This Saturday, on 12 of March “Doctors Without Borders” will be interviewed at Senoji Perkėla in Klaipėda

“Doctors without borders” (in French “Médecins Sans Frontières”) is an international independent humanitarian non-governmental organization working in the field of medical aid and winner of the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize. “Doctors Without Borders” brings together tens of thousands of medical, logistical and administrative staff to provide medical assistance to people affected by political conflicts, natural disasters, epidemics, and to people whose access to the health system is limited for one reason or another.

The organization was actively involved in helping asylum seekers stranded at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border at the end of last year. Many have heard the story of volunteers heading toward the Belarusian border after news spread about a man from Syria in need of urgent medical assistance. Three medics from “Doctors Without Borders” were fined €100. The organization is also currently working in the registration centers for foreigners in Medininkai and Kybartai.

Moments from “Doctors Without Borders” activities in Lithuania / Photo from the organisation’s archive.

This Saturday at 18:00 in the installation space of “When Stories Meet” at the Senoji Perkėla in Klaipėda, we will interview Iro Lagou, Mental Health Coordinator, and Elisa Capponi, Humanitarian Affairs Manager, about the organization’s challenges and successes in the unexpected migration situation in Lithuania. They will share their perspectives on the need for equal rights for all refugees seeking asylum in Lithuania.

Iro Lagou, Mental Health Activities Manager / From personal archive

This interview with representatives of “Doctors without Borders” is part of the project “When Stories Meet”. The project’s activities promote tolerance and openness towards migrants and asylum seekers, foster curiosity about other cultures, and develop a multicultural perspective. After the talk “When Stories Meet”, the guests of the event will be able to watch five short films about migration, which have been acclaimed at the international film festivals Cannes, Toronto, Ghent, Clermont-Ferrand, and which have been prepared by the Lithuanian Shorts Agency for the citizens and guests of Klaipėda.

Elisa Capponi, Head of Humanitarian Affairs / From personal archive

The audiovisual installation “When Stories Meet” by the art agency Artscape arrived in Klaipėda at the end of last week – on 5 March, the organisers of the installation invited the citizens of Klaipėda and the city’s guests to the opening event, where the project was briefly presented and the “glocal” music group “Uphill 7” gave a performance. The unique installation space invites visitors to experience the links between different cultures every day: in the permanent video installation, visitors can learn about the stories of people from other cultures living in Lithuania, and in the adjacent chamber event space, visitors are invited to the already mentioned events and activities during the weekends.

“When Stories Meet” installation in Klaipėda, in Senoji Perkėla / Algirdas Venskaus photo.

The main theme of the installation – sharing stories – invites not only to listen, but also to tell: both in the installation and on the project’s website, visitors are invited to fill out a questionnaire, to record their stories and share them with others.

All events and activities in the installation are free of charge. For more information, visit Artscape’s Facebook account and website.

The project is funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Ministry of Social Security Labour.