In the capital of Lithuania, every tenth person who has declared their place of residence is a foreigner. Open Vilnius'22, a festival organized for the first time in Vilnius for foreign citizens living in the capital, gathered almost 500 participants. Although they chose Vilnius for their life for different reasons, they face similar challenges when integrating into the life of the capital.
At the festival organized for the first time, there was no shortage of praise for Vilnius - mostly foreigners like the capital because of its compactness, greenery, coziness and people who are friendly and helpful. However, according to most, making friends quickly and integrating into the life of the locals is not an easy task. From JAV arrived dr. Stephen Jones joked that when he came to live in the capital, the neighbors were not the first to greet him, but the situation changed drastically when he and his wife bought a dog - a beloved pet, and later the whole neighborhood began to greet him.
Fabian Sanchez, who arrived from South America 9 years ago, admitted that it took time for him to get used to the colder climate of our country and to get used to Lithuanians who are closed at first glance. "Only after I started working for a large company did I see their true faces - they were very hospitable, it turns out that you had to give them time," said the Ecuadorian F. Sanchez.
Thibaud Catry, who came from France and has been living in Vilnius for 13 years, was full of praise for the capital's restaurants. "I am happy to see how the face of Vilnius is changing precisely through culinary experiences and restaurant culture. That's what I missed when I was far from my hometown", said T. Catry. When asked why he chose Vilnius to live, Thibaud answers simply: Vilnius is the quality of life. "As a Frenchman, many people ask me - why not France? And my answer is very simple: I would spend 4 hours there every day in traffic jams, and if I spontaneously decided to hang out in nature, it would be very complicated. The compactness of the city of Vilnius allows you to avoid the "work - home - sleep - work" regime. Here, nature is within reach".
61 thousand people live in Vilnius. foreigners
Inga Romanovskienė, head of Vilnius city tourism and business development agency Go Vilnius, says that the idea for such a festival was dictated by foreigners living in Vilnius. A survey of foreigners living in the capital city conducted this summer showed that it is difficult for a foreigner to integrate into the Vilnius community without learning the Lithuanian language.
A survey of foreigners living in the capital, conducted by the Go Vilnius agency, showed that 4 out of 5 foreigners are satisfied with life in the capital, although some of the arriving people still face various problems. Citizens of other countries often experience difficulties in finding employment or housing, using services, and perhaps most of all they lack the opportunity to learn the Lithuanian language and opportunities to join the activities of local communities. It is true that, comparing the results of last year and the latest survey, positive changes are evident.
"The latest statistics show that more than 61 foreigners have declared their place of residence in Vilnius, which means that every tenth Vilnius resident has come from abroad. Foreign citizens come to Vilnius not only to work, but also to live with their families. It is natural that when people arrive, they use all the services, seek educational opportunities and try to tame the city little by little. We want every person who comes to Vilnius to feel welcome, to be able to integrate more easily not only into the working environment, but also into the activities of local communities, and to feel at home in the capital," says the head of the International House Vilnius relocation and integration service center for foreigners. Agnes Camara.
According to her, "International House Vilnius" has already taken several initiatives that help integrate foreign citizens into the Vilnius community. For example, the implemented mentoring program "BeFriend Vilnius" helped for Ukrainians it is faster and easier to make friends with the townspeople, to find local friends. Every citizen of Vilnius can become a mentor or register to receive mentors' help, the success of the program led to the expansion of the activity, including other foreign citizens who came to Lithuania, and the "Open Vilnius'22" festival provided an opportunity to get to know the people living here, share their experiences and get inspiration from others. Foreigner relocation and integration service center "International House Vilnius" was established in 2021 as a joint initiative of the Vilnius city tourism and business development agency "Go Vilnius" and the talent attraction program "Work in Lithuania", which encourages foreign talents to pursue a career in Lithuania. By concentrating the services of the most important institutions in one place, International House Vilnius has already helped more than 10 thousand foreigners who chose to work and live in the capital.
