Invitation to an International Conference

June 5-7, 2005

In the immediate aftermath of the liberation of Lithuania the book written by its philosophers for The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (RVP) series “Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change” was entitled Personal Freedom and National Resurgence. This reflected the concern that the attention given to national identity in the struggle to regain independence might begin to interfere with the exercise of the newly emergent personal freedom.

We now face an analogous situation, namely, that of assuring that the universal horizon of globalization not undermine national identity or the quality of life of the citizens.

Hence this conference will explore three related notions: (a) the quality of life as the human realization of the conditions of justice and peace. Together they hold the key cooperation in our time, (b) national and cultural identity as creative expressions of a people, and (c) globalization as the search for cooperation between civilizations.

This is at root the issue of who we are or of identity. Is this best understood principally through a negative contrast to the other, or through distinctive abilities to relate. In the latter case, the quality of life must depend upon an ability not merely to observe and to measure objectively, but new capacities to engage creatively, and to construct patterns of harmony possessed of social justice and aesthetic beauty.

At a second level this requires that the sense of national identity of the people reflect the long development of the pattern of values and virtues which constitute its cultural tradition and explore the modes of its effective application to life in present circumstances.

Finally, in the new global context this calls for the development of ways for diverse civilizations to cooperate in resolving ecological, economic and political issues and more deeply to harmonize the diversity of cultures.

Contact

Jurate Morkuniene

UNESCO Chair in Culture of Peace and Democracy

Mykolas Romeris University 

Ateities St. 20, LT-08303 Vilnius

Lithuania

E-mail: utkdk@ltu.lt