Irena Veisaitė’s Contribution to Democracy and Open Society Will Be Honored with a Memorial Lecture Series
On 16 January, the Open Lithuania Foundation will launch a new lecture series dedicated to the memory of Professor Irena Veisaitė. The inaugural lecture will be delivered by the Canadian professor and public intellectual Michael Ignatieff, who will invite the audience to rethink the future of liberal democracy, societal resilience, and the idea of freedom. The lecture will take place at the Aula Parva of Vilnius University.
“This initiative by the Open Lithuania Foundation took shape as an effort to preserve and continue the legacy of Professor Irena Veisaitė – one of the founders of the Foundation. She devoted particular attention to building an open society and strengthening a free Lithuania through books, education, culture, and scholarship. Each year, outstanding thinkers from around the world will be invited to deliver a lecture that reflects the values she championed and encourages discussion on liberal democracy and the principles of an open society,” said Sandra Adomavičiūtė, Director of the Open Lithuania Foundation.
At the inaugural lecture, the audience will be welcomed by the Ambassador of Canada to Lithuania, Janet Sautner, and the Rector of Vilnius University, Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas. Following Prof. Michael Ignatieff’s lecture, entitled “Embattled Freedom: Reinventing the Liberal Ideal for the 21st Century,” a discussion moderated by Veisaitė’s grandson Michael Slavinsky will take place.
The visual identity of the memorial lecture series was created by another grandson of Irena Veisaitė, Daniel Slavinsky. The lectures are planned to be held annually, symbolically marking Veisaitė’s birthday on 9 January.
Irena Veisaitė was one of the most influential intellectual figures of modern Lithuania. She combined academic work with civic responsibility, contributing to the moral foundations that supported Lithuania’s democratic transformation. Colleagues and friends often referred to her as a spiritus movens – the driving force behind the creation of an open society in Lithuania in the 1990s and beyond.
Veisaitė was a beacon of tolerance and dialogue. She believed in steady work and patience, in forgiveness and rebuilding. She viewed honest engagement and reconciliation with the Holocaust and Soviet repression as essential preconditions for freedom. Her work and legacy transcended national borders, and her contributions were recognized both in Lithuania and abroad.
This year, on 16 January at 3:00 p.m., the inaugural lecture by Prof. Michael Ignatieff will take place at the Aula Parva of Vilnius University (Universiteto St. 3). The event is organized by the Open Lithuania Foundation in partnership with Vilnius University, the Embassy of Canada to Lithuania, and Irena Veisaitė’s family and colleagues.
About the Speaker
Michael Ignatieff is one of the world’s leading liberal thinkers – a historian, essayist, and public intellectual who has spent decades examining how people search for dignity and decency in turbulent times. As President and Rector of the Central European University (CEU) from 2016 to 2021, he guided the university through a landmark battle for academic freedom after Hungary’s government sought to curb its independence. His leadership turned CEU into a global symbol of civic courage and the defense of truth – values central to both the Open Society Foundations and Veisaitė’s vision of a humane and open Lithuania.
A former Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Member of Parliament, Ignatieff has taught at Harvard, Cambridge, Toronto, and CEU Vienna. Like Irena Veisaitė – who inspired generations of Lithuanian students even under Soviet censorship – he views teaching as a moral act: a way to awaken critical thought and civic responsibility. For both, the classroom has always been a space of quiet resistance and hope.
A recipient of the Dan David Prize for his defense of democracy and human rights, Ignatieff continues to speak and write on how liberal societies can withstand growing political and cultural authoritarianism. His Vilnius lecture will explore how new authoritarian currents in Europe and North America challenge the moral foundations of democracy – reshaping truth, culture, and civic trust – and what virtues citizens and institutions must rediscover to keep societies open and humane.
