellations and airspace ban, even with bankruptcies being touted. Considering that IATA forecast that prior to the volcanic eruption, the airline industry would witness a loss of US$2.8 billion in 2010, the body will no doubt be revising its forecasts downwards. Loss in revenues could exceed those recorded in 2009 – the industry’s annus horribilis – amounting to US$9.4 billion, of which European airlines such as BA and Air France KLM accounted for a fair share.
European Flight Disruptions Following the Eyjafjallajökull Eruption April 2009
Date Wed 14 April 2010 Thurs 15 April 2010 Fri 16 April 2010 Sat 17 April 2010 Sun 18 April 2010 Source: Eurocontrol
Actual Flights Flights same day previous week 28,087 27,912 20,842 28,578 11,659 28,578 4,886 22,653 5,000 24,965 Note: Wed 21 April estimate of cancellations
on supranational institutions such as the EU and the ICAO to restore normal activity following their test flights over the volcanic ash which left aircraft and engines undamaged. ACI EUROPE (Airports Council International in Europe) and the Association of European Airlines in a joint statement pointed out that “the eruption of the Icelandic volcano is not an unprecedented event and the procedures applied in other parts of
% change 0.6 -27.1 -59.2 -78.4 -80.0
Wider economic impact Closing the airspace cuts the vital supply for the European economy and its global distribution links as airlines globally cancel their European flights. In addition, analysts from RBS predict that the European economy will suffer a loss of US$500 million a day because of employees being absent from work, with many schools and hospitals being paralysed due to the environmental havoc, for
example, in the UK, Sweden and Finland due to people being stranded. Supplies of imported flowers such as from Kenya and exotic fruit and vegetables along with pharmaceutical companies with high value and low weight products and post office services are among those which heavily rely on the air freight and are now struggling to keep their businesses alive. Travel alternatives Ferry, railway, and bus operators along with car rental players have recorded a strong increase in bookings due to the volcanic cloud. Companies such as P&O registered a surge of customers in one day from 100 to nearly 6,000 foot passengers across the Channel, while Eurostar is saw an increase of 50,000 more passengers from the moment the European airspace closed. In an effort to facilitate the return of stranded passengers, the HM Maritime and Coastguard Agency in the UK permitted exemptions to all ferries travelling from Dover to Calais to carry 10% more passengers. Also, three Royal Navy ships were allocated by the government in the UK to bring stranded travellers predominantly located in France. Environmental issues brought to the fore The potential environmental hazards that climate change brings such as - melting ice, rising sea levels, heavy storms, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes are evidence of how vulnerable societies are to the impacts of nature. Concerns exist, based on historical evidence, that the volcanic activity of Eyjafjallajokull will trigger the eruption of Katla - a bigger volcano nearby. Thus, it is believed that if such volcanic activity intensifies the ash levels in the atmosphere could lead to a global cooling bringing some of the longest and coldest winters in record, but equally much more travel havoc.
BCC paper Summer 2010
7 The Child: Beautiful Individual with Indefinite Opportunities Interview with Ivona Rozanovska Ivona Rozanovska
The founder and director of VMS
The founder and director of Vilnius Montessori pre-School (VMS) Ivona Rozanovska speaks to Zydre Darguzyte about opening of the international pre-school in Vilnius. This autumn the doors of VMS will open to the first group of Montessori children. How did you conceive of the idea to establish Vilnius Montessori pre-School in Vilnius? Why Montessori in particular? Three years ago my three year old daughter went to an international Montessori pre-school in Warsaw, where we were living at the time. Some weeks into the school year I began seeing wonderful signs of development and knowledge in my daughter that I could contribute to the fact that she attended that pre-school. So then I started learning more about the school and the Montessori method. While the picture of the method was becoming clearer and clearer in my head something else became less and less clear, and that was – why are not all the schools Montessori? This was when I began thinking that Vilnius needs a school like that. Montessori because I believe it is the best developmental support that we can provide to little children. What are the main elements of the Montessori method? The Prepared Environment – at VMS the child spends his/her time in a highly stimulating environment, where he/she will find many scientifically designed fun materials all of which the child is allowed to touch and handle. Not to mention a large section of Sensorial materials which are highly effective in training motor skills, and developing abstract cognitive abilities, but are unfortunately used almost exclusively in Montessori schools. Another main factor is observation. Montessori teacher observes the children and collects data, which helps to decide when to offer specific material presentations to the child. Last but not least, Montessori classrooms are of mixed age. Multiage classrooms are more learning efficient and this has been proven by many educators. Besides academic learning, in a mixed age classroom, which is a little model of a society as a whole, children acquire natural social skills just like grown-ups do when they interact with people of different ages. How is Montessori philosophy special to you personally? Thank you for using the word ‘philosophy’ because it is in fact a philosophy and a way of life, I perceive it as a complete and precise look at a human being as a definite personality with indefinite possibilities. Montessori is special to me because like I mentioned, my daughter is finishing her third year at another Montessori pre-school in Vilnius and it makes me feel that by applying the method at VMS and seeing the children draw benefits from the Montessori environment, which is rich in materials of subjects that are introduced only at the elementary school level in traditional education, it will feel like touching the magic. I am also looking forward to learning from children – children have a lot to teach us. How is your pre-school significant in the context of the Lithuanian Montessori schools? Vilnius Montessori pre-School is the first international Montessori pre-school in Lithuania. We take the English language and use it as a unifying force for people of different nationalities who are based in Vilnius. Because of the importance of English as the leading international language we try to provide for the widespread need of teaching little children English, and we will do it in their sensitive period for learning languages when it demands almost no
conscious effort from the children themselves. How does the process of learning unfold in the Montessori pre-school? When children begin the Montessori program they usually want to touch everything. When they enter a Montessori classroom a very wide range of Montessori materials/ jobs become available to them. This is fine, and the children usually pick up material after material, and after not spending too much time on them they put them back on the shelf, but the process of learning as such does not begin until the child is able to focus deeply on his/her work. This usually happens within the first several weeks, and that is the time when teacher’s role becomes significant. The teacher’s task is to spark the child’s interest with certain works (we call children’s actions work because it is as important to them as work is to the adult people) that are adequate to the child’s cognitive abilities and tendencies at that particular time in his/her life. So say, when you see a three-and-half-year-old child in deep concentration assembling and dissembling a pink tower (one of Montessori materials) seventeen times this is when we can say the learning process began for this particular child. Maria Montessori called this phenomenon ‘normalization’.
