Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius echoed French president’s calls not to repeat the tragic pages of history during a three-day Paris Peace Forum, held in in the presence of 30 heads of state.
French President Emmanuel Macron in his speech urged the world to address conflicts, inequalities, terrorism, and to fight climate change, disinformation and cyber crime.
In a dramatic tone, he said “nationalism is war,” deploring an "unprecedented crisis in our international system" and warned that Europe is "the place where the price of non-cooperation is best known".
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linkevičius said Europe “need to learn about the tragic pages of history in order to avoid that history repeats,” and brought a book on Lithuania's post-war period by Vladas Terleckas to the library of the Peace Forum.
During the Inauguration of the Forum on Information and Democracy, Linkevičius voiced his concern for the safety of journalists and indicated that Lithuania already has different means to address various forms of disinformation via projects ‘debunk.eu’ or the EU cyber rapid response teams.
Minister Linkevičius also visited the stand of GoalHUB, part of a large group of international exhibitors. This innovative Lithuanian platform is designed to help NGO to reach their goals and to connect partners to solve some of the world's problems, in a transparent way using Blockchain's advanced technology
The Peace Forum is the second annual event in Paris that aims to find solutions to global challenges, demographic issues, migration and threats to democracy.
Speaking at the opening in La Villette in Paris, EC President-elect Ursula von der Leyen reminded the audience of the recent 30-year celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a moment in history when a divided Europe came together, and said her vision is to further "reconcile the divisions”.
She also expressed her goal for a “stable and responsible leadership”.
---
Ludo Segers is a Paris based photojournalist with a particular interest in international politics and economics.
