WPL Summit 2018 – Vilnius, Lithuania

It’s about time! 100 reasons to act!

The WPL Summit, co-hosted by Seimas, the Parliament of Lithuania, brought together female Heads of State and Government, Ministers, Parliamentarians and Mayors from all over the world. The WPL Summit 2018 was held under the patronage of Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of the Republic of Lithuania, and in cooperation with the Council of Women World Leaders (CWWL). President Dalia Grybauskaitė is also the Chair of CWWL and will convene CWWL’s network of women Presidents and Prime Ministers on this occasion.

In 2018, Lithuania celebrated a Centenary of the Restoration of the State and 100 years of women’s voting rights – a landmark political anniversary. Thank you for being part of a global event, highlighting women’s empowerment and potential. In this spirit, the WPL Summit 2018 provided the forum for exchange on best practices around the globe: of leadership, legislation and political agenda-setting that creates results.

Past WPL Summits have each attracted several hundred female Parliamentarians and other senior politicians to the European Parliament in Brussels; Kigali, Rwanda; the African Union in Addis Ababa; Mexico City; Amman, Jordan; and Reykjavik, Iceland. Each WPL Summit is a special opportunity to take part in dialogues that reflect the influence of female decision-makers in today’s world. In cooperation with international institutions such as the European Institute of Gender Equality (EIGE), the OECD, the United Nations, and others, the WPL Summit 2018 programme included an outstanding selection of speakers and interactive discussions.

These discussions resulted in a Declaration of Outcomes.

The WPL Summit 2018 was covered in international and Lithuanian media, attracting an estimated 3 million views. To review this coverage, please see the Summit Press Report.

The Twitter hashtag for this event was #WPLsummit.

Many of the politicians present highlighted their participation to their online followers. This led to more than 1.6 million impressions on Social Media (Report attached).

Day 1 of the WPL Summit can be viewed here:

Day 2 of the WPL Summit can be viewed here:

INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

This document contains practical information regarding your participation at the WPL Summit 2018 on 6-8 June in Vilnius, Lithuania. You can find useful information about Lithuania following this link.

Click here to download the Summit’s practical information package.

VENUES

The Summit activities will take place in the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas). The entrance to the Seimas is from the riverside on A. Goštauto str. (building II, level 0).

Address: Gedimino ave. 53, LT-01109, Vilnius, Lithuania

Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Address: Gedimino ave. 51, LT-01504 Vilnius

Welcome Reception: Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania.

Address: Cathedral sq. 4, LT-01143 Vilnius

Cultural Dinner: Presidential Palace

Address: S. Daukanto sq. 3, LT-01122, Vilnius, Lithuania

Guided Excursion on Saturday 9th June: Trakai Castle 

Address: Karaim? str. 41 LT-21104, Trakai, Lithuania

Website: http://trakai-visit.lt/en/

REGISTRATION AND ACCESSING THE VENUE

For security reasons all participants will be required to wear their WPL Summit 2018 identity badge to access any venue or event of the Summit and show a valid form of identification (passport or equivalent).

Registration and badge pick-up:

  • Wednesday 6 June – badges will be available in the official hotels between 17:00-18.30. Registration and badge pick-up for participants accommodated in locations other than official hotels will be available at the Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square between 17:00-18.30.
  • Thursday 7 June – badges will be available at the entrance to the Seimas from the riverside on A. Goštauto str. (building II, level 0) between 08:00-09:00.

Please note that all people (including assistants and staff) who wish to receive visa assistance and enter the WPL Summit 2018 venues must be registered online before the event, by May 31st.

LANGUAGES OF THE SUMMIT

The working languages of the WPL Summit 2018 are English, French and Russian. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided for the Plenary sessions in these three languages.

Simultaneous translation in French and Russian will be provided for several of the parallel Policy Focus Sessions in each time-slot, allowing participants whose native language is French and Russian to follow the Summit entirely in their own language.

VISA INFORMATION

The Republic of Lithuania is an associate member of the Schengen Agreement which exempts travellers from personal border controls between 22 European Union countries. All persons requiring visas, not holding a valid Schengen visa in their travel document, must apply for a visa at the applicable embassy/consulate before travelling to the Schengen area. For residents from outside the Schengen area, a valid passport is required for at least three months beyond the date of entry.

1. You can find the list of countries whose citizens do not require short-stay (up to 90 days) visas to enter or travel on transit through Lithuania following this link.

2. Diplomatic missions and consulates which represent Lithuania can accept visa applications and issue Schengen visas but only to the nationals of the country of residence living in their country and citizens of the third states who have a residence permit of this state.