time; the child is never criticized or made fun of as this could be very discouraging. Teacher addresses many encouraging word remarks towards the child, but there are no rewards or punishments. It is aimed that the child sees his work as value in itself. What are your main goals connected with the new Montessori pre-school in Vilnius? Our main goal is to grow in the coming several years as a preschool, and then we intend to take a step towards opening a group of elementary students, grades one through three. What are your qualifications: have you worked with children in the past? By training I am a translator and a teacher of English; in my practice as a teacher I have worked with children as well as adults. Recently I have completed a distance Montessori teacher training course from a college in North America. Why do you advise parents to put their child in a Montessori pre-school and not in the traditional one? By opening VMS we are providing another choice for parents who want to educate their children at an international pre-school in Vilnius. We believe that parents choose what is best for their children. We also believe that the Montessori method elicits the best from children, and gives
Montessori pink tower
What age children does your pre-school enroll? Our preschool enrolls children of three though six. Some children will be ready to start at two and a half, it depends on the child. How many teachers will work at the preschool? Montessori teacher is coming to teach from Canada, and she will have an assistant from Vilnius. So two teachers will work with one group of children. What is the teacher’s role in a Montessori classroom? Compared with the role in traditional education Montessori teacher’s role is secondary, but also very different. By secondary I mean that Montessori teacher does not stand in the middle of the classroom and wants all the children to listen to her so that she can teach them subjects – this technique brings little if no effect in little children because children have rather short and varying attention span when they start attending pre-school. Our classroom is child-centered. Teaching happens individually. The teacher gives presentations to a small group of children or to each child individually depending on the nature of the material being presented. Montessori teacher does not dictate what the child has to learn. The child chooses his/her work herself. If presentation does not interest the child then the teacher decides to wait and put it off till another
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them ample opportunities to develop important skills early in life at the time of their crucial formative period, before the age of six. How does a day in a Montessori pre-school differ from children’s day in a traditional pre-school? At VMS children begin their day with the morning circle. Teachers and children start the circle by singing a “Good Morning” song, and then teachers introduce important courtesies, or rules of behavior in our classroom, like ways of attracting each other’s attention, or waiting for a turn in working with materials, etc. Another important part of the morning circle is an element of the subject that all of the class studies together. Say, if the subject of the month is “Planets of the Solar System” the teacher will present books about the planets, and give the children opportunities to learn the names of the planets. After the morning circle the children have one and a half up to two hours of uninterrupted work time – this is the time when the children choose materials and books from the shelves and work with them individually or in small groups. After morning snack children play outside. When they get back inside they will either do ballet, yoga or music. Then it is time for a short circle, after which half day children will go home and the rest of the class will have lunch and then take a
nap. After the nap children continue to work with Montessori activities and further deepen their cycles of concentration, which are very beneficial for their later learning skills. So to sum up, Montessori children spend their day being busy with the work they choose while very often children in traditional pre-schools become bored because of lack of activities available to them, which means only one thing – a lot of time gets squandered. What is most essential in the child education process to you as a teacher and the founder of the Montessori pre-school? Many components. First and most important is the child’s general happiness, which results from the loving relationship with his/her parents. This is the base for the child’s receptive and developmental abilities. If there are significant problems in this department the child is more likely to experience difficulties in his/her educational path. Then it is important to pay attention to little developmental stages. Maria Montessori discovered that the child goes through various, what she called, “sensitive periods”, when his/her ability and eagerness to learn a particular skill are at its height. For example, the sensitive period for learning a language is between birth and six years. This is one of the longer sensitive periods, when many children are observed being able to learn not only their native tongue, but also foreign languages with little conscious effort. Other sensitive periods include learning skills of climbing, balance, different motor skills, etc. I also think that education needs to be looked at as a whole – we do not only teach math or science, or writing as separate subjects, but a lot of them are intertwined. Apart from academics, the child likes to learn social skills, and courtesies because it helps him/her predict situations, and offers a feeling of security. What Maria Montessori’s ideas captured in her method are very special to you? Perhaps you don’t agree with something? Maria Montessori lived in the most turbulent times in Europe – she had lived through two World Wars. At the time of the WW II she lived in India. Her humanist and philanthropist spirit led her to writing many books on how we can change the world by starting with our attitude towards childhood. Many times at conferences and lectures she stressed her opinion that humanity needs to awaken in the child the consciousness of a human being that needs to be aware not only of the closest circle of family and friends, but also of the people in other places on Earth. Thus she instinctively introduced subjects like geography, and ethnography at her pre-school for little children. She gave the children globes, maps, photos and pictures of different people and places in the world and she discovered that children not only learned and understood what she was showing them, but they were asking for more! This global approach to the child is very special to me, and this does not at all prevent the child from feeling a part of their own community and culture. In practice this would look like this: children at our pre-school will be writing letters and receiving correspondence from other schools in the world. They will have a chance to page through issues of National Geographic magazine, and other books which offer imagery and information about other parts of the world and its people. To celebrate a birthday the child will pick a globe and carry it around the candle symbolizing the sun a number of times corresponding to the years that the child will be celebrating. Company Contact details: Vilnius Montessori pre-School Naujakurių 29 (Antakalnis), Vilnius, Lithuania Tel: + 370 60638269 Email: hello@vms.lt www.vms.lt
BREMEN BARCELONA PARIS BIRMINGHAM TAMPERE MILAN BRUSSELS www.ryanair.com
BCC paper Summer 2010
8
Lithuanian low-cost air carrier continues its growth After its launch, in the middle of last year, the low-cost carrier “Star1 Airlines” renewed connection lines between the Lithuanian capital and other European cities and became an unexpected surprise to the airlines of the neighbouring countries. This is one of the few airlines that launched its operations during the most difficult economic period.
15 airlines operate regular flights to 27 destinations from/to Vilnius. Just one year ago one could travel to 16 cities from Vilnius. The number of passengers is also growing despite difficult economic situation in the country. Last year Vilnius International Airport reported 1,308 mio clients served and this year it is heading for 2 millions.
In the middle of 2009, the Company’s flights connected Vilnius with London, Girona (Barcelona) and Dublin and in this way restored communication between Vilnius and the largest European cities. Currently, “Star1 Airlines” offers eight destinations from Vilnius and is planning even more direct flights in the future.
Today you rate “Star1 Airlines” as a low-cost air carrier? Why did you choose this direction? M. Laivys: the traditional low-cost carrier is a market player offering its services at a reasonable price to as many people as possible. We differ from other low-cost companies in making the quality of service our priority. We have put in a great deal of effort to enable our clients to reach their desired destinations at an attractive and competitive price without compromising the quality of the air travel experience. Low fares of flight combined with high quality of service and attention to every client gives us a competitive edge.
Martynas Laivys, the head of “Star1 Airlines”, comments the current situation in airline business in Lithuania: Based on the data from Vilnius International Airport, 2010 summer season promises to be more active than a year ago. Currently
What is the geography of your current destinations and what are your plans for the future? M. Laivys: We started with London (Stansted) followed by Dublin, Girona (Barcelona) and Milan (Malpensa). At the end of March 2010, we launched a totally new destination from Lithuania connecting Vilnius with Edinburgh. For summer season this year we are offering direct flights to Heraklion, Ibiza and Palermo. The situation in the market shall dictate the launch of new destinations in our flight schedule. We shall continue pursuing our well weighted and consistent development strategy and shall base our decisions on the real situation in the travel market. What are long-term prospects for “Star1 Airlines”? Any plans to increase the number of destinations from Vilnius? M. Laivys: Some of our routes have already attained strong positions in our flight schedule and generate regular passenger flows. Within less
Upcode
With UpCode a magazine or virtually any print media can host unlimited amounts of information and update it constantly and in realtime. This provides the 2-dimensional world a very powerful media tool. Our magazine, KELIAS combines traditional print-media with information also available in digital form: film, graphics, sound. The magazine becomes like a screen that is connected to the internet. The information is read by almost any mobile phone. The innovation is environmentally friendly and is convenient to use for various applications including, but not limited to people with disabilities. UpCode works by pointing an Internet-enabled camera phone and taking a picture of the barcode, it’s that simple. UpCode is technically described as a Mobile Access Interaction System (MAI), that works with 2D Data Matrix, QR-code, 1D Barcode (13 and 8 digits) or Colour codes; and is the most intelligent code type available at the moment. UpCode software is downloaded free to your mobile phone and the phone will then automatically read the code that has been photographed and connect to the internet and
send whatever data or service that has been linked to that code from the creator of the code. This process of providing data on mobile devices by decoding a 2D barcode that is read by a camera phone is known as mobile tagging. The applications are exciting and endless. UpCode can provide access to an online banking system, show promotional material including videos, product information, maps, instructions and a whole range of other content. The system is compatible with most major brands and models of mobile handsets, including Symbian, Java, iPhone and BlackBerry. Developed in 2003, today, mobile tagging is not only finding its way into the day-to-daylife of many Asians, but Europeans are catching on to this mode of quick, easy access to information. There have already been numerous campaigns in the fields of commercial, public and private tagging. The vision behind mobile tagging is the idea of an absolute convergence between information media. The future success will not be attributed to simply linking to url’s, as with the internet no one will pay to connect to a url. The real enterprise solutions are where the codes can be used to generate additional revenue or save money and be customized for business and commercial use: e.government, tourism, advertising and targeted marketing - packaging, supply chain management, brand management and brand protection, logistics, track & trace, anti-counterfeit or smuggling, id & passports, transport & ticketing, parking, disability, cross media campaigns, m-ticketing, m-payments, e.learning and on and on and on and on and on… Try it out for yourself! (www.kelias.net)
We also see many possibilities in the incoming tourism sector. We seek to attract foreign tourists to Lithuania and are thinking of offering special products to them. Vilnius, the city of unique character and spirit, is becoming ever more popular among the city break travellers and has many things to offer. Lots of churches and monasteries together with many interesting museums and historical sites make the city outstanding and attractive. The Old Town, the historical centre of Vilnius, is one of the largest in Eastern Europe and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. We see it as a priority to show the best of what we have to tourists from all over the world who enjoy new and efficient travelling possibilities today thanks to travel operators and low-cost carriers like “Star1 Airlines”.
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than a year we have earned our customers’ trust – this is of great importance to us. Therefore, a combination of quality and reasonable prices will continue to be among our top priorities.
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BCC paper Summer 2010
9
Medical Tourism: Going places months with a suspected cancerous lump, when you could hop on a plane to Lithuania and have it checked out in 24 hrs max!). The first three treatments, are usually not available on the national health services of patients’ home countries, and therefore will continue to experience higher interest.
