Miniblog from Vilnius
Door: Jolijn
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Jolijn
14 Oktober 2016 | Litouwen, Vilnius
Today, Friday 14 October 2016 was the second day of the International Consultation on the Right of Everyone to Mental Health, to support the work, and in particular the upcoming 2017 report, of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health, Mr. Dainius Puras.
It was a long day full of inspiring discussions, and I also had my second presentation, which went very well. I got positive feedback again. (Happy me!)
I have chosen to work on my blog report after I get home, since my time here is very limited, and I wanted to meet with Lina again, rather than sitting alone in my hotel room working. So after today’s very interesting meeting, Maths and Lina and I walked through the centre of Vilnius. We went to a dining room in Sovjet style, to have a drink and some nice food. It was simple though cosy, cheap though good, and a very nice and special experience. Then we walked a bit more, to see the St Peter and Paul’s Church, but it was already closed. However, the University Psychiatric Hospital (mental health centre) was located right next to it, so we decided to walk over its compounds, while Lina explained it’s structure. That was very interesting. The institution has been renovated in 2005 with European Social Funds and the Norway Grants. So now the place looks better, but it still is a facility to segregate people from the community, which is not in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Changing the practice of institutionalization remains a challenge.
We couldn’t access any buildings, and it was dark, so after our walk, we headed back to the city centre of Vilnius, and brought Maths back to his hotel. Then Lina and I were invited to visit a friend of Lina, and she offered us all kinds of delicious food and bites, and we had a nice time there. Around 10 PM we took a bus back into the city centre, and Lina brought me to my hotel. It had been so great to spent some quality time with Lina during my free time in Vilnius. I am happy that I will see her again next month, at the ENUSP empowerment seminar in Berlin. We said goodbye.
And now it’s close to midnight. Tomorrow morning my flight will depart very early, so I will have to get up very early, and again, I won’t have time for a long night of sleep. I will catch up at home during the weekend.
So this is a miniblog. The rest will come later. I will go to sleep now, since I have an important Birthday-party to attend tomorrow after I get home :)
It has been a great experience here in Vilnius.
It was a long day full of inspiring discussions, and I also had my second presentation, which went very well. I got positive feedback again. (Happy me!)
I have chosen to work on my blog report after I get home, since my time here is very limited, and I wanted to meet with Lina again, rather than sitting alone in my hotel room working. So after today’s very interesting meeting, Maths and Lina and I walked through the centre of Vilnius. We went to a dining room in Sovjet style, to have a drink and some nice food. It was simple though cosy, cheap though good, and a very nice and special experience. Then we walked a bit more, to see the St Peter and Paul’s Church, but it was already closed. However, the University Psychiatric Hospital (mental health centre) was located right next to it, so we decided to walk over its compounds, while Lina explained it’s structure. That was very interesting. The institution has been renovated in 2005 with European Social Funds and the Norway Grants. So now the place looks better, but it still is a facility to segregate people from the community, which is not in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Changing the practice of institutionalization remains a challenge.
We couldn’t access any buildings, and it was dark, so after our walk, we headed back to the city centre of Vilnius, and brought Maths back to his hotel. Then Lina and I were invited to visit a friend of Lina, and she offered us all kinds of delicious food and bites, and we had a nice time there. Around 10 PM we took a bus back into the city centre, and Lina brought me to my hotel. It had been so great to spent some quality time with Lina during my free time in Vilnius. I am happy that I will see her again next month, at the ENUSP empowerment seminar in Berlin. We said goodbye.
And now it’s close to midnight. Tomorrow morning my flight will depart very early, so I will have to get up very early, and again, I won’t have time for a long night of sleep. I will catch up at home during the weekend.
So this is a miniblog. The rest will come later. I will go to sleep now, since I have an important Birthday-party to attend tomorrow after I get home :)
It has been a great experience here in Vilnius.
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
