The Centre for Asian Studies is inviting researchers, students and the general public to an international academic conference dedicated to explore historical and contemporary relations between the countries in the Baltic and East Asia regions. It will be held in a mixed format (participation is possible both online and in-person; all presentations will be streamed online) on March 4-5, 2022 at Room 313/103, Putvinskio str. 23, Kaunas or online via MS Teams platform.

Conference program (PDF format)

The conference is inspired by the fact that there are multiple anniversaries marking relationship between the Baltic and East Asian countries. 100-year anniversaries are related to the fact that Japan expressed de jure recognition of Estonia and Latvia in 1921, and of Lithuania in 1922. The Republic of China did the same in 1923. This marked official beginning of various affairs between these two geographically distant regions. Unfortunately, many things had to be put on halt for almost half a century due to the Soviet occupations and Cold War tensions. The interaction between the regions was resumed in the early 1990s, and this marks another set of anniversaries – 30 years since the re-establishment of diplomatic affairs that happened in 1991.

Such anniversaries encourage historians and scholars of other fields to reflect on the past and provide insights that could help to build stronger inter-regional cooperation in the future. The conference seeks to contribute to this goal by encouraging further research and sharing of knowledge.

FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/642136990426373

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Centre for Asian Studies cordially invite researchers of social sciences to participate at scientific conference “China and Central and Eastern Europe International Cooperation: Strategies and Allocations” that will be held online on December 21st, 2021.

Conference program and the link for participation can be found here (PDF file).

The conference aims to bring together researchers from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to provide academic insights and research-based analysis on different aspects of China’s operational strategies and cooperation within CEE countries. In the past decade, economic and trade cooperation between China and CEE countries has grown rapidly and cultural exchange has become more frequent. Nevertheless, Lithuania has dropped out of China’s “17+1” group, which became an indication of an increasingly shaky relationship between China and the European Union.

Abstracts (250-300 words) can be submitted until December 13th via e-mail: conference.asc@vdu.lt. On December 15th we will contact selected presenters.

Aiming to avoid the spread of COVID-19 and ensure safety, the conference will be held online.

Language of presentations: English and Lithuanian.

For more information please contact: mantas.macikas@vdu.lt

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The Baltic Association of Korean Studies conference organizing committee is pleased to officially announce the 3rd BAKS conference, which this year, considering the continuous difficult situation, will once again be held online from 15th to 16th of December, 2021 on the Zoom platform.

We welcome all scholars, professors and students of different academic backgrounds to participate and share their knowledge regarding Korean Studies. Please share this invitation with anyone that might be interested in presenting or listening.

The theme of this conference has been designated as “Remembering the Past and the Future – Korean Culture in a Changing World”. Please find the timeline and additional information regarding submission of abstracts and publishing of full papers in the attached file.

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We would like to invite you all to a cycle of lectures by the Board member of European Japan Experts Association, Prof. Anders Törnvall, under the title: “East Asian Values, Philosophies, Psychologies and Religions Influences on The Process of Intercultural Communications Today, Focusing on China, Japan and Korea” that will take place in VMU on November 11-12th.

Public lecture “The Two Koreas- a Squeezed Civilization between North and South, Collectivism and Individualism” will focus on what the two Koreas have in common from cultural, political and emotional points of view as well as the differences and the difficulties for a reunion. It will take place on November 11th 11:15-13:13 (Putvinskis 23, Room 103). (more…)

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VMU Center for Asian Studies invites to a series of events dedicated to the memory of “comfort women”. The problem of “comfort women” remains relevant to this day and affects international relations in East Asia. Japan views this question as resolved, meanwhile South Korea is seeking redress and a formal apology from Japan. We would like to invite you to broaden your horizons on this topic and join the discussion by participating in a series of three events on three Fridays: October 22nd, 29th and November 5th.

