Baltic studies confab looks at academic cooperation

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A conference on Baltic studies that will bring
together hundreds of international scholars and students of the
region began this week in Washington, D.C.

The 17th biennial conference on Baltic studies, organized by
nonprofit Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, will
take place from June 15 to 17 at Georgetown University.

"Baltic Countries and Their Baltic Neighbors: Redefining
Relationships" is expected to draw 250 professors, researchers and
students from 14 countries, including the United States, Canada, the
Baltic states, Britain, Sweden and others, according to Conference
Chair Arvids Ziedonis.

Besides distinguished scholars, the conference will host Estonian
President Lennart Meri, Latvian and Lithuanian ambassadors to the
United States Aivis Ronis and Stasys Sakalauskas, and the First
Secretary of the Estonian Embassy, Eerik Marmei.

The conference aims to reconsider all the aspects - cultural,
scientific, political, economic, etc. - of the relationships of the
Baltic countries with their neighbors, Ziedonis said.

And, the event will also focus on its long-time goal - to foster a
better mutual understanding and cooperation of academicians concerned
with the questions of Baltic studies, according to Ziedonis.

"With the advent of the new century and new millennium, and as the
world seeks better understanding and a feeling of unity of purpose
for all people inhabiting this planet Earth, we hope that this
conference will attain at least to some degree our aims," Ziedonis
said.

The event is financed by income from registration fees and funds
contributed especially for the conference, according to Ziedonis.
AABS, in cooperation with Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian
organizations, have awarded 18 scholarships to scholars and graduate
students from the Baltic states.

The first conference on Baltic studies, which established the AABS,
took place at the University of Maryland in 1968. Since then, the
organization has promoted research and education in Baltic studies by
sponsoring meetings, conferences and publications. AABS prefers to
hold its biennial conferences in the United States, but smaller
conferences are now also held in Australia, Sweden and the Baltic
states.