               Link to visa issue places: http://keliauk.urm.lt/en/entry-to-lithuania/visas/place-of-issue

3. General travel/visa information and Visa Application Form for Lithuania:  http://keliauk.urm.lt/en/entry-to-lithuania

For all other cases not mentioned above, please contact Mr. Benjaminas Petraitis at benjaminas.petraitis@lrs.lt in English, French and Russian. We would recommend starting visa application procedures without any further delay.

AIRPORT ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE

Delegates to the WPL Summit 2018 will be greeted at the airport on 6 June and transportation from the airport to the official hotels will be provided on that day only. For departures, transfer from official hotels to the airport will be provided on June 8 evening after all Summit activities (time TBC) and on 9 June until 13:00.

There are three arrivals halls in Vilnius airport and participants should make their way to Hall B where a WPL Summit 2018 welcome desk will be located.

A taxi from the airport to Vilnius city centre takes approximately 15 minutes and costs around 20 euros. The exact price and duration of the journey depend on hotel location and traffic.

Flight number, date and time of arrival and departure, should be sent to Ms. Selija Levin at selija.levin@lrs.lt at least ten working days before the Summit, i.e. by May 23.

The website of Vilnius Airport contains maps and logistical information.

ACCESS AND TRANSPORT DURING THE SUMMIT

Transportation will be provided to all delegates staying in the official hotels recommended by the WPL Summit 2018. Buses will transfer delegates from the official hotels to the venue in the mornings and back to the hotel in the evenings. Transport will also be arranged to/from the venues for the cultural evening and field visits in Vilnius.

• Participants will be advised to travel to the venues and events of the Summit on the official transport.

• Anyone travelling with armed bodyguards must report this to the host organisers (contact details TBC).

OFFICIAL HOTELS

A number of rooms in different categories have been pre-booked until April 25th for the WPL Summit participants, since Vilnius could be quite crowded during the conference period.

To secure the accommodation of your choice, we recommend that you submit your registration with hotel booking as early as possible.

WPL does not make reservation for the participants, guests should send booking information directly to the hotels via e-mail and provide the promotional code “WPL2018” to get a preferential rate.

Our list of pre-booked hotels and contact details is available here.

Official hotels:

  • Amberton Vilnius Centre Hotel
  • Crowne Plaza Vilnius
  • Kempinski Cathedral Square Hotel
  • Artagonist Art Hotel
  • Novotel Vilnius Centre Hotel
  • Imperial Hotel & Restaurant
  • Radisson Blu Astorija Hotel
  • Relais & Chateaux Stikliai Hotel and Apartments

You can find a map of all venues and official hotels here.

MEALS

Catering will be provided during the Summit. Any dietary restrictions should be highlighted in the registration form.

  • Wednesday, 6 June:  Dinner at Welcome Reception
  • Thursday, 7 June: Lunch and Cultural Dinner
  • Friday, 8 June: Lunch

INSURANCE

Delegates are responsible for ensuring they have adequate travel insurance during their time in Lithuania.

OTHER SERVICES

Transport information, medical service, cloakroom, smoking areas, wi-fi, pay cafeteria, ATM facilities will all be available in the Seimas.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT LITHUANIA

Lithuania is a parliamentary Republic with a head of state – the president who appoints the prime minister – a head of government. The Parliament is a single-chamber legislative body. The country is divided into 60 municipalities, with directly-elected mayors.

The Capital city is Vilnius. We invite you to learn more about Lithuania by accessing this link.

GOVERNMENT

Democratic Republic.

LANGUAGE

Lithuanian is the official language. 

POPULATION

2 823 000

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

The Republic of Lithuania lies on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea.

LOCAL TIME

GMT + 2 hours

ELECTRICITY

The voltage in Lithuania is 220 volts at 50 Hz (cycles/second) which is standard throughout most of Europe (U.K. 240 volts). The power sockets are of type C and F. Many North American electrical devices will require converters, and all will require plug adapters.

WEATHER

Oceanic/continental. Average temperature in June is +17°C. However, temperatures can soar up to +25°C in day-time, and drop down to 11°C at night.

CURRENCY

Euro (€)

CONTACT DETAILS

International dialling code for Lithuania is +370

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Emergency Telephone Number for Fire Brigade, Police and Medical assistance: 112 (Dial this number from all public telephone networks anywhere in Lithuania. Calls to this number are free of charge at any time of the day, from any service provider, mobile or fixed line.)

USEFUL ADDRESSES

Lithuanian Parliament

Gedimino pr. 53, LT-01109

Vilnius, Lithuania

Women Political Leaders Global Forum (WPL)

Brussels Office

Bldv. Charlemagne 96 | 1000 Brussels, Belgium

Phone: +32 27 33 13 44 | E-mail: lithuania2018@wpleaders.org