Alistair Day-Stirrat
Director, Odontika Dental Clinic
4 years ago the British Chamber of commerce paper ran an article on Medical Tourism in Lithuania. 4 years later precious little has actually changed. During the interim a credit fueled property bubble has come and gone and the reality check has brought the country’s attention back to the real economic question WHAT HAS LITHUANIA GOT? This is a case of four years lost in terms of medical tourism industry for Lithuania. Other countries have continued to move ahead, establishing themselves as centre’s for medical services, diagnostics and research, and are now economically benefiting while Lithuania splutters with something similar to ‘Greek Flu’. This is a crying shame for Lithuania. One thing that is done very well in Lithuania is medical training (please do not think I’m biased on this one). Private health facilities along with SPA and rehabilitation centre’s are continually improving. Yes, Lithuania still has ‘uniquely designed treatments of pre and post surgical rehabilitation programmes provided by some of Europe’s leading Medical Clinics and Spas’, this statement is as true now as it was then in 2006. Lithuania is uniquely positioned, there is still massive potential and ‘what is the point of the state training people, investing in their education, only for the highly skilled professionals (doctors, dentists, nurses, et alia) to leave’? This is especially insulting when Lithuania’s natural ‘human resource’ could be channeled into establishing a multi-million euro industry IN LITHUANIA. According to McKinsey & Company the market for medical tourism globally was worth $60 billion in 2006 and is rapidly growing, they predict it could rise to $100 billion by 2012. Hello Lithuania, move over BARCLAYS! Four obvious treatment examples: 1) Dental Implants; 2) Plastic Surgery; 3) IVF treatment; and 4) a ‘biggy’ immediate DIAGNOSTICS -- (imagine having to wait for several weeks or even
For such ‘elective’ treatments, people are already shopping about, price is only a small part, people are looking for quality and service. Lithuania is geographically advantageously placed to benefit, being less than 2.5 hrs from practically everywhere in ‘Western Europe’ and Scandinavia. What’s more there are now flights! Lithuania has fantastic specialists, there are good facilities offered privately, and there is capacity to further increase numbers. Medical Tourism field is NOT a Quick-Fix (in terms of health care or as an industry in itself); it requires significant investment and governmental led desire to put Lithuania first. Other countries in ‘Eastern Europe’ recognize this, and have invested in the image of their country. Its not only the clinics that stand to benefit it is also the hoteliers, restaurateurs and others. Some people use the climate in Lithuania as an excuse, and a pathetic one, have you ever seen someone after hip surgery want to go for a run about in the garden? Some detractors talk about the prices in Lithuania going up for local people with more patients coming from abroad. In a word, rubbish. Think, 1) Encouragement for more doctors to stay in Lithuania, 2) extra revenue for a battered SODRA and health system. For now Lithuania has to play catch-up, or shut up and continue to loose your medical professionals. They have packed their bags, the gates haven’t closed, and there are plenty of flights out of Lithuania now. But in the same way, we could be saying plenty of flights INTO Lithuania. Perhaps catch-up is happening in Lithuania now. When Spain gained the support of six other countries, including Greece and Poland to block the ratification of the draft European Directive on cross-border healthcare last year, Lithuania also blocked the European Directive on the grounds the proposal was open for abuse. “People will be asking for reimbursements [for care] that has not been provided”. Or perhaps not.
A few years ago everyone realized the situation looked bleak for the Lithuanian health system through emigration of doctors and nurses, and so the universities began training more students (Quick Fix). The number of people training for dentistry in Kaunas Medical University went from about 70 in 2004 to 120 the next year, solely for the expectation that people would continue to leave. You -“DO THE MATH(S)”. Great. Thank you Lithuania! On behalf of Gordon Brown (then), David Cameron/ Nick Clegg (probably the latter more now), Britain thanks you. You have trained our dentist, doctors and nurses and continue to do so. What’s more, they are paying our taxes. The same in Ireland and elsewhere. The UK does not need to invest in peoples training when Lithuania does it for us at a fraction of the cost. At least more British people find out where Lithuania is because of their local dentist. Would you not agree this is a great disservice to Lithuania? So, what needs to be done? Our president, Dalia Grybauskaitė, called for people to offer solutions to the economic troubles. Medical tourism – here’s one – it might not be the best, or the most attractive or the simplest to implement, but it is workable. I’m not going to tell you how, I’ve lived here long enough, but I’ll make a few pointers. Forget Quick-fixes: This is a long term investment which builds up overtime. It’s an investment in proper long term infrastructure, in the countries image internationally. Dare I say it, its an investment in ‘identity’. It’s also about service and quality. Image / Branding of Lithuania: We need to get away from the image of some babushka pummeling the life out of her hapless victim (Brave Lithuania). To one of scientific riggers, attentiveness to detail, peace and calm (Heart of the Baltic - getting better). Service: Fluency in multiple languages (something Lithuania does very well as we all know). Now we need to begin offering the service, putting the customer (patient) first. Ease of transportation: Fortunately there are more flights from Lithuania now than ever. All over Europe there are planes headed, ferrying to work your dentists, orthopedic surgeons, nurses, midwifes, shall I go on!
Quality: the last thing is price. Price is an irrelevance; it’s cheaper in Lithuania full-stop. Its quality of treatment care; and specialists; it’s about – attention to detail – service – research and development – these are the things that matter to people when they are travelling abroad for medical care. Get out there: People won’t come to Lithuania unless they know where it is! The same applies for medical as it is for any other sector whether it is tourism or business. Fortunately there are plenty of Lithuanians ‘out there’ telling people where Lithuania is while giving route canal treatment. That’s not enough. WHAT HAS LITHUANIA GOT?: People need to know what is good about Lithuania and what Lithuania has to offer. This statement may be as true for Lithuanians as it is for foreigners. Lithuania has got people, and it has got leading medical professionals…. Without a government backed initiative that supports the idea and recognizes Lithuanians strengths along with the global trends; supports the notion that patients travelling to Lithuania and paying taxes in Lithuania is good for Lithuania; having patients staying in hotels and Spas; having patients from abroad paying doctors, nurses and support staffs salaries in Lithuania, and potentially supporting universities and hospitals; and a government that believes enough to put resources in place to make this a reality and take advantage; the otherwise I fear another 4 years will drift by, and another plane load of dentists will have left for the embarrassment which is UK NHS dentistry, and the ‘other’ countries in ‘Eastern Europe’ will have established themselves further. Could it happen? Yes: Has Lithuania got what it takes? It sure has massive potential: Will anything happen in the next 4 years?… this is why we are establishing the Association of Medical Treatment Abroad Lithuania (AMTAL). AMTAL will test the limits of Lithuania medical tourism potential. Provide a unified voice for all Spa and Medical service providers and those working in the medical treatment abroad field. Protect members’ interests. Promote Lithuanian medical services. Increase the accessibility of Lithuania as a medical tourism destination.
www.novotel.com
Business services and WiFi
Spacious room
Good night
NOVOTEL VILNIUS, Gedimino ave. 16, Vilnius phone: +37 05 266 62 00, e-mail: H5209@accor.com
Designed for natural living
BCC paper Summer 2010
10
Chronicle of BCC Events
Is Lithuania really that ‘boring’
Mr Edward Lucas?
Come and see for yourselves! Of course these remarks were meant as a back handed compliment to Lithuania’s 20 years of independence. To achieve such a state from where the country was when Edward Lucas (The Economist journalist) first arrived as Lithuania Visa holder 0001 back in 1990 was a ‘significant achievement’. Then, even making an international call would take hours or even days to arrange. Now, if a person has less than 2 mobile phones something must be wrong.
Mr Lucas passport stamped with the first Lithuanian visa in 1990’s
The British Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania expresses its great gratitude to From left to right: HM British Ambassador Mr Simon Butt, Mr Andrius Kubilius, Prime Minister, Mrs Rasa Juknevičienė, Minister of National Defence
General Sponsor
Speaking at the British Chamber of Commerce AGM, that was again well attended with Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius, ex-president Valdas Adamkus, members of parliament and many distinguished guests. Edward Lucas challenged the packed auditorium of some 250 strong to continue the strides that have been taken, but to look at tackling issues of corruption and creating a more investor friendly environment. Briefly referring to his new book ’The New Cold War’ Edward Lucas called on Lithuania and her neighbours to do more to defend themselves. Not just from a physical threat but from on-line attacks and in the sphere of energy. Being a member of NATO, he said, was not just a responsibility in Afghanistan and elsewhere but a duty to defend oneself closer to home and not expect America or NATO to do it for you. The following day Vilnius International Airport hosted a ceremony during which Edward Lucas handed over his passport stamped with the first Lithuanian visa, to Šarūnas Adomavičius, Lithuania’s foreign affairs vice-minister. For the next year, it will be on exhibit in a glass case in Vilnius airport. Lithuania proclaimed re-establishment of independence on March 11, 1990. On March 28, 1990, Edward Lucas took the only international flight to Lithuania Berlin-Vilnius. “It was especially important, that Lithuania started controlling its state borders and implementing foreign policy”, Edward Lucas went on to say, his Lithuanian visa was “in a certain sense one of the founding documents of Lithuania’s diplomacy” and one of the symbols of Lithuania’s statehood from that period.
Sponsors
Mr Edward Lucas speaking at BCC AGM
On 31st of March, BCC Members and Friends were invited to the traditional Monthly Breakfast Technical Briefing. After English breakfast, served by Shakespeare Hotel restaurant, the topic “Temporary Staffing finally goes Main Street! The Lithuanian Model: myths, how it works, challenges ahead!” was presented by Mr Al Kris, Director of Delta Management Solutions. The speaker presented the concept of temporary staffing explaining agency and client company responsibilities and focussed on temporary staffing practical aspects in Lithuania. Mr Kris also reviewed several important advantages that both client and employee receive from the temporary staffing and answered to the questions from the audience.
