Lithuanian president invites women leaders to conference in Vilnius

“Next year, on the occasion of the centenary, we will organize a major forum of women leaders in the summer and I have already invited the participants of today’s (conference) to come to Lithuania,” Grybauskaitė told reporters in Reykjavik, which is hosting a global summit of female politicians.

“We will continue the good practice and will try to show that the Nordic countries, the Baltic states and Lithuania also have something to say, something to boast of and something to show in the field of gender equality,” she said.

Vilnius will next June host a high-level international conference to mark the centenary of the restored state of Lithuania and the centenary of women’s suffrage in Lithuania, the president’s office said in a press release.

In her speech to the conference in Iceland, Grybauskaitė “encouraged women not to reconcile themselves to violence and not to remain silent; she encouraged the world leaders to unite and end violence against women at national, regional and international level,” it said.

The conference brings together over 300 female parliamentarians from almost 100 countries, as well as the presidents of Estonia, Malta and Croatia.

“The (Lithuanian) president underscored that each country had to do its homework in protecting women from violence. Everything begins with national legislation that must protect women from discrimination and domestic violence. To this end, a strong political will is paramount”, her office said.

“According Dalia Grybauskaitė, people’s attitude is important in combating sexism and harassment. It is necessary to end blaming victims and ensure that victims of harassment have a safe access to assistance and that cases of harassment are effectively investigated rather than concealed”, it said.

The conference in Reykjavik was organized by the Council of Women World Leaders (CWWL), which is chaired by Grybauskaitė, jointly with the Women Political Leaders Global Forum (WPL) and Iceland’s parliamentary.