Dr Tomasz Snarski from the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Gdańsk, artistic director of the 'Vilnius in Gdańsk' festival, received the City of Gdańsk Mayor's Medal during the gala celebrating 25 years of cooperation between Gdańsk and Vilnius. The award is an expression of gratitude for nurturing ties and developing cultural cooperation between the two cities. ‘The community can live thanks to culture, when writers, poets, filmmakers, folk artists take us into the space of their world, allow us to commune with beauty and goodness. Let us be together, love Gdańsk and Vilnius, and love one another,’ said dr Tomasz Snarski.

Friday, August 11, marked the beginning of the 'Vilnius in Gdańsk / Vilnius Gdanske' festival, which celebrates its 20th jubilee. Other round anniversaries also coincide in 2023: 25 years of partnership between Vilnius and Gdańsk and the 700th anniversary of the founding of Vilnius.

On this occasion, the Vice-Mayor of the City of Gdańsk Piotr Borawski presented decorations to people involved in the cooperation between Gdańsk and Vilnius in a particular way and on various levels.

‘I am honoured that the Mayor of Gdańsk has recognised my long-standing efforts to build the best possible partnership relations between Gdańsk and Vilnius, between Poland and Lithuania. After all, the various cultural initiatives I have organised, particularly the 'Vilnius in Gdańsk' festival, aim to build community and bring people together. I am pleased that the medal inscription contains the motto: 'Ubi concordia, ibi victoria' ('Where is unity, there is victory'). I think this is a beautiful and, above all, an all-important message that is needed today,’ said dr Tomasz Snarski.

Dr Snarski also emphasised that the medal of the Mayor of Gdańsk was awarded to other people with whom he works and who have made a contribution to building good Polish-Lithuanian cultural relations, including the President of the Lithuanian Writers' Union Birutė Jonuškaitė-Augustinienė and the attaché for the culture of the Republic of Lithuania in Poland Rasa Rimickaitė: 'I would like to congratulate all the award winners and at the same time thank all the people who have been involved in various Gdansk-Vilnius initiatives over the years.'

'I am very pleased that the presence of the University of Gdańsk community in Gdańsk-Vilnius relations is growing stronger every year. This year, the University of Gdańsk is a partner of the 'Vilnius in Gdańsk' festival, and a special exhibition for the 700th anniversary of Vilnius is being held within the walls of our university. In turn, artists associated with the Academic Cultural Centre of the UG performed at the festival 'Gdańsk in Vilnius'. Thus, we are creating a real community between Vilnius and Gdańsk, also in the academic environment,' adds dr Tomasz Snarski.

Full coverage of the event is available at gdansk.pl

Read also: On poetry that connects - with dr Tomasz Snarski and Birutė Jonuškaitė