On May 6th, Members of the British Chamber of Commerce were invited to the New Members’ Evening, held at the at the British Ambassador’s Residence.
From left to right: HM British Ambassador Simon Butt, Deividas Matulionis, Chancellor of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania and Saulius Racevičius, Director General of Synergos Capital International and Vice-Chairman of the Chamber Board
On 15th April, BCC Sponsor and Board Members were kindly invited to attend Exclusive Political Briefing Lunch at the Novotel Vilnius Hotel kindly hosted by HM Ambassador Simon Butt.
On April 28th, BCC Members and Friends were invited to the traditional Monthly Breakfast Technical Briefing to discuss a topic “PPP Projects - are they viable in Lithuania?” Ms Iraida Žogaitė, Partner/ Attorney at law, Jurevicius, Bartkus & Partners Professional Law Partnership, gave a brief insight into the current situation regarding development of PPP projects in Lithuania, touched upon difficulties in practical implementation and overlooked possible solutions for partnership of private and public sectors. The presentation was followed by active discussion and English breakfast kindly served by Shakespeare hotel.
Mrs Dana Achour, Executive Vice-President, RBS Coutts Bank, Zurich
New BCC members had an opportunity to meet other members and make a short introductory presentations followed by networking over a glass of wine and tasty snacks kindly sponsored by Fiorentino Restaurant, a fine choice in Italian cuisine. More than fifty members of the Chamber were kindly welcomed by the British Ambassador Simon Butt. The event was further moderated by Chris Butler, Chairman BCC.
Our Special Guest for round table discussion was Mr Deividas Matulionis, Chancellor of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania. During lunch Mr Matulionis briefly commented on some new promising initiatives by the Government and asnswered to questions from BCC Board and Sponsor members. Photo: From left to right: HM British Ambassador Simon Butt, Deividas Matulionis, Chancellor of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania and Saulius Racevičius, Director General of Synergos Capital International and Vice-Chairman of the Chamber Board The British Chamber of Commerce expresses its great gratitude to Novotel Vilnius Hotel for sponsoring the lunch.
On May 14th the Chamber paid it’s first visit to Kaunas after many years. The event was extremely successful as more than 60 people, including HM British Ambassador Simon Butt and HE Finnish Ambassador Marja-Liisa Kiljunen, participated in the event.
HM British Ambassador Simon Butt welcomes new BCC members The British Chamber of Commerce expresses its great gratitude to HM British Ambassador Simon Butt for hosting New Members’ Evening and Restaurant Fiorentino for sponsoring the snacks.
The event started with a visit to Kaunas Free Economic Zone where participants had an opportunity to hear about business and investment possibilities in Kaunas Free Economic zone and Kaunas region generally; and meet local business and municipality representatives. Second visit was paid to Kaunas International Airport where BCC members and friends were welcomed by Mr Arijandas Šliupas, General Manager of the Airport. After a short presentation about Kaunas International Airport members had a possibility to climb up to the Airport tower to see the Airport runway. Event in Kaunas ended in Reval Hotel Neris where attendees watched a Caesar Salad cooking show performed by chef Tomas Rimydis and continued networking over a glass of wine. The British Chamber of Commerce expresses it’s gratitude to BCC Members - Kaunas Free Economic Zone, Kaunas International Airport and Reval Hotel Neris for hosting this event.
BCC paper Summer 2010
BCC Members’ News
11 Deloitte 15 year anniversary of its office in Lithuania Deloitte celebrates 15 years of having an office in Lithuania this year. The firm opened its office in Vilnius on the 28th April 1995. “I am very happy that we are celebrating 15 years of having a successful business in Lithuania. We have constantly worked to add value to our clients and to the market during that period by bringing high quality international standard professional services and experience to the market. We quickly became a trusted business advisor, providing services to leading entities and government bodies in the country.” – said Tim Mahon, Deloitte Managing Partner (in the picture).
Baldai Jums has launched the new store in Vilnius Solid wood (birch and oak) manufacturer who has noticeable export experience in United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Denmark and Scandinavian countries has started to expand its local market. Till now the company had just one show room for its products in the factory’s premise. That was the only place where Lithuanian consumers could see and buy products. Growing local market interest to the company’s manufactured products has prompted Baldai Jums to launch the new store in Vilnius. Now wider auditory Lithuanians have an opportunity to see and evaluate products. The new Store in Vilnius was opened in May 1st. of 2010. It is located at Ozo st. 25 (first floor in Akropolis). Exposition in Vilnius takes over just 100 square meters. This is far too small to show all 40 living room and bedroom collections which company manufactures. To see all ranges of products company invites interested people to visit its’ store in Jonava (address: Fabriko g. 3, Jonava). In the company’s wide range the following products are found: beds, bedside tables, chests of drawers, glazed cabinets, tables, nest of tables, library
boxes, etc. Company renews its collections very often. During year 2009 company has manufactured 188 different products and 128 of them were new. The general manager of the company says: “Our slogan is – quality, style, durability and this is not just words - each of our products carries this features. I believe that this is the reason why people who purchase one product always come back” Natural wood furniture is a piece of nature at your home. There are studies which claim that wooden furniture has calming and healing features. This wonderful wood features Baldai Jums have brought to a durable piece of furniture which can stay with you for decades.
Reval Hotel Lietuva in Vilnius/Lithuania will become a Radisson Blu The Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the fastest growing hotel companies worldwide, announces a management agreement with the Norwegian real estate developer Linstow for 10 Reval Hotels in the Baltics (Latvia, Estonia & Lithuania) and in Russia. The agreement between Rezidor and Linstow came into effect on June 1, 2010 and included 3 hotels in Riga, 2 hotels in Tallinn, 2 hotels in Vilnius, and 1 hotel in each Kaunas, Klaipeda and St. Petersburg - adding a total of 2,367 rooms to Rezidor’s portfolio. 6 hotels will be rebranded as Radisson Blu and 4 as Park Inn. “We are delighted and proud that Linstow, Reval Hotels owner, has chosen Rezidor as a business partner”, comments Kurt Ritter, President & CEO of Rezidor. “Reval Hotels is the leading hotel chain in the Baltics. This portfolio agreement gives Rezidor, which is
the number one among the international hotel operators in Russia, a strong market position in the Baltics, too. We will be able to substantially strengthen our position in the key markets of Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius, where we already are present with our upper upscale brand Radisson Blu and a total of 760 rooms”, continues Ritter. “As an internationally renowned hotel player in expansion, Rezidor has a very strong sales organization and presence with well known brands in all markets outside the Baltics and St. Petersburg that are important to bring new customers to our hotels. The management deal therefore assures further revenue growth for our hotels in both the Baltics and Russia. This will happen through, among other things, more effective marketing of the hotels,” says Per Mortensen, CEO of Linstow.
Best Western hotel chain in Lithuania upgrades its web presence Best Western Vilnius unveiled a new Web site that features brand new look&feel, upgraded features and 5 different languages. Best Western Vilnius turned to its IT partner Agmis, to support the redesign. Best Western hotel chain in Lithuania consists of three four-star hotels: “Vilnius” in Vilnius, “Santaka” in Kaunas and “Central” in Druskininkai.
The redesign included several components: * The content management system (CMS) was upgraded to open-standards based one that supports symultaneuos switch between 5 different languages: Lithuanian, English, Polish, German and Russian. * The main website was completely revamped and tested to run smoothly on a wider range of
browsers: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera and Safari. * All guests can directly book Lithuanian Best Western hotels online. * New facilities for mailing list management were installed. Kaunas based Agmis worked hand in hand with Best Western staff, who developed the new content, while Agmis took responsibility for developing the new design, upgrading the content management system and mailing list management tools, uploading the content and search engine optimization. You are welcome to check out the newest Best Western hotel, restaurant and conference facilities information and photos at www.hotelsinlithuania.eu
“We would not be where we are today without our people; they are the foundation of our business and are our biggest asset. They serve our clients with a standard of excellence, and continuously enhance our brand. Today we are proud of looking after some of the most coveted businesses, having a great team of experts and being able to attract the best talent.” – he added.
Deloitte provides audit, tax & legal, financial advisory, consulting and risk services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. With a globally connected network of member firms in more than 140 countries, Deloitte brings world-class capabilities and deep local expertise to help clients succeed wherever they operate. Deloitte’s more than 169,000 professionals are committed to becoming the standard of excellence.
