Organizers of IBSS 2012 welcome you!
There’s an interesting read on the “Baltic region” term… the idea of “Yule Land” is an article written by Pärtel Piirimäe addresses the issue of the “Baltic Region” term, its historical and geopolitical meaning and future possibilities. It looks into different versions and names of the Region through the years and attempts to explain why each of them has been used at a particle moment in time.
The article is trying to project the future trends as well, mainly where the countries are heading, how they see themselves and how other countries see themselves. Geopolitical questions are important both for political course but also for every person’s identity questions which now become more actual.
Europe Day is an annual celebration of peace and unity in Europe. There are two separate designations of Europe Day: 5 May for the Council of Europe, and 9 May for the European Union. For the EU, the day is also known as Schuman Day, commemorating the historical declaration by French foreign minister Robert Schuman. Europe Day is one of a number of European symbols designed to foster unity among Europeans.
9 May is celebrated in various forms in most Member states of the EU and EU candidate countries such as Turkey. Due to the political nature of the day, it sees attempts at teaching people about the European Union and speaking in support of European integration. The flag as another symbol plays a major role in general celebrations.
Here is a quarterly scholarly journal and news magazine from the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES) - the Baltic Worlds.
And other sources:
Would you like to see Skype offices from the inside? And meet the people, ask them questions face to face? I know I would.
Skype was founded in 2003 by Janus Friis from Denmark and Niklas Zennström from Sweden. Software for Skype was developed by Estonians Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn, who were also behind the peer-to-peer file sharing software Kazaa. Skype has 663 million registered users as of September 2011. Skype network is operated by Microsoft, which has its Skype division headquarters in Luxembourg.
Most of the development team and 44% of the overall employees of the division are situated in the offices of Tallinn and Tartu, Estonia. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system. Skype has also become popular for its additional features which include instant messaging, file transfer, and videoconferencing.
From 1991 Arginta has been working in the field of metal processing, its main activity. Arginta is specialized in non-standart products and export more than 99 percent of production. In 1995 the company started water improvement and wastewater management activities and in 2009 one more additional field - renewable energy - was added to its activities.
In 2011 Arginta opened the biggest in Baltic States 149 kW solar energy research complex. For optimization of production, processes Arginta follows the philosophy of advanced production (LEAN Manufacturing) and TOC management philosophy.
In 2011 Deloitte named Arginta one of the fastest growing companies in Technology Fast50 awards.
Swedbank is the leading bank in Sweden and the Baltics offering a full range of financial services for private individuals, corporates and organisations. Outside Swedbank’s home markets they operate in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Western Russia, Luxembourg, Ukraine, USA and China. Swedbank has its roots in the Swedish savings bank tradition dating back to 1820.
Working close with their customers and the local society (focusing on close customer relationships and personal advice) has been their focus from the start. Purpose of Swedbank is to promote a sound and sustainable financial situation for the many. This implies working for a balanced economy that ensures the well-being of the individual as well as society as a whole. Swedbank is a full-service bank for both private individuals and companies in the home markets.
Swedbank’s core business serves a majority of private individuals as well as small- and medium-sized companies.
Earth Day is a day early each year on which events are held worldwide to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth’s natural environment. Earth Day is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network and is celebrated in more than 175 countries every year. In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 International Mother Earth Day.Earth Day is planned for April 22 in all years at least through 2015.
Earth Day flag or Ecology flag was created by artist and cartoonist Ron Cobb in 1969 as a result of environmental movement of the 1960’s.
In Latvia, we will visit Cēsu Alus brewery - alcohol beverage producer in Cēsis, Latvia. As the roots of the brewery dates back in 1590, Cēsu Alus is considered to be the oldest brewery in Baltic and Nordic countries.
Latvia’s national beverage, beer, has been brewed in Cēsis since late 16th century. Brewers have plied their trade here for more than four centuries, safeguarding the ancient beer recipe in great secrecy and passing the traditional secrets of brewing beer from generation to generation. Over the centuries, power and political systems have come and gone, but beer has remained the most effective thirst quencher both during the past and nowadays when beer brewing has become a sector with tremendous potential. For everybody involved, working in this sector is a great honour and responsibility.
Cēsu Alus Beer Brewery has a long and illustrious history as beer was brewed the first time in the Cēsis Castle. In 2003 Cēsu Alus became the second largest beer producer in Latvia.
We will have a chance to visit Vilnius International Airport (VIA) which is an independent company since 30 September 1991 and is located on a plateau in the south of Vilnius. It is only 7 km or 15 minutes drive by car from the centre of the capital.
15 airlines operate scheduled flights from Vilnius Airport, one of them operates cargo flights. A few more local and foreign airlines operate charter flights. As air traffic in Lithuania is rather seasonal, summer and winter schedules are compiled. According to the winter schedule, the airport operates around 570 regular flights a week, and according to the summer schedule – around 685 regular flights a week, the rest of the flights are charter flights.
In 2010, Vilnius International Airport served 1,373 million passengers. The aim of the company is to ensure public services while operating Vilnius International Airport and to carry out other activities in order to meet public interests.
