Valerijus Simulik, Chairman of the Committee, who presided over the meeting, associated himself with other speakers by referring to the changed geopolitical situation in Europe and highlighted that new threats were leading to a shift in attitudes to civil protection and public education.
The main subject of the debate was presented by Antanas Valys, Vice-Minister of National Defence. Referring to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, Mr Valys said that modern warfare was not limited to conventional military capabilities. "The control of discourse in the media is especially important as it allows influencing the society. As a result, we find ourselves fighting the information war," he said. According to the Vice-Minister, these factors have an impact on how Lithuania strengthens its defence. "All in all, the overall preparedness of the citizens for defence becomes a matter of national security. The notion of civil resistance is expanding. Armed resistance is just one of the ways among a variety of means that citizens may employ to withstand an aggressor. It could also include words, computers, social media, and all things imaginable," Mr Valys said.
The Vice-Minister of National Defence stressed that one of the top priorities of national defence was civic education at secondary school level. He pointed out that a principled political decision to enhance children's education in civics and defence issues had been adopted. Mandatory civic education at school is to be reinforced. There are intentions to invest into teacher competences in this field. For the coming academic year, the Military Academy of Lithuania and the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences are preparing a new study programme on History and Civil Education Training for prospective teachers.
While presenting achievements, the representative of the Ministry of National Defence said that last year about 1.000 senior pupils got acquainted with military equipment and weapons and had classes on state defence. Annually, representatives of the armed forces and the Ministry of National Defence visit about 400 schools in the country, shedding some light on threats to national security and making presentations on methods of civil resistance and promoting military service in the army.
"In the field of youth education, a critical role is played by the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union," Mr Valys stressed. He went on to emphasise the growing role and public visibility of EU membership. Over the past year, almost 500 new members joined the Riflemen's Union. In addition, the young riflemen training programme and the summer camp project are gaining momentum. At present, there are 164 local units across the country with over four thousand young participants.
The Member of the BA Education, Science and Culture Committee Irena Šiaulienė, who also participated in the meeting, expressed her support to the invigoration of public debate on civil defence and civic awareness and to the practical steps made in this regard. In her view, public security and defence education programmes in the Baltic States are not only desirable but also necessary.
After the committee meeting in Šiauliai University, participants will go to the Lithuanian Air Force Aviation Base to get acquainted with the NATO air policing mission.
The documents, conclusions and recommendations from the BA Education, Science and Culture Committee meeting will be submitted to the Baltic Assembly for consideration.
On 1 January 2015, Lithuania took over the Presidency of the Baltic Assembly. This year, the Seimas plans to hold 14 international events, with the majority of them hosted by the Seimas in Vilnius and four of them held in Kaunas, Klaipėda, Palanga and Šiauliai.
The Lithuanian Presidency adopted the slogan For a Growing and United Baltic Region and set the following priorities: developing a growing and credible Baltic Region; secure Baltic Region; a sustainable and competitive society in the Region; and the Baltic Region in the world: development of regional networks.
The Baltic Assembly is an international organisation for cooperation among the parliaments of the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Estonia, and the Republic of Latvia, established in Tallinn on 8 November 1991. The headquarters of its Secretariat is based in Riga, Latvia (http://baltasam.org/en/).
The term of presidency of the Baltic Assembly is one calendar year and the presidency is held alternately by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