BCC paper Summer 2010
12 BCC Membersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; News PricewaterhouseCoopers Lithuania wins the National Responsible Business Award third year in a row
Lithuanian logo version
International logo version
Vilnius International Airport New Logo The task was to refresh identity of a post-Soviet airport. The new face had to portray relaxed and unrushed experience of travelling through this small and cosy airpot. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most unique about Vilnius airport is its location close to the centre of the city, which gives the opportunity for every passenger to study Vilnius from close above while landing or taking off. The logo depicts a passing blur of colour that a traveller would see from the plane - typical red roofing of the old town, the vast green area of parks, the blue of the river Neris and the yellow crop fields around the city.
On 7 April 2010, PricewaterhouseCoopers was presented with the Workplace of the Year Award at the National Responsible Business Award ceremony held at Vilnius University. The firm was rewarded for the ability to prepare well for the economic crisis, quickly respond to the challenges and employeesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; proactivity.
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It was the third National Responsible Business Award granted to the firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers was proclaimed the Workplace of the Year 2007 and the Partner of the Year 2008. The National Responsible Business Awards were initiated in 2007 by the UNDP Lithuania, Ministry of Social Security and Labour. Partners of the initiative are the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania. This initiative is aimed at raising awareness about corporate responsibility, adds value for businesses, country and each individual and encourages enterprises to embrace principles of responsible business into their operations. National Responsible Business Awards reward business enterprises within 3 nominations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Workplace of the Year, Partner of the Year, and Environmentally Friendly Enterprise of the Year. The
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most prominent companies are awarded with the Socially Responsible Enterprise of the Year award. The activities of these enterprises demonstrate leadership and a sincere commitment to operate in a transparent manner, fairly treat employees, society and the state, assess the environmental impact of businesses and reduce the negative consequences of this impact in Lithuania.
The winners for 34 different regional and country awards were based on the votes from the 5,500 general counsel surveyed globally. PLC Which lawyer? is an essential guide to leading lawyers and law firms in over 110 countries and has been providing independently researched market intelligence on lawyers active in core commercial practice areas since 1995. PLC Which lawyer? is part of Practical Law Company, the leading provider of legal know-how, transactional analysis, and market intelligence for lawyers. With repeated recognition from PLC Which lawyer?, SORAINEN remains the most awarded
www.vno.lt
www.vno.lt
AVIS Lithuania joins worldwide Avis Preferred Program
Socially responsible business awards have been gaining more popularity each year. This year the awards focused on the enterprises that put efforts to respond to the challenges of the economic crisis.
Client acknowledge SORAINEN as Baltic Law Firm of the Year Clients again recognised law firm SORAINEN as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Baltic Law Firm of the Yearâ&#x20AC;?, the award was presented at the PLC Which lawyer? European Awards 2010 on 14 May 2010. The PLC Which lawyer? awards are distributed based solely on e-voting by in-house lawyers. This is the second year in a row that SORAINEN has been honoured with this international acknowledgement.
Gi s and souvenirs
and internationally recognised law firm in the Baltics. In addition to receiving the PLC Which lawyer? awards in two consecutive years, SORAINEN was recognised as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Baltic Law Firm of the Yearâ&#x20AC;? at the International Financial Law Review (IFLR) European Awards both in 2009 and 2010, and as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Baltic Legal Adviser of the Yearâ&#x20AC;? at the European M&A Awards 2008 organised by The Financial Times & Mergermarket. SORAINEN is a leading regional business law firm with fully integrated offices in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Belarus. Established in 1995, today SORAINEN numbers more than 110 lawyers advising international and local organisations on all business law issues involving the Baltic States and Belarus. SORAINEN is the first law firm in the Baltic States and Belarus where a quality management system has been implemented under ISO 9001 standards (certified by Lloydâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Register Quality Assurance).
Avis Lithuania joined worldwide Avis Preferred Program and now it can offer this service in Avis Vilnius Airport office. Avis Preferred - the quickest and easiest way to rent a car. As a member of Avis Preferred, all is needed to do is to show a driving license, collect the keys, and go. By signing up to membership of Avis Preferred, the clients will enjoy a range of exclusive benefits.
Most Avis rental locations will offer: Pre-prepared paperwork â&#x20AC;&#x201C; no need to repeat the details again Priority Avis Preferred counters â&#x20AC;&#x201C; no waiting in the line No signature required, just showing driving license Cars parked in the most convenient spaces Avis Lithuania is continually expanding the number of locations that offer Avis Preferred, and looking for new ways to deliver an even faster service. Avis Preferred membership is free of charge. All is needed is to become an Avis Preferred member simply fill in the membership form. More information about Avis Preferred Program and application form youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find on www.avis.lt
Odontika introduces New Implant System Weddings: Summer in Lithuania can only mean one thing. Special occasion special rate, 455 Litas for in clinic whitening. This is only available for a limited time, so book an appointment immediately and tell us your getting married. New Implant System: BioTite-H the new German technology dental implants system launched in Lithuania through Odontika. BioTite-H uses a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Osseointegration Mechanismâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that takes a standard RBM implant and coats it with a thin Brushite (CaP) layer through a process of electro-deposition. In other words, an electrochemically deposited calcium phosphate coating that is bioactive. The main advantages, 1) the healing process is sped up and, 2) the implant attaches more firmly.
The next generation implants, only available in Lithuania from Odontika.
BCC paper Summer 2010
Presenting New BCC Members CORPORATE JSC Baldai Jums
Alfonsas Meškauskas, General Manager
JSC “Baldai Jums” is the modern heir of lasting furniture production in Jonava. The factory was established in 1911 and re-organized by a privatization in 1994. The company exports furniture to Western markets since 1994. “Baldai Jums” has good reputation among its clients because of strong working ethics and flexibility to their needs. Our company has more than 14 years of experience in exporting to the UK and other Western European countries. Up to 96% of our products are exported to UK, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Holland and etc. Our turnover has reached 10 million EUR per year. The main activity is manufacture and export of furniture. Company is involved in production of modern furniture for living room and bedroom such as: beds, tables, chest of drawers, coffee
CORPORATE Delta Management Solutions
Mr Al Kris, Director
Delta Management Solutions (DMS) is a fullservice personnel recruitment firm established and based in Vilnius since 1992. We provide traditional recruitment, competency assessment, executive search, temporary staffing, employee opinion surveys as well as greenfield staffing support. DMS’s recruitment service includes whitecollar professionals for administrative, accounting, finance, supervisory & mid-level managers and executive search for top-level management
CORPORATE UAB Quantum capital
Ms Viktorija Trimbel, Chairwoman of the Board
Quantum Capital represents investment banking boutique, dedicated to create value for the entrepreneurs and society by bridging intercultural differences and bringing capital, know-
PRIVATE Mr Aivaras Krasuckas
Master degree in profession educology in 2002. Personal experience in business consulting since 2006 I was the main coordinator in projects with the interest in: • creating a new product in timber factory (2006);
tables, nests of tables, sideboards, glazed cabinets. Furniture is made of solid birch and oak, or mixed of MDF, veneered components as alternative. Only certified and ecological materials are used. Company has a posibility to manufacture furniture by the buyers’ specifications and design. Our equipment enables us to achieve top-quality, attractive design and competitive prices. Company also makes the briquettes which are used as ecological fuel. Our clients have evaluated top-quality furniture we offer and have created long term cooperation with us. The UK is one of our core markets and we have a solid track record of experience of working with such names as John Lewis, Next and also our new client, Sainsbury’s. Our challenge today – to have the direct sales to the retailers as Laura Ashley, Mark & Spenser, etc. The company is certified with a Chain of Custody (CoC) Certificate, which confirms the use of FSC – certified raw materials. In addition, we are routinely audited by our Western buyers. Company is a member of SEDEX association. Company Contact details: JSC Baldai Jums Fabriko St. 3, LT 55111, Jonava, Lithuania Tel: + 370 349 59214 Fax: +370 349 59226 Email: info@BaldaiJums.eu www.BaldaiJums.eu positions. Measurement of job-competency skills using state-of-the-art testing and simulation exercises has been a core, signature component of our recruitment service for close to 18 years and a capability we are particularly proud of. DMS was one of the first to offer temporary staffing services (2003) which has now developed into a full-scale undertaking spurred by a demand for flexibility, convenience and an alternative to the traditional hiring model. Our international footprint includes many greenfield staffing and acquisition projects in partnership with a wide variety of multi-national clients across much of Eastern Europe, Russia, NIS, Asia and most recently Africa. The scope for these projects range from 60 to over 750 hires, all managed out of our Vilnius office and administered in 15 languages. Company Contact details: Delta Management Solutions Vilniaus st. 39/6, Vilnius, Lithuania Tel: +370 5 231 4423 Fax. +370 5 212-0870 Email: alkris@deltamanagement.lt www.deltamanagement.lt
how and best practices to emerging economies. Key service lines: Mergers & Acquisitions Capital raising Hostile takeover defence Strategic & corporate governance advisory Geographical focus: Baltic sea region and Belarus, Middle East Company Contact details: UAB Quantum Capital Konstitucijos Av. 7, 22nd floor. Vilnius, Lithuania Tel: +370 616 077 00 Fax: +370 610 158 01 Email: office@qcapital.eu www.qcapital.eu • market research in clothed company for men only (2007); • creating a new image (business concept, logo and etc.) in spare parts for cars company (2007); Consultant in research projects: • creating a new product in milk producers farm (2008); • solving human resource problems in heating generators producers company (2009). Since 2002 I had more than 2200 academic hours experience in personal training on business seminars with topics: business ethics, analysis of competitors, creating a new product, motivational power and etc. Contact details: Tvirtovės av. 62, LT 50180, Kaunas Tel: +370 687 21737 Email: aivaras.krasuckas@gmail.com
13 CORPORATE Vilnius International Airport
Mr Tomas Vaišvila, General Director
Vilnius International Airport is the largest and leading airport in Lithuania. It is only 7 km, or a 15-minute drive, from the centre of the capital, Vilnius. The airport has an excellent passenger and cargo service infrastructure. Investments in the new passenger terminal and further development of the airport and the reconstruction of the runways have enhanced the airport, which serves official, business, and tourist flights. Vilnius International Airport is the country’s main gateway: it is here that we meet and see off passengers and our country’s guests. The VIP hall of Vilnius Airport provides services for the high-ranking guests of the country, and the Business Club awaits business passengers. Skrydis Hotel operates right next to the airport passenger terminal.
