To Vilnius – not only Gediminas Castle to see: the capital attracts the curious with its exceptional coffee and production innovations | Life

On May 19, the social initiative “Kavos galia” will come from Vilnius to Druskininkis for a short time. The event “What power does coffee have. Close your eyes!’, people will be waiting for a meeting with the volunteers of this initiative and sincere conversations over a free cup of coffee. The event will take place in the Druskonis amphitheater.

In the meantime, residents and guests of the capital are invited to visit the Manufacturing Innovation Valley on May 24, where they will be treated to a “Take Your Eyes” excursion to the Manufacturing Innovation Valley in Vilnius.”

Both events are free, but a tour of the Manufacturing Innovation Valley requires registration.

People with disabilities felt part of society

Some Vilnius residents have certainly seen a car with the inscription “Coffee power” at one or another city festival. But perhaps not everyone knows that behind this phrase is hidden a noble social initiative, which became a reality with the help of the EU 5 years ago.

The social initiative “The Power of Coffee” is one of the projects partially supported by the EU Social Fund, which took place in 2019-2020. The aim of this project was to encourage people with intellectual disabilities to be in society and to promote their pre-work skills on the principle of volunteering”, – 15 minutes says Ramunė Lebedytė-Undzėnienė, who led the project.

As the interviewer points out, this initiative was born from the desire to show that people with intellectual disabilities are equal members of society, capable of creating added value, and there is no need to hide for them.

“Not all of us are ballerinas, not all of us are athletes, not all of us are singers, but each of us has a talent for something. If a person has the talent to make delicious coffee, why not let him do it?” says R. Lebedytė-Undzėnienė.

During the project, 15 young people with intellectual disabilities took turns driving around various cultural, religious and entertainment events and serving coffee to passers-by. For many of the volunteers, such an experience – going out into the city – was the first in their life, they had to work up the courage to ask a person what kind of coffee he would like. However, after just a few months, the challenges for “Coffee Power” are no longer there.

“Even those who were afraid to be in the city, among people, or were afraid that they wouldn’t be able to make coffee, that they wouldn’t learn, that they wouldn’t be able to, they believed in their own strength,” says the project manager.

However, she points out, the ability to make coffee itself was really only a very small part of the whole project. The very essence was the involvement of people with intellectual disabilities in the community, the development of their independence. For example, young people even learned to go to the right place in the city by themselves, without the help of relatives.

“At the same time, they participated in celebrations, visited exhibitions and concerts. All this was the introduction of young people into society, into that life which they may not have known before,” adds R. Lebedytė-Undzėnienė.

The mission undertaken by “Kavos galia” did not go unnoticed by the country’s authorities. in 2020 in the awards of the most significant EU-funded projects, “European Sails”, this initiative was awarded the award for investments in people.

The interviewee is glad that after the end of the project, the “Kavos galia” initiative itself did not spread. Its volunteers, which are increasing every year, are invited by various cities, companies and organizations to their celebrations during the warm season. They have been able to make coffee even in the Presidency.

R. Lebedytė-Undzēnienė sees the fact that people with intellectual disabilities are so welcome at various events as a sign that our society is becoming more and more tolerant.

“Sometimes people don’t even realize that people with individual needs make their coffee until you tell them yourself. They just come for coffee. It’s great that we are among everyone, not in a corner somewhere, doing the same thing as everyone else.

When we started this activity, there were all kinds of fears and insecurities, but now I see that it was a really very successful project, executed very correctly and on time,” says the woman.

The center addresses the challenges facing manufacturing companies

EU investments significantly contributed to the emergence of the 5,000 square meter Manufacturing Innovation Valley Digital Innovation Center in Vilnius – the first innovation space in the Baltic region for manufacturing companies that want to develop their businesses in an innovative environment, create digital technologies, integrate them into the prototypes of the products being developed and at the same time to test innovative ideas.

How 15 minutes says Jolanta Zubkauskienė, head of the development of the Manufacturing Innovation Valley, the idea for this project was born back in 2017, after seeing that the world is paying more and more attention to the digitization or robotization services needed by manufacturing companies under one roof. It was decided that such a center is needed in Lithuania as well.

According to the interlocutor, the vision of the production innovation valley perfectly corresponded to the EU’s imagination of what basic technologies will be needed by manufacturing companies in the future. Therefore, after submitting the application, the idea was evaluated with high marks and it was possible to receive support. The valley was founded after investing almost 10 million. euros, half of which were private, own funds, and the rest – Lithuanian state and EU funds.

According to J. Zubkauskienė, the building was not only built with this money, but also part of the equipment needed for the production of prototypes was purchased, innovative services were created for manufacturers, and ecosystem management instruments were installed.

“The project continued for more than 3 years. It was not easy, but it turned out great – we have all laboratories fully occupied, 15 production and technological companies have been established. What’s unique is that you won’t find a single technological company performing the same activity under one roof with us”, asserts the specialist.

Currently, a total of 15 laboratories are functioning in the valley. They demonstrate, test or develop optoelectronics, robotics and digitization, micromachining, sensor technology, thermal imaging and digital monitoring, laser welding, digital and virtual twin solutions, improve technology and create innovations.

According to J. Zubkauskienė, products created with the help of these technologies are successfully used by representatives of various production areas. Here, for example, in the chemical industry, a cobot robot is integrated into the production of chemical compounds, and in the food industry, artificial intelligence and video cameras are integrated into the visual inspection of products.

“Manufacturing company representatives often come and say: you know, we still have women standing by the conveyors and doing quality checks with their eyes – they check whether the manufactured product is good or bad. If it’s good, you push your hand to the right, if it’s bad – to the left,” says J. Zubkauskienė, assuring that such tedious processes can be completely eliminated.

“Two robots have been integrated that assess the quality faster than a human and eliminate those products or their elements that are defective. It saves money and frees people up. Thus, a person can devote his mind, intelligence and work to more important, creative activities”, says the interviewer.

Hinting about what awaits the Valley of Manufacturing Innovations in the future, she reveals that the center plans to expand and build new buildings – there is definitely a need for that.

“Manufacturing covers very broad areas, and digital technologies are necessary for everyone. Our services help companies to eliminate the so-called red zones, that is, what is difficult, what is unpredictable, where cost savings can be made. I like to say: if a manufacturing company has a problem, let them come to the center, we will find a solution”, says J. Zubkauskienė.

If you decide to come to Vilnius to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Lithuania’s membership in the EU, we suggest visiting more interesting places: from the Palace of the Lords, the Television Tower, the Užupis Republic, MO Museum and VU Botanical Garden in Kairenai to the perhaps lesser-known Lukiškių Prison 2.0, Bernardinų Cemetery, Tuputiškii Serpentine and Necktie Bridge.

Map of “Close your eyes” events in Vilnius

We have marked the event locations with yellow icons on the map below. Blue icons – recommended places to visit. A large part of them was revived, was or is being managed thanks to EU investments.

“UžmESk akės” is a series of open-door events initiated by the Central Project Management Agency (CPVA) of the Public Enterprise, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Lithuania’s membership in the European Union. On three weekends in May, representatives of both the public and private sectors, who have successfully used and are using the opportunities provided by EU investments, will open the doors of their companies and institutions.