A few months ago we sent you a letter to announce that the next Congress would take place this September in Riga, Latvia. As you might expect, because of the difficulties involving the COVID19 pandemic, there is no other choice but to cancel the event for this year. We hope that the situation will be very different in 2021, and we will continue our conversation with our friends from Latvia about the possibility of still having the next Congress there. I hope that you, your families and communities are all in good health, and I trust we will be able to see each other again soon.
The National Awards of Equality and Diversity in Lithuania were presented on June 4, 2020. We are proud to announce that the prize for diversity of religions and beliefs went to the old Baltic religious community of Romuva. The community has been praised for its determination to defend the rights of its religious community and for recognition by the state. Romuva appealed to the European Court of Human Rights and noted that although it met all the requirements of Lithuanian law, the Seimas did not grant state recognition to this religious community. ECER wishes to support Romuva with their demand for recognition and would like to congratulate Romuva on this deserved prize.
