Belgian Royal Family to Visit VMU

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, who will pay a state visit to Lithuania, will also visit Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) on 26 October.

In the morning, the Royal Family, together with the First Lady Diana Nausėdienė, the Rector of VMU Prof. Dr. Juozas Augutis, and the Ambassador of Ukraine to Lithuania Petro Beshta, will visit the Centre of Ukraine established at the VMU Education Academy, and will also meet with the Ukrainian community in Lithuania. In the afternoon, the Royal Family will arrive in Kaunas, where they will meet with the leadership of VMU at the Rectorate building. King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium will also visit the exhibition “5X5®“ – „Stories of Design Innovation: from Kortrijk to Kaunas“, held at the renovated VMU Teacher Training Centre, where they will have the opportunity to get acquainted with 5 Belgian and 5 Lithuanian design stories.

Thanks to the Flemish Government and Kaunas 2022, in 2021-2022, Kaunas had the opportunity to apply the licensed design innovation programme 5X5®, implemented by Designregio Kortrijk for more than 10 years, which aims to increase the competitiveness of small and medium-sized companies by connecting businesses with designers and developing innovative, out-of-the-box products and services.

“Design is a powerful tool when looking for non-standard solutions for the development of innovative products and services, as well as for their commercial success, and for penetrating and establishing oneself in the Lithuanian and foreign markets,” says the curator of the exhibition, Associate Professor at the VMU Faculty of Arts Jūratė Tutlytė.

Together with the Royal Family, a large Belgian delegation will be arriving in Lithuania, comprising representatives of the business and academic community, including the rectors and presidents of 9 Belgian universities and institutes.

King Philippe of Belgium and his wife are coming to Lithuania at the invitation of President Gitanas Nausėda, on the occasion of the centennial of the establishment of relations between Lithuania and the Kingdom of Belgium. One hundred years ago, in 1922, the University of Lithuania was also founded in Kaunas, where university studies in the Lithuanian language were first introduced. It was the first Lithuanian higher education institution that laid the foundations for modern universities in the country.

From 24 to 31 October, the exhibition is open to everyone. The exhibition is on display at the VMU Teacher Training Centre, 1st floor lobby (K. Donelaičio g. 52, Kaunas). On 26 October, the exhibition will not be open to the public due to the visit of the Royal Family.