Sixteen airlines operate scheduled flights from Vilnius Airport: 15 airlines carry passengers, and one airline operates cargo flights. Several more local and foreign airlines operate charter flights. The airport provides aviation and non-aviation services to national and foreign economic entities, as well as natural persons. The airport offers advertising space and commercial and office premises for lease, as well as car parking and taxi services. Vilnius Airport operates around the clock and all airport services are ready to serve aircraft and passengers so that on their arrival they can promptly receive their luggage and continue their trip from the airport, while the departing passengers can enjoy the airport’s excellent services and safely reach their destinations. In 2009, Vilnius International Airport served 1.308 million passengers. The airport’s total capacity is 3.5 million passengers per year. Company Contact details: Vilnius International Airport Rodūnios Road 10A, Vilnius, Lithuania Tel: +370 5 273 9326 Tel: +370 5 230 6666 (Passenger info) Email: airport@vno.lt www.vno.lt
StartS with knowledge. leadS to SucceSS.
Bachelor studies: Economics Economics and Politics Finance and Accounting NEW International Business and Communication Business Management
International Master studies: Financal Economics International Marketing and Management
Executive studies: Applied Organisational Psychology Financial Strategy and Management Marketing Strategy and Management (in Palanga) Project Management Strategic Management
Doctoral studies: Management and Administration
Arklių St. 18, Vilnius 01305; tel. +370 5 212 3960 E.Ožeškienės St. 18, Kaunas 44254; tel. +370 37 302 405 e-mail: ism@ism.lt, www.ism.lt
BCC paper Summer 2010
Presenting New BCC Members
14 CORPORATE Peritus sprendimai, UAB
Mr Andrius Šiaudinis, Consultant/Partner
Peritus sprendimai, UAB – is a Lithuanian business and legal consulting company having competence in these fields: EU funding Preparation of the feasibility studies/investment projects Project Management (PMBOK standard) Public Private Partnership Export consulting Assistance for the direct foreign investors Public Procurement Our experts have a record in delivering successful advising to contracting authorities of the public sector and also private sector companies having interest in Lithuanian market. This ranges from developing guidance and of-
Family day out in Kairenai Botanical Gardens
fering advice, to managing large-scale EU funded projects, large procurement procedures, managing the advising in PPP projects. Why we are different: Our experts are professional project managers having experience in managing large EU funded projects > 20 mln. Lt We are consulting National public sector institutions, administering EU Structural Funds measures While working in the public sector we acquired the wide social network within institutional system of EU Funding, PPP and etc. we have huge database of external experts We are small and flexible, which lets us be more close to our clients and work with less projects at once instead of “baking” projects Professional membership: • Member of the PPP Association Lithuania • Member of the Association of the Business Consultants - Lithuania Company Contact details: UAB “Peritus sprendimai” A.Goštauto St. 12A, Vilnius, Lithuania Tel: +370 5 2 100 000 Fax: +370 5 2 784 389 Email: info@peritus.lt www.peritus.lt
“Kairenai Botanical Gardens was a true discovery a year ago. With a support from the EU Funds the Gardens today look fabulous. I love going there with my family. We usually take a walk around, look at the plants and flowers and have a little picnic on the grass or just relax on "British Chamber of Commerce 10 Years Anniversary" bench. And of course, I never forget to check out his Royal Highness the Duke's of Edinburgh tree planted during the Royal visit in autumn 2006”. (Sandra Kundrotė, British Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania)
“My favourite place in Lithuania is the village of Stučiai on the northern shore of Lake Tauragnas, the deepest lake in Lithuania. Although it is right on the edge of the Aukštaitija National Park there is little tourist development in this area as yet, other than a few sites for wild camping and one or two country tourism bed and breakfasts. There is hardly any farming in this region as the soil is too poor, but the hilly and forested countryside is ideal for fresh air, relaxation and country pursuits. A real “get away from it all” experience”. (Chris Butler, PricewaterhouseCoopers)
The round Church in Sudervė is an exception because of its whispering gallery
“The round Church in Sudervė with it whispering gallery is exception. Not visited by many, it is unique. It’s the only round in Eastern Europe and is one of our heritage sites, well worth a visit”. (Geoffrey Cohn, Board Member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania)
CORPORATE UAB Biuro pasaulis
Mr Artūras Tuminas, Director General
BIURO PASAULIS UAB has 16 years experience in Lithuania market. We provide companies with stationery, paper, toners, business presents and other items needed in daily office work. Our company, which was rapidly developing during the last few years, took part in the contest “Gazelė”, organized by “Verslo Žinios”, and received a certificate. The company was also granted the status of the selected partner for HP exploitation materials. As the turnover is growing in the company, in which all employees endeavor to guarantee wonderful customer service, the quality management system LST EN ISO 9001:2001 was implemented and approved of by a certificate. BIURO PASAULIS UAB is owned by the Scandinavian alliance of companies selling office goods NORDIC OFFICE, which covers Sweden, Norway,
PRIVATE Mr Ben Harvey
I am an independent consultant based in Vilnius, and I have been living here happily since first arriving in 1997. I provide services which fall under the umbrella of leadership and talent development, and I work extensively across Central & Eastern Europe, in the United Kingdom and in Russia. Specifically: I work as an Executive Coach for senior and board level executives, I design and deliver skills workshops or long term development programmes which focus on specific leadership skill sets such as influencing, relationship building, coaching and business development, I also work with teams, providing workshops
Situated only 20 min drive from Vilnius centre in lush, rolling countryside, Le Méridien Vilnius provides a wide range of facilities: •
Chic accommodation
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Health Club + SPA “Oasis” with 20 m indoor swimming pool and wide variety of massages and treatments
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25 halls to suit different size conferences and banquets
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Dining in Le Paysage restaurant or Café Villon
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V Golf Club with 18-hole championship tournament, 09 - hole Bridgewater course and Driving Range
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Tennis, fishing, sunbathing and many more outdoor activities
LE MERIDIEN VILNIUS
N 54° 49’ E 25° 08’ T +370 5 2739 700 lemeridienvilnius.com
Finland, Denmark, Latvia, and Estonia. It grants a possibility to us to sign international agreements regarding the supply of goods, which is targeted at full satisfaction of our customers’ needs, effective service of offices disregarding their size or field of activity. We service customers across all Lithuania. Transportation means is ready for expeditious delivery of goods – goods are transported to the location indicated by a customer in 24 - 48 hours. We apply a flexible system of discounts and payment to customers. If You would like to order separate services, turn to our managers of the Sales Department. If Your orders are fulfilled in a centralised manner, we offer You a modern e-trade model adapted specifically to You. If You prefer to have a reserve and want to have a supply of goods which are constantly in demand, we offer a “MINI BAR” – a service used throughout Scandinavia for almost 10 years already. The MINI BAR is a cupboard in which stationery goods, toners, etc. are stored, and the replenishment of these goods is supervised by our managers according to the agreed procedure. Our motto is: SAVE CUSTOMER’S TIME, EFFORTS AND MONEY! Company Contact details: Biuro pasaulis, UAB Vilkpėdės st. 20, Vilnius, Lithuania Tel: +370 5 2361954 Email: arturas.tuminas@biuropasaulis.lt www.biuropasaulis.lt
to develop team effectiveness and/or facilitating teams as they work on live operational and strategic business matters. Prior to starting my own business in Lithuania in 2005, I spent thirteen years with a leading, global professional services firm (one of the “Big 4”), first in London and later working across the firm’s Central & Eastern European offices. I began my professional career as a chartered accountant working with clients from a variety of organisations and industries in London and later in the Baltic States. In 1999 I chose to pursue a second career with the same firm as a training and development consultant to fulfil and develop a long term interest I had in learning and personal development. Today, with over ten years of coaching experience and work in the area of personal and leadership development, I believe I offer a depth of knowledge and experience which I am able bring to my work. Contact details: Vokiečių St.10-8a LT 01130, Vilnius, Lithuania Tel: + 370 6984 8896 Email: ben@growingtalent.eu www.growingtalent.eu
BCC paper Summer 2009
List of BCC Members BCC Sponsor Members
BCC Corporate & Group Members AAA, UAB (www.AAA.lt) / Legal services & Real estate development
Arijus, UAB Transport and logistic services www.arijus.lt
A HOSTEL (Rolvinkas, UAB) (www.ahostel.lt) / Accommodation Services AstraZeneca Lietuva, UAB (www.astrazeneca.lt) / Pharmaceuticals
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Bunnahabhain rep. by Mineraliniai vandenys, UAB Production of single islay malt Scotch Whisky www.bunnahabhain.com
AVIS Rent a Car & Leasing Company (Litideal, UAB) (www.avis.lt) / Car rental and leasing AVIVA LIETUVA, Joint Stock Limited Life Insurance and Pension Company (www.aviva.lt) / Life insurance and pension funds BALDAI JUMS, UAB (www.BaldaiJums.eu) / Solid wood furniture production NEW!
