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During the official ceremony in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, art historian Ginta Gerharde-Upeniece was awarded the Baltic Assembly (BA) Prize for the Arts for organising the international exhibition series Wild Souls. Symbolism in the Art of the Baltic States.
The BA Prize for Literature was awarded to Estonian author Vahur Afanasjev for his novel Serafima ja Bogdan, where the author, who passed away in 2021, describes in vivid detail the life of a unique community near Europe’s eastern border as they are waiting for the day of reckoning.
The BA Prize for Science was awarded to Lithuanian scientist Virginijus Šikšnys for exceptional achievements in biomedical sciences—his pioneering research in CRISPR‑Cas9 genome editing.
The nominees were evaluated by nine experts in literature, the arts, and science from Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. The monetary value of each prize is EUR 5000. The BA Prize was established in 1994.
During the ceremony, the Baltic Innovation Prize was awarded to the Lithuanian company iDenfy, which provides identity verification services. In addition, the Baltic Innovation Prize diplomas were awarded to the information technology company INTEGRIS from Latvia and Estonian company BISLY specialising in smart solutions in construction.
Moreover, BA medals for special merit in upholding the unity and cooperation of the Baltic states were awarded to Member of the Saeima and member of the Latvian Delegation to the BA Regīna Ločmele, University of Latvia professor Andris Levāns, and Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport of Latvia Dins Merirands.
BA medals were also awarded to the president of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas) Viktorija Čmilytė‑Nielsen, Chair of the Seimas Committee on Culture Vytautas Juozapaitis, and Member of the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu), former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Urmas Reinsalu.
In addition, the medals were awarded to the President of the BA Andrius Kupčinskas, Secretary General of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference Bodo Bahr, Head of the Azerbaijani Delegation to the GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova) Parliamentary Assembly Azer Karimli, and Communication Manager of the Estonian Song and Dance Celebration Foundation Sten Weidebaum.
About the Baltic Assembly:
The Baltic Assembly is an inter-parliamentary cooperation organisation of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania established on 8 November 1991. The Baltic Assembly consists of national delegations—12 to 16 members from each country’s parliament. It is a coordinating and consultative organisation which has a right to express its opinion to the national parliaments and governments of the Baltic States, as well as the Baltic Council of Ministers, in the form of resolutions, decisions, declarations and recommendations; it also has a right to request the above-mentioned bodies to provide information on cross-border issues that are high on the Baltic Assembly’s agenda.
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Saeima Press Service