On April 28, the traditional “Songs from Exile” song festival was held at the Varėna Cultural Center.
The 2026 festival, which commemorates songs sung by deportees, political prisoners, and participants in partisan war, was attended by representatives from 18 Lithuanian schools. Some of these schools have Tolerance Education Centers.
At the event’s opening, Milda Padegimaitė, the principal of the “Ąžuolas” Gymnasium in Varėna, expressed her delight that the festival had entered its second decade and had truly become a tradition. Ronaldas Račinskas, head of the Secretariat of the International Commission, reminded the audience that “today, a lesson in music, history, and the Lithuanian language is taking place in Varėna, but no one will receive a grade for it.”
Emanuelis Zingeris, a signatory of the Act of Independence of Lithuania, the chairman of the International Commission, and a member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, came to thank the teachers and students. He invited the entire hall to repeat the most important word to us: LIE-TU-VA. Members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, Jurgita Šukevičienė and Daiva Ulbinaitė; Gvidas Rutkauskas, Chairman of the Union of deportees; and residents of Varėna—including former deportees, employees of the Varėna District Municipality, and the Varėna town community—attended the festival.
The song festival concluded with the organizers expressing their hope of meeting again in Varėna next spring to sing together.
The “Songs from Exile” song festival is organized by the Secretariat of the International Commission in collaboration with the Tolerance Education Center at Varėna’s “Ąžuolas” Gymnasium.
