Students are not indifferent to social problems

The Vytautas Magnus University Student Representative Council (VMU SA) will pay special attention to social issues during the “Spring Festival” this year. Perhaps the most important highlight of the festival in terms of the social aspect is the Social Forum, which will take place on May 10 at 11 a.m. in the Rectorate and Senate halls of Kaunas University of Technology (Daukanto St. 73). The Social Forum is an event that will explore some of the social problems, their causes, and find ways to solve them.

The social forum will be opened by a screening of the film “Field of Miracles” and a conversation with the filmmaker Mindaugas Survila about the social problems revealed in the film. Also, a report on the topic of bullying will be read by singer and public figure Dovilė Filmanavičiūtė, also known as Miss Sheep. The Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman will speak about human rights in Lithuania, and VMU lecturer Algirdas Davidavičius will try to “justify inequality”. Meanwhile, well-known actor Balys Latėnas will speak about self-confidence.

"Of course, the festival is associated with entertainment, but this year we decided that we need to think about what is most important, which is social issues. The social forum will be a place that will make you think. To think about the stranger, colleague, friend sitting next to you. How we, as humans, treat others, why we hurt others, do not respect natural human rights, and often offend. After all, it is not difficult to smile, help, and talk to another. The goal of the social forum is to make the lives of people in this world brighter and more socially responsible, at least for a small part!" - Solveiga Skaisgirytė, coordinator of the VMU SA Social Affairs Committee, briefly introduced the social forum.

There will be no shortage of other socially themed events during the “Spring Festival”. On May 11, at 2 p.m., the first VMU “Living Library” will break stereotypes, during which participants will have the opportunity to communicate with “living books” – people from various marginalized groups. The National Blood Center will also traditionally invite people to become blood donors, and meetings will be held with animal shelters “Lesė” and “Penkta koja”. If you have unnecessary books, volunteers will be waiting for you, who will be happy to donate them to the library, and those who want to say goodbye to the most difficult exam summaries, tickets for a failed trip or other bad memories will be invited to “shoot” them during the initiative “Shoot the Problem”. All festival events are free of charge.

The organizers invite you to register for the Social Forum at the following link: https://goo.gl/forms/KXJ8vAcAK4OsUTqD2

Spring Festival event program: www.pavasariofestivalis.lt