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Jurevičius, Bartkus & Partners, Professional Law Partnership Full service law firm www.jbblegal.lt
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Baltic Holidays (www.balticholidays.com) / Tour operator in the UK specializing in Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia BALTIC HUMAN RESOURCE CONSULTING, UAB (www.bhrc.lt) / Organisational Design, Executive Search, Performance Management, Assessment and Development, Reward and Motivation, Compensation Surveys in the Baltics. BALTIC SURVEYS (Baltijos Tyrimai, UAB) (www.gallup.com) / Market research BANKSERVIS, UAB (www.bankservis.lt) / Bank and office equipment, security products and solutions
Kaleva Travel, UAB Corporate travel management www.kalevatravel.lt
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PricewaterhouseCoopers Assurance, Actuarial, Advisory, Tax and Legal services www.pwc.com/lt TAX POCKET BOOK 2010- Lithuania
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Synergos Capital International, UAB Investment management www.sci.lt (formerly Sindicatum Capital International, UAB)
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Strategic Staffing Solutions International Provider of information technology solutions. Recruitment Services www.strategicstaff.com
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BCC IT PARTNER
CID Baltic
BCC PR PARTNER
BERNOTAS & DOMINAS GLIMSTEDT (www.glimstedt.lt) / Legal services Best Western HOTEL VILNIUS (Naujasis Vilnius, UAB) (www.vilniushotel.eu) / Hotel, restaurant, conference centre, fitness centre
DEKONA, Evaldo Darškaus IĮ (www.dekona.lt) / Management Consulting: Operational efficiency, Lean, Six Sigma, process improvement DELOITTE (www.deloitte.lt) / Audit. Tax & Legal. Consulting. Financial Advisory. Enterprise Risk Services DELTA MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, UAB (www.deltamanagement.lt) / Recruitment, Executive Search, Temporary Staffing, Personnel Assessment, Outplacement, Greenfield Staffing Support DEVYZIS AND PARTNERS WILL, Law firm (www.will.lt) / Legal services, crisis management DPD LiETUVA (www.dpd.lt) / Distribution of business parcels within Lithuania & EU countries, logistics solutions for distribution EKO RIVI, UAB (www.ekorivi.lt) / Consultancy in municipal and environmental infrastructure EUROMONITOR INTERNATIONAL (www.euromonitor.com) / Provider of strategic market research on countries, consumers and industries
CAMIRA FABRICS Ltd (www.camirafabrics.com) / Contract seating & transportation fabric manufacturer CID BALTIC (www.cid.biz) / Development, services and implementation of enterprise level tailor-made software for financial, trading, media and production business line and public sector. COWI LIETUVA, UAB (www.cowi.lt) / Consulting and engineering services related to building design & engineering , energy, environment, territory planning, topographic survey, hydraulic engineering, technical supervision, water and sewage systems design CORMACK CONSULTANCY BALTIC LT Ltd (www.ccbaltic.eu) / Business development, export development, market researches, consultancy in investment, innovation, management
DANSKE BANK A/S LIETUVOS FILIALAS (www.danskebankas.lt) / Banking services
MIRROR SUPPORT SERVICES, UAB (www.mirroraccounting.lt) / Accounting services NOVOTEL VILNIUS HOTEL (Hekon, UAB) (www.accor.com) / Hotel services NILEKSA LTD / Women clothes production; Design, construction and collection production. ODONTIKA (www.odontika.com) / Dental surgery PERITUS SPRENDIMAI (www.peritus.lt) / EU funding, project management and legal consulting NEW! PUBLICUM, UAB (www.publicum.lt) / Public Relations, Public Affairs, Management consulting and training
WEST OF SCOTLAND COLLEGES PARTNERSHIP (www.woscop.co.uk) / Representing 17 colleges in Scotland to share experience and expertise in education and structural funds management and operation ZABOLIS PARTNERS (www.zabolis.com) / Finance and Real Estate
BCC Private Members Aivaras Krasuckas NEW! Alexander T. Coppin Ben Harvey NEW! Christian Ranft David Telky David Holliday
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT GROUP, UAB (www.fmg.lt) / Accounting, tax consulting, legal advice
QUANTUM CAPITAL (www.qcapital.eu ) / Investment banking boutique NEW!
Geoffrey Cohn
FINREDA, UAB (www.finreda.net) / Corporate services provider. Legal, financial and business consulting & translation services
REVAL HOTEL LIETUVA (www.revalhotels.com) / Hotel, biggest conference and events centre, Riverside restaurant, Skybar, Lobby bar, fitness centre and saunas
Giedrius Sabaliauskas
FIORENTINO RESTAURANT (Altomondas, UAB) (www.fiorentino.lt) / Restaurant/ Catering Services
SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES SAS (www.flysas.lt) / Aviation
GENCS VALTERS, Law Firm (www.gencs.eu ) / full service, general practice international business law firm with offices in Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius focused on tax, litigation, M&A, corporate, immigration, finance and intellectual property law
BRITISH COUNCIL (www.britishcouncil.lt) / the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
MOTIEKA & AUDZEVIČIUS, Law Firm (www.ma-law.lt) / Legal services
VILNIUS MONTESSORI PRE-SCHOOL (www.vms.lt) / English Language pre-School NEW!
Dominykas Čeledinas
BIURO PASAULIS, UAB (www.elektromedia.lt, www.biuropasaulis.lt) / Office supplies, printing management and IT solutions
BNTP, UAB (www.bntp.lt) / Real estate development; real estate investment; project management; real estate rental/sales; facilities management; financial management; design and construction
MICHAEL LITTLE IR KO, UAB (www.mikelittle.lt) / ACCA accountancy tutors
VILNIUS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (www.vno.lt) / Airport operation and management
PZU Lietuva, UAB DK (www.pzu.lt) / Insurance
BITĖ LIETUVA, UAB (www.bite.lt) / Telecommunications
BLACK & DECKER (Hardim, UAB) (www.blackanddecker.com) / Black & Decker power tools distributor and service provider in Lithuania
LIETUVOS DRAUDIMAS, AB (www.ld.lt) / Non-life insurance
EVERSHEDS SALADŽIUS (www.evershedssaladzius.lt) / Legal services
G4S Lietuva, UAB (www.g4s.lt) / Security Solutions
Creditreform Lietuva, UAB (www.cr.lt ) / Marketing and credit information, credit management consultations, debt collection NEW!
