The first session, “ARTSCAPE TALKS: On the Stable Things of Refuge in a Volatile World” took place on September 12th at the Meno Avilys cinema hall. The event featured Raimonda Lebelionytė-Alseikienė, an Artscape Integration Consultant with over a decade of experience in migration, who led the discussion and delivered an insightful keynote.
The ARTSCAPE TALKS series is launching important conversations on open society, culture, integration, art, and migration. As part of the EU-funded “Get the Net” project under the Erasmus+ program, these meetings aim to foster dialogue and understanding on pressing global issues.
Reflecting on recent global crises—including the 2020 Belarusian elections, the war in Ukraine, the Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan, and the migrant emergency in Lithuania—Raimonda emphasized that while attitudes towards migration have shifted dramatically, migration itself remains an enduring phenomenon. “People will always seek safety and prosperity,” she noted, “but sometimes achieving that comes at the cost of health, or even life.”
The discussion addressed several key issues, including the distinction between migrants and asylum seekers, what constitutes persecution under the International Refugee Convention, and why all refugees are vulnerable, but not all migrants are. The meeting also explored why legal protection is often limited to English, and examined Lithuania’s obligations under international law, highlighting gaps in the country’s implementation of reception and procedural standards. Raimonda also encouraged participants to reflect on the unspoken aspects of migration, often the most compelling parts of the narrative.
The session was an open and thoughtful exploration of the challenges and complexities surrounding migration, asylum, and the broader societal implications.
The next event, “ARTSCAPE TALKS: The Self and the Stranger in Refugee Inclusion in Lithuania,” will take place on October 3rd. For more information, visit:https://www.facebook.com/events/521988000525784
Arts Agency Artscape develops inclusive strategies aiming for an open society vision through professional art forms and has been creating spaces for vulnerable groups of people for over 12 years.
The meeting is part of the “Get the net” project (The Action Civil Society Cooperation in the fields of Youth, Education and Training – FPA (ERASMUS-2023-CSC-OG-FPA).
September 15, 2024