Vilnius, DECEMBER 15th — This Wednesday, the French-Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce (CCFL) organised an event to highlight the members of the CCFL association for their work in helping the connection of the French and Lithuanian business communities. The event welcomed around 35 people.
The French-Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce was established in 1999 in Vilnius. The association aims to promote healthy business relations between French and Lithuanian companies. Today, the Chamber of Commerce is extremely active in Lithuania, with over 70 active members representing different economic sectors. In addition, it proposes various services and often organises events, such as their more well-known French gala dinner.
“The French-Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce’s main goal is finding common points of contact in both countries for French and Lithuanian companies and help them in setting up their businesses. We also, of course, try to attract French investments to Lithuania and Lithuanian investments to France. We also help Lithuanian companies open in France and assist them in finding their place in the market,” states Rasa Starkuvienė, the President of the French-Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce.
The event began at the film theatre “Pasaka” (Šv. Ignoto g. 4) in the Old Town of Vilnius with the private screening of Martin Bourboulon’s 2021 biopic “Eiffel” about Gustave Eiffel, the designer of the now famous Eiffel Tower in Paris for the 1889 Paris World Fair.
After the screening, the CCFL proceeded to have their annual business awards ceremony, which celebrates and awards the business community of the Chamber of Commerce. It also promotes and showcases the work and dedication of the association’s members.
This year’s winners of an award are as well eligible to compete in Paris for the trophies of the International French Chamber of Commerce against the worldwide network of French Chambers of Commerce.
The CCFL rewarded 5 of its members in different categories.
“Coup de Coeur” Award 2021: PALINK UAB
This year, the Chamber of Commerce awarded PALINK UAB, known for their successful grocery store chain ‘IKI’, with their “Coup de Coeur” award for having contributed to developing their community and displayed “exceptional commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility”. The company began selling high-quality products in 1992 and since then have grown to be one of the biggest employers in Lithuania with 5,770 employees today.
“Best France-Lithuanian Business Relation” Award 2021: Glotera
The CCFL presented the IATA accredited travel agency Glotera with its “Best France-Lithuanian Business Relation” award for providing a service that has created involvement between French and Lithuanian businesses and providing opportunities to discover both France and Lithuania.
“Innovation” Award 2021: Integre Trans
Then, the Chamber of Commerce awarded Integre Trans for implementing new technology and processes for delivering high-end services for customers in transporting goods and equipment from one destination to another. They are a connecting point for the transportation of 1,700,000 tonnes of goods per year between Lithuania, Germany and France with their new branches.
“We want to be known as the logistics and transport company that truly cares for their customers,” Integre Trans writes in their acceptance speech.
“Special Jury” Award 2021: Cargo Stream
Afterwards, the “Special Jury” award was given to Cargo Stream for being the most active Chamber of Commerce and supporting the Chamber through its ambassadorship. The company develops “logitech” software, short for logistics technology, to ease and modernise conventional logistics. Cargo Stream is mainly a cloud-based collaborative platform that connects management and communication throughout the entire process of shipping goods.
“Entrepreneur” Award 2021: Bridge Media
Finally, the CCFL awarded French-Polish entrepreneur Roman Gorecki-Mickiewicz for successfully co-founding and starting UAB Bridge Media in Lithuania, specialising in broadcasting and TV creation tools. The company also has its own Polish television channel BM TV, broadcasting in Lithuania.
Original and artistic rewards
The awards themselves were presented in the shape of oil-on-canvas paintings made by a Lithuanian artist known as Mykolé (also written Mykolė), a member of the CCFL. She lived in Paris for more than eight years where she studied at the National School of Fine Arts of Paris. Since 2017, Mykolé has lived in Vilnius, creating various art pieces.
Why is it crucial to maintain relations between countries in the EU?
“In my opinion, it’s particularly essential to develop these sorts of relations between European countries. It’s especially important to create ties with large and powerful countries with old cultural and economic practices. I think we can learn a lot from countries like that and provide something more in return,” finishes Rasa Starkuvienė.
—for The Lithuania Tribune by Lukas BARBIER (www.lukasbarbier.com)
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