On February 5, the initiative "Happy birthday, Lithuania!", dedicated to the commemoration of February 16 - Lithuania's Independence Day, began. The initiative started last year did not go unnoticed by the country's president, Dalia Grybauskait\u0117, who considers the action to be one of the most original initiatives to commemorate the 16th of February.<\/p>\n
In 2014, the largest Lithuanian youth organizations launched the initiative "Happy Birthday, Lithuania!", dedicated to celebrating the country's Independence Day. Its purpose is to gather compatriots living in Lithuania or abroad to celebrate the state's birthday together. To the joy of the organizers, last year this action attracted a lot of interest from the Lithuanian public - more than 6 thousand Lithuanian citizens were immortalized in the historical photo gallery.<\/p>\n
Last year, at the initiative "Happy Birthday, Lithuania!" the top heads of state, the country's largest business companies, embassies, city municipalities and other institutions, non-governmental organizations, Lithuanian communities around the world, the country's Olympians in Sochi and thousands of Lithuanian citizens joined. More than 300,000 users viewed the photos on the Facebook page "Happy birthday, Lithuania" at that time. This year, the organizers of the initiative are determined to include even more compatriots from all over Lithuania and foreign countries.<\/p>\n
According to one of the initiators of the campaign, Antanas Mikalauskas, president of the Lithuanian School Students' Union, "Happy Birthday, Lithuania" stands out from other commemoration events due to its positivity. "In Lithuania, we have endless commemorations on this occasion, but nevertheless we strive to involve the youth more and celebrate the holiday not in a sad way, as it often happens in our country, but in a joyful way. State holidays are really important for young people, but there is often a lack of positivity and bright emotions when celebrating them," said A. Mikalauskas.<\/p>\n
Paulius Baltokas, the president of the Lithuanian Student Union, seconded him, stating that the involvement of young people in the action overshadowed the expectations of the organizers. "I am glad that the youth once again refuted the rumors that we are an apathetic past of the state. Today's youth are active, interested and involved, they just need the right space. I think that we should start changing our attitude towards the celebration of public holidays, we would like these days to become a holiday for every citizen," said P. Baltokas.<\/p>\n
During the campaign, all residents of Lithuania are encouraged to take a photo holding a sign with the inscription "Happy birthday, Lithuania!" and upload this photo to a dedicated Facebook account. Organizers of the initiative: Lithuanian Schoolchildren's Union, Lithuanian Students' Union, Lithuanian Liberal Youth, League of Young Conservatives, Lithuanian Social Democratic Youth Union, Youth organization "Darbas".<\/p>\n
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Contact person:<\/p>\n
Head of Communications<\/p>\n
Lucija Sabulyt\u0117<\/p>\n