The award ceremony will take place on September 11 at 4:30 PM at the Klaipėda County Ieva Simonaitytė Public Library. This year, five works from Kaunas University of Technology, Klaipėda University, and Vilnius University have been nominated for the award. They explore different themes of Lithuania’s relationship with the sea – from maritime training and maritime identity to changes in coastal and lagoon settlements, maritime themes in literature, and the geopolitics of the Königsberg region.
The award was established in 2023 and is presented annually on September 11 – the anniversary of Professor Kazys Pakštas’s death. It is given for scientific works on maritime themes in the fields of history, geopolitics, international relations, social geography, and other social and humanities sciences.
“We chose the name Kazys Pakštas for the award because of his contributions to Lithuanian maritime thought. He systematically developed the idea of Lithuania as a maritime state during the interwar period. And although 100 years have passed since then, unfortunately, doubts about our country’s maritime identity are still often heard,” says Romualdas Adomavičius, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of Collections at the Lithuanian Sea Museum, historian.
According to him, the award is not only a way to recognize the work of young researchers but also an opportunity to continue the discussion started by K. Pakštas about Lithuania’s place by the sea.
After the award ceremony, there will be a conversation with actor Aleksas Kazanavičius, who portrayed Professor Feliksas Gruodis in Karolis Kaupinis’s film “Nova Lituania” – a character whose prototype is Kazys Pakštas. The film tells about a very difficult time for Lithuania – 1939, developing the idea of a backup Lithuania raised by K. Pakštas.
The professor, earlier than the then state leaders, identified neighboring Lithuanian states as the main threats to independence and proposed the idea of finding new territories where Lithuanians could survive as a nation in times of unrest. The professor sought ways to save Lithuanian statehood.
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According to A. Kazanavičius, the hero he portrays is not a dreamer living in the clouds.
“My hero is a visionary, but calling him a dreamer hanging in the clouds would be incorrect. He very realistically assessed Lithuania’s situation, which politicians did not, and proposed measures that, in his understanding, were well considered.
These were not empty ramblings: let’s save ourselves, let’s do something. He sought practical ways to implement them, convincing those around him. It was obvious to him that Lithuania faced a tragic fate in 1939, but many pragmatists, not dreamers, unfortunately, failed to understand this,” says the actor.
Kazys Pakštas (1893–1960) was a geographer, traveler, public figure, pioneer of professional geography in Lithuania, and one of the most consistent promoters of the idea of a maritime Lithuania. He emphasized the political, geopolitical, economic, social, and cultural importance of the sea to Lithuania.
The presentation of the Professor Kazys Pakštas Award and the conversation with Aleksas Kazanavičius will take place on September 11 at 4:30 PM at the Klaipėda County Ieva Simonaitytė Public Library.
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