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GrECo Lietuva, UADBB (www.greco.lt) / Insurance intermediation HIGHLIFE, UAB / Manufacturing for export timber components for the furniture and construction industries. HOTEL VANAGUPĖ (Eskom, UAB) (www.vanagupe.lt) / 5* Hotel, Modern Conference centre and luxury GOLDEN Spa centre, gourmet cuisine restaurant L’Ambra Rossa INOVA BALTIC, UAB (www.inova.lt) / Real estate investments, private equity investments, accounting & tax INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS WALESWELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT (www.ibwales.eu) / Trade and Investment promotion department of the Welsh Assembly Government JURIDICON, Law Firm (www.juridicon.com) / Legal services, tax consulting, corporate services, legal project & risk management. Member of Warwick Legal Network. KAUNAS AIRPORT(www.kun.lt) / Airport KAUNAS FREE ECONOMIC ZONE MANAGEMENT COMPANY (www.ftz.lt) / Real estate development KAZLAUSKAS & DEGESYS SOLVINGS, Law Firm (www.solvings.lt) / Legal services KLAIPĖDA FREE ECONOMIC ZONE MANAGEMENT COMPANY (www.fez.lt) / Management and development of Klaipėda Free Economic Zone LE MERIDIEN VILNIUS & V GOLF CLUB (VILLON, UAB) (www.lemeridienvilnius.com) / Hotel, Leisure, Golf, Real Estate LAWIN, Law Firm (www.lawin.com) / Legal services
SHAKESPEARE BOUTIQUE HOTEL (Olizarų rūmai, UAB) (www.shakespeare.lt) / Boutique hotel, Sonnets restaurant, Globe bar, conference halls SIMEON, UAB (www.simeon.lt) / Transport & Logistics SMITH GUTTRIDGE & ASSOCIATES (www.smith-guttridge.eu) / Business Psychology & HR Consulting including training/ coaching, career management and team and leadership development. SORAINEN (www.sorainen.com) / Legal services in all fields of business law in the three Baltic countries and Belarus STATICUS, UAB (www.staticus.lt) / Facades, curtain walls, cladding, windows & doors, frameless glass structures STOREBRAND BALTIC, UAB (www.storebrand.no) / Financial services SUTKIENĖ, PILKAUSKAS & PARTNERS, Law Firm (www.spp.lt) / full-service commercial law firm mainly focused on providing advice on commercial transactions in the Baltic region and Belarus TRANSCOM WORLDWIDE VILNIUS (www.transcom.com) / International provider of outsourced services and solutions in the field of customer contact (client relationship management & credit management). Near shore outsourced services from Lithuania to UK and other European countries. ŪKIO BANKAS, AB ( www.ub.lt) / Banking Ūkio Banko Investicinė Grupė, UAB / Investment projects; real estate; banking; life insurance and other financial services; industry, industrial engineering; logistics and sports Varul. Vilgerts. Smaliukas, Law firm (www.varul.com) / Legal services in all fields of business law. New Business and investment set up. Tax advice and accounting services. Advice on bankruptcy and restructuring VILNIUS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL (www.vischool.lt) / Pre-school, primary and middle school
Edmundas Aniulis
Giedrius Jankauskas
Graham Keith Hugh Miles Thomas OBE, FCA Dr Helene Ryding Inga Malinauskienė Jeff Lewis Jim Paterson John S. Gledhill John Lawrence Jouni Kaitila Jūratė Rusteikaitė – Bakšienė Marius Molotokas Mark Whittle Nikki Leftly Rajinder Kumar Chaudhary Ron Sheppard Rokas Žilys Sigitas Stankevičius Tony Bishop
BCC Board 2009-2011 Honorary President Simon Butt HM Ambassador to Lithuania
Chairman Chris Butler PricewaterhouseCoopers
Deputy Chairman Saulius Racevičius Synergos Capital International, UAB
Alistair Day-Stirrat
Odontika, Dental Surgery
Amit Majithia
Cormack Consultancy Baltic Lt Ltd
Geoffrey Cohn Private member
Jaime Faus
Novotel Vilnius
Mike Little
Michael Little ir Ko, UAB
Raimundas Jurevičius
Jurevičius, Bartkus & Partners, Professional Law Partnership
Rimantas Tuskevičius Eko Rivi, UAB
Robert Juodka
Varul.Vilgerts.Smaliukas, Law Firm
Sergejus Fedotovas
Ūkio banko investicinė grupė, UAB
Observer Laura Leščinskienė British Embassy, UK Trade and Investment Section
BCC paper Summer 2010
16 BCC Members about their favourite place in Lithuania “The airport (for 50% of the time)! It means that we are “home” again - and just a short drive from the most favourite place. Of course, therefore, the absolute favourite place is our home in the forest. We live in a tiny village (4 other houses) and enjoy the peace and quiet which surrounds us. We no longer have children to entertain nor do we feel the need to leave home at 23.45 to go clubbing on a Friday night. We are settling comfortably into a relaxed lifestyle which we both enjoy whilst at the same time being not too far away (37k) from the centre of Vilnius. On a regular basis we see wildlife which I guess many residents do not see - deer, wild boar, sable, pine martens, moles, lizards and shrews (brought to us by the cats!) and a wide variety of birds. We know that this is not everyone’s ideal way of life. But thank Heavens for that! But we are always able to head off home to the absolute tranquility of life in Dailidės village”. (Mike & Barbara Little, Michael Little ir Ko)
Kryžių kalnas – or Hill of Crosses – each visitor is encouraged to leave a cross then they leave. There are literally thousands of crosses all shapes and sizes. When the wind blows through the small crosses on chains it creates an unmatched ambience. (Jaime Faus, Novotel Vilnius Hotel)
Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai
Bernardine monastery in Tytuvėnai “Tytuvėnai near Kelmė is known for its Bernardine monastery. The first church in the town was built in 1555. The construction of what we see started in 1618. Tytuvėnai is a voyage back in time, and a great place for special occasions“. (Andrius Končius, COWI Lietuva)
“I am a big fan of active tourism. This spring I and my friends tried a canoeing trip on the Ula river. Ula is one of the most unpredictable rivers in Dzukija (Dzukija is a very forested region in South Lithuania, well known for mushrooms), also famous for it’s intensive streams. I highly recommend canoeing the Ula, river for everyone who likes physical activities, is not afraid of challenges and likes to enjoy the landscape”. (Toma Vaišnytė, Smiling and happy at the beginning of canoeing trip on British Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania) the Ula river
Mingė: “this delightful village is set on both sides of the Minija River in the delta region of western Lithuania. Known as the Venice of Lithuania the river was used as the main high street through the town. Small fishing vassals will take you up the Minija or down to the lagoon from Mingė. You can even cook your fresh fillets at the ‘vilaminge’ guesthouse”. (Sergejus Fedotovas, UBIG, Board Member of the chamber)
Mingė
Kernavė Mound “Kernavė the original capital is a nice place. Its especially good for a picnic with good views other the river valley below. The Midsummer celebrations, Rasos, as it is called here, are always popular with folk singing and dancing around the fire”. (Robert Juodka, Varul, Vilgerts, Smaliukas Law Firm)
h
Vilnius main upcoming events calendar JUNE 23TH, 2010
“Rasos” (Dew Holiday) Festival in Verkiai Regional Park Venue: Verkiai Park near the Palace Organiser: Division of Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Administration of Pavilniai and Verkiai Regional Parks More information: www.pavilniai-verkiai.lt”
“The Curonian Spit is a mysterious place not only for me, I think. Especially I love that landscape of sand dunes that is under constant threat from wind and tide. Any time you visit the dunes, you feel yourself different. Spring or autumn, summer or winter – this place is always charming and unique. It is a perfect place for meditation or just sitting on the top of a dune enjoying the view. It is not enough seeing the dunes – you must feel the tranquility brought to you by sand, wind and sea”. (Eugenija Sutkienė, Sutkienė, Pilkauskas & Partners legal firm)
SEPTEMBER 19TH, 2010
Autumn Equinox Venue: Vilnius, the embankment between Karalius Mindaugas Bridge and the confluence of the Vilnelė-Neris rivers Organiser: Vilnius Ethnic Culture Centre, the artistic director of the event is Julija Ikamaitė More information: www.etno.lt
OCTOBER 4TH – 17TH, 2010
JULY 1TH – AUGUST 29TH, 2010
Christopher Summer Festival 2010 Venue: Stanisław Moniuszko Square, the Church of St. Catherine (Vilniaus St. 30), the courtyard of the Museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema (Vilniaus St. 41), the courtyard of Vilnius Teachers’ House (Vilnius St. 39/6) More information: www.kristupofestivaliai. lt, http://www.vilnius-events.lt/en/events/ christopher-summer-festival
Vilniaus International Theatre Festival “Sirenos” Venue: Different locations of Vilnius Organiser: Oskaras Koršunovas Theatre/Vilnius City Theatre, Public Enterprise “Vilniaus Festivaliai”; artistic director Audra Žukaitytė, director Martynas Budraitis More information: www.sirenos.lt, http://www.vilnius-events.lt/en/events/vilniaus-international-theatre-festival-sirenos
G Palermo Ibiza
JULY 7TH – JULY 17TH, 2010
New Music Generation Summer Festival Venue: Nacional M. K. Čiurlionis art school “Dance teatre” (T. Kosciuškos St. 11) Organiser: VšĮ “Naujoji muzikų karta” More information: www.nmgfestival.com
SEPTEMBER 18TH – 19TH, 2010
Fire Mystery Play “Fire Sketches of Žalgiris” Venue: Kalnų Park Stadium, Vilnius Old Town Organiser: Public Enterprise “Ugnis ir kaukė” (Fire and a Mask), the author of the idea and director Eglė Plioplienė More information: www.vilniausugnis.lt
Lithuanian low-cost air carrier Photos by Simona Dambrauskaite
More information about upcoming events can be found at: www.vilnius-events.lt