On October 22nd, 14:30 in room 103 (V. Putvinskio g. 23, Kaunas) screening of the movie “Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue” is going to take place. The movie by a Japanese American director Miki Dezaki analyze controversial “comfort women” issue aiming to answer the question causing intense discussions – were “comfort women” paid or they were taken into slavery. What is more, director reveals the motivations and intentions of the main actors pushing to revise history in Japan. (more…)

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Komaru Transportation Company together with Hiroshima University Lithuanian Center and Vytautas Magnus University Centre for Asian Studies as well as Japanology  club “Hashi” is organizing Fourth Japanese Language Speech Contest. Competition is intended for pupils and students who study Japanese language in Lithuania. Organizers of the competition aim to strengthen bilateral Lithuania-Japan relations and mutual understanding. This year’s topic invites to raise awareness about road traffic safety.

This year contest gained unique form – aiming to ensure safety during the pandemic, contestants are asked to upload recordings of their speech, which later will be evaluated by the Committee, taking into account the correctness of the speech, figurativeness, content, etc. Competing speeches have to be original and composed by participants.

You can register and submit recordings of your speeches until October 22nd, 2021., by filling the registration form.

Results of the contest will be announced on November 13th, 2021, 9:00-12:00 Lithuanian (16:00-19:00 Japanese) time. (more…)

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VMU Centre for Asian Studies is inviting not to miss the opening of Dr. Arvydas Kumpis photography exhibition “Taiwan: Between Tradition and Modernity” which is going to take place on October 1st, 13:45 at the 4th floor gallery (V. Putvinskio g. 23, Kaunas). After the opening we are inviting all to open lecture (in English) by Alex Fratila during which he will introduce contemporary Taiwan’s societal peculiarities and cultural variety. The exhibition will take place until November 29th in 4th floor gallery.

Taiwan is a country of enchanting nature, charming culture, and colorful society. Due to its geopolitical location, it is more often discussed in the comments of politicians than comments of travelers, historians, or cultural figures. And that makes this land harder to know.

Physical distance complicates cognition of Taiwan – this factor is common to all East Asian countries. However, it is enough to take a little look at the features of Taiwan in order to feel the urge to visit it. We did exactly that with wife Simona. (more…)

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This and next year Baltic states will celebrate multiple anniversaries commemorating the establishment of diplomatic relations with East Asian states: 100 years since the first bilateral relations and 30 years since re-establishment. On this occasion, the Centre for Asian studies is inviting researchers interested in East Asia and Baltic states to submit proposals to an international academic conference “A Century of Connections: Historical ties Between the Baltic and East Asia Regions”, which will be taking place at Vytautas Magnus University on March 4-5, 2022.

The event is dedicated to commemorating memorable historical events uniting Baltic and East Asian regions since the interwar to these days: de jure recognition of the Baltic states; interwar diplomatic communication; ties during the period of Soviet occupation; contemporary state-level, cultural and societal relations. The conference is inviting participants from various academic disciplines to share their research on the topic of ties uniting Baltic and East Asia. The organizers do not restrict academic approaches and invite speakers to give presentations in various fields of humanities and social sciences, including history, political science, economy, etc.  

Applications can be submitted until January 10th, 2022 via e-mail: conference.asc@vdu.lt. Application forms and detailed information is provided in the attached document. The results about selected applications and conference panels will be announced on January 17th. Priority will be given to those submitting panel proposals. Conference participation fee is 30 EUR. Presentations will be read in English. Both online and in-person participation is possible.

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We would like to invite all interested in culture and politics of East Asia to listen to the public defense of students’ final thesis.

Master thesis defense of East Asia Region studies will take place on May 26th, from 13:00.

Bachelor thesis defense of East Asian Cultures and Languages will take place on June 10-11th, 10:00.

This year all defenses will take place online in virtual defense rooms. Aiming to ensure that defenses would go fluently, we ask those, interested in participating to register via e-mail: diana.jovaisiene@vdu.lt.

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This month VMU Centre for Asian studies successfully concluded the project with the objective to create a Japanese language textbook for guides. The material for conversations provided in the textbook “Vienas vienas… キコエマスカ” allows to gain necessary communication skills and knowledge needed for the tourism sector in Lithuania.  This is the first Japanese language textbook for guides in Lithuania.

As the number of Japanese tourists arriving in Lithuania is growing, the need of Japanese-speaking guides is growing alongside. Currently two existing Japanese-Lithuanian dictionaries, especially online dictionary jishokun.lt are very useful for Lithuanians working with the tourist groups. (more…)

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