Cultural attaché Rasa Rimickaitė recognised for contributions to improving cultural links between Lithuania and Poland
The Jerzy Giedroyc Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation has presented its award this year to the long-time Republic of Lithuania cultural attaché in Poland, Rasa Rimickaitė, for carrying on the tradition of Jerzy Giedroyc, strengthening relations, dialogue and cooperation as well as cultural links between Lithuania and Poland.
In laudatory comments, the Polish writer, literary historian and critic, and president of the Association of Polish Writers, Professor Anna Nasiłowska, wrote: “How are bridges built? So that they would be strong. So that for years and years they would join two riverbanks and so they could be crossed without fear. An engineer does it like this: the engineer draws a design, performs the necessary measurements, taking into consideration the materials and conditions. There are specialised examples, with computer programs to help the engineer. There are many conditions, but the most important thing is the art of building bridges. And how are bridges built between peoples and cultures? There are no examples here to follow. For this, a broad knowledge of culture and history is needed. Intuition is needed. Success depends on many things: a sense of the right moment and an excellent sense of orientation in a multitude of artistic areas: theatre, cinema, photography, literature, classical music, contemporary music, the visual arts, and so on. There is no programme of study that makes you an expert in all of these areas, but it’s essential. Rasa Rimickaitė has mastered this art and has achieved enormous success in building cultural bridges between Lithuania and Poland.”
Joanna Tabor, Doctor of Humanities and head of the Centre for Baltic Studies at the University of Warsaw, noted in her welcoming remarks that Rasa Rimickaitė’s work goes beyond the standard duties of a cultural attaché: she not only implements Lithuanian literature projects in Poland, but she herself translates as well. Together with translator Adam Pomorski, Rimickaitė has translated collections of poems by Kornelijus Platelis and Antanas A. Jonynas into Polish.
“Rasa Rimickaitė supports young translators, cooperating closely with the Centre for Baltic Studies at the University of Warsaw and participating in the development of future generations of Lithuanian researchers and academics, and she also strives to ensure that the cultural activity she initiates would not cease, and instead would become a constant process of cooperation. She has a firm sense of mission and, like a true visionary, thinks about the future and works to make these cultural bridges strong enough to survive the twists and turns of history,” Dr Tabor emphasised.
The Jerzy Giedroyc Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation award was presented to Rimickaitė during the ‘Lublin Four’ Forum 2023, which was devoted to the 700th anniversary of the city of Vilnius. The aim of the Forum, which was organised by the Lithuanian Institute of History and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, is to create a platform for discussions among politicians, public intellectuals, and journalists from the East Central Europe region in order to strengthen mutual academic, cultural and political cooperation, and to support Ukraine’s integration into the European Union and NATO.
Rimickaitė donated the monetary element of the award to the Ukrainian military.
The award is not the first international recognition of Rimickaitė’s work. In 2016, the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage awarded Rimickaitė the silver Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture. This summer, Rimickaitė was presented the Cavalier’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, and the medal “Ubi concordia, ibi victoria” (Where is Unity, There is Victory) for contributions to the city of Gdańsk.
Photograph courtesy of Gintarė Grigėnaitė
Last updated: 31-10-2023