The program of the debate festival "Būtent!" has been announced: it includes from conversations about the war in Ukraine to discussions about education, business and art

For the fourth time, the organizers of the event invite public citizens, representatives of business, science, non-governmental organizations and politics to gather for an open conversation - everyone will have the opportunity to share their opinion and thus contribute to the creation of a common vision of the state. What topics will be discussed at this year's festival? Why is it important to develop a culture of debate and how can each visitor contribute to a better future of the country? Arnas Marcinkus, one of the organizers of the festival, talks about the program of this year's debate festival.
The festival program includes more than 70 discussions
According to Arno Marcinkaus, one of the organizers of the festival, 9 spaces with more than 300 speakers and more than 70 discussions will await those gathered at the festival this year.

"As always, the festival will be held for two days and will offer its guests discussions on such sensitive topics as the war in Ukraine, the future of the energy sector, national defense, cyber security, the education system, digital transformation. We will also discuss youth engagement, emotional health at work, volunteering, creative freedom, healthy lifestyle and other topics. The people gathered at the festival will be able to freely communicate and share their opinions with the participants of the discussions - politicians, opinion makers, representatives of business and other fields - in an open conversation format. I believe that everyone who visits will find interesting discussions", says A. Marcinkus.

This year's festival will also discuss topics that cannot be resolved, including civil union, gender equality, the climate crisis and others. The event will also include interactive activities organized by partners - brainstorming, film screenings, storytelling workshops, as well as an evening of sharing experiences about business, project or professional failures. The "Būtent!" mobile app, specially created for the event, will soon be launched, where it will be possible to view all the discussions and other activities taking place at the festival, as well as conveniently mark the ones you like so that everything is at hand.

Speakers include experts from Lithuania and abroad

Neuroscientist Dr. Urtė Neniškytė, head of the Lithuanian Human Rights Center Jūratė Juškaitė, children's writer Tomas Dirgėla, opinion maker Paulius Mikolaitis, journalist Edmundas Jakilaitis, poet, prose writer, psychologist and philosopher Liutauras Degėsys, priest Julius Sasnauskas, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, economist Nerijus Stepfather, chef Gian Luca Demarco and many others.

The festival will also welcome guests from abroad - Stefan Lindström, Ambassador for Digitization and Technology of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Martin Ärnlöv, Secretary General of the Swedish Red Cross, Morgan Olofsson, Communications Manager of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), and Liisa Talonpoik, Ambassador for Bilateral Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

Ideas born during discussions can turn into reality

Discussion festival "Būtent!" is an open, non-political, free event, the purpose of which is to promote the culture of discussion and listening, tolerance for different points of view, and civic engagement in the country. According to A. Marcinkaus, the most important axis of the discussion festival is that the ideas born during the discussion have the potential to become reality.

"Discussion festivals are also called festivals of democracy - the aim is for such events to become a place for consensus, mutual understanding, opinion formation and creation of a common vision of the state, which will provide inspiration for real business and political decisions. By including decision makers in the discussions, I believe we can achieve real change. During discussions, everyone's opinion is important, regardless of different opinions, age, gender and social status, so I invite you to come to the festival with your family - there will be activities for both children and pets. And besides, this festival is a great opportunity to welcome the autumn season intellectually, exploring the most relevant questions and finding solutions so that it would be good for everyone to live in Lithuania", says A. Marcinkus about the vision of the festival.

More information and the program of the "Būtent!" festival can be found on the website https://diskusijufestivalis.lt/