This year, the focus is on the injuries of war veterans and ways to overcome them. Already on May 21 the highest level experts in warfare, psychology and diplomacy from Great Britain, the USA, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Georgia and Ukraine will come to Kaunas to share their knowledge with the conference participants.
The conference will be opened by the rector of Vytautas Magnus University (VDU), Prof. Juozas Augutis and Deputy Minister of National Defense Žilvinas Tomkus. The first speaker at the conference will be British historian, writer and commentator Timothy Garton Ash, to whom VDU plans to present an honorary doctorate the day before. T. Garton Ash – Professor of European Studies at the University of Oxford. Most of his work deals with modern European history, with a particular focus on Central and Eastern Europe.
The following will also speak at the “Hidden Wounds of War” conference in Kaunas, which is organized by the A. Sakharov Democracy Development Research Center of VMU:
Roméo Dallaire is a long-time retired Canadian politician and military officer, a lieutenant general in the Canadian Armed Forces. 1993-1994 he served as a United Nations peacekeeper in Rwanda trying to stop the genocide.
Simon Wessely – Professor of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, Vice-Dean of Academic Psychiatry, Director of the Royal Military Health Research Centre.
Rachel Thibeault is a Canadian therapist, professor, community builder and health and social justice activist who has worked with victims of war in Sierra Leone, people with AIDS in Zambia and leprosy in Ethiopia, and people with physical disabilities in Nicaragua.
Prof. Dr. Eric Vermetten is a clinical psychiatrist working with veterans and other uniformed officers as a strategic research advisor for the Military Mental Health Service of the Dutch Ministry of Defense and the ARQ National Psychotrauma Center.
Dr. Stephanie Houle is a researcher who recently completed her doctoral studies in clinical psychology at the University of Ottawa. Her main research interest is the psychological impact of morally damaging military experiences.
“Such speakers are extremely rare guests in Lithuania. But we are very glad that we managed to persuade them. All of them are convinced that it is now very important to help the people who are fighting in Ukraine, so they are willing to share their knowledge with mental health professionals in Eastern Europe. We made sure that 60 specialists from Ukraine could come to this year’s conference and training. These trainings are especially important for them, we are grateful to all sponsors who financed their arrival and accommodation”, said the director of the A. Sakharov Center, prof. Robert van Voren.
Three panel discussions will also take place during the conference, where about fifteen experts from various fields from abroad and Lithuania will share their insights.
The conference “Hidden Wounds of war” will be held on May 21. in the “Romuvos” cinema. It is free and will be held in English with Ukrainian translation. Anyone can register at: https://sakharovconference.org/. The number of participants is limited.
More than 60 mental health specialists from Ukraine will be brought to Kaunas to gain valuable knowledge. After the conference, two more special closed events await them, where participants will gain practical knowledge on how to help war veterans.
The training is organized by the organization Human Rights in the Field of Mental Health – FGIP in cooperation with IOM Ukraine.
