Lithuania

is ‘[to] strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage’. These important assets for a country’s economy attract investment and create locally based jobs through tourism. Often traditional means of production and land use are also intrinsically the most sustainable, as in many cases they have evolved over centuries or even millennia.

The Pasvalys Area Museum is dedicated to keeping Lithuanian history and culture alive through its displays of ethnography, archaeology and folk art. In collaboration with the museum, Soroptimists of Pasvalys organised a cultural heritage event for local youth called ‘Know rye straw’. Participants were shown the various uses of rye straw, such as making traditional Christmas and Easter decorations, and also heard about the history and development of agriculture and rural life in their country.

A number of other Lithuanian Soroptimist projects have focused on the links between local identity and sustainability. At the Child Care Home in Saugos, pupils learned about environmentally friendly ‘green cooking’ during an event organised by SI Club Silutes. They produced and sold 120 pots of pumpkin jam.

The proceeds were used to purchase a swing for the play area at the Home. There were also demonstrations of bread-baking techniques during two educational events organised by SI Club Raseiniu. These too help pass yet more traditional knowledge from one generation to another.

2030 Sustainable Development Agenda (UN website)

Pasvalys Museum (Lithuanian)