Scandinavian Department Goes On-Line, with Baltics on the Map

The Department of Scandinavian Studies has gone on-line as of this quarter, creating a department homepage with useful links to all of the Nordic and Baltic countries. With a few key strokes on your home computer you can now find out about department news and programs, read about the faculty's latest publications, and access all kinds of information from the Baltic countries. We give some examples here to show what resources await you. In this changing worldly Internet technology is transforming the mission and methods of universities and five are excited about being able to provide information to interested readers in such an open, efficient and innovative way.

The Internet is a network of computers around the world, linked together by ordinary telephone lines and modems. Your home computer can become a part of that network at relatively little expense, through private telecommunications companies like MCI or America On-Line, or through accounts provided by your workplace or school. The great strength of the Internet is that it makes vast amounts of timely information available to users with ease. And unlike conventional telephone communication, link-ups with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania cost only as much as a local phone call, thanks to the ways in which the Internet network operates.

When you type in the address for the Department of Scandinavian Studies homepage (http://depts.washington.edu/scand/) you will see what is from our perspective a thrilling sight: a map of the Nordic-Baltic region, with the flag of each country superimposed. To us, this format symbolizes the important transformations which have gone on in the world and in our department. The Baltic countries are now an the map, and they are on the map with their Nordic neighbors. This is very much thanks to your extraordinary efforts in support of the Baltic Studies Program.

This map, however, is only the beginning of the images and resources available on the Scandinavian Department homepage. By using your computer's mouse to click on any of the map icons, you will immediately be in touch with information about our programs as well as links to an array of resources for each country. Under the Estonian rubric, for instance, you will find timely summaries of the country's major news items in both Estonian and English. Another link provides information on how to do business in Estonia, while yet another provides the user with a comprehensive Estonian-English dictionary. Under the Lithuanian rubric, you can find lists of organizations with homepages on the Internet, daily news concerning Lithuania and its Baltic neighbors, and business and tourist advice for visiting the region.

Of course, once you start "surfing the net," you will find lots of further sites yourself. At the address of the CIESIN Baltics regional Node, for instance, you can find information about Latvian society and history, links to the University of Latvia, Riga Technical University, Daugavpils Pedagogical University, and Rezekne University. The address for Latvia OnLine provides Latvian news on a daily basis. And there are more local addresses to try as well: how about the homepage for the other UW prime-mover in the Baltic Studies movement: the Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies program of the Jackson School? At the REECAS homepage, http://depts.washington.edu/reecas/, you can find information about the REECAS program, Eastern European business, and recent publications in the program's Donald W. Treadgold Papers.

We hope that you will visit these Internet sites and share their addresses with interested friends or colleagues. They are part of our way of serving you, the supporters of the UW Baltic Studies Program.

Lithuanian Independence Day Commemoration Builds New Funds for UW Baltic Program by Irena Blekvs A challenge grant by three Lithuanian-American families to support the Baltic Program at the University of Washington became the focal point for this year's February 16th Independence Day Commemoration for the Lithuanian American Community, Inc. of Washington. This annual celebration is always the Community's largest and most popular event. A letter sent prior to the evening's event explained the importance of responding to the Baltic Program Endowment campaign that night. To enhance the mood for giving, donations that evening would be matched up to $1500 by the Blekys-Johnson, Morkunas, and Raisys families. Additionally, during the evening, two of that night's program guests, Prof. Daniel Waugh and Paul Goble also made generous donations of their own to the Baltic Program Fund. That night and in the days following, Washington Lithuanians enlarged their previous gifts and applied for matching corporate funds. This was an exciting way for the community to generate funds and enthusiasm for the Baltic Studies Program. Aciu!

Latvian Rummage Sale: Grass-Roots Efforts Net New Funds and New Friends for the Baltic Studies Program On March 16 and 17, the Latvian Women's League held a rummage sale and donation drive to benefit the Baltic Program Fund. The event, held at the Latvian Center, was a tremendous success, bringing in more than $3,000! About thirty volunteers collected items, set up and staffed the sale, baked cakes and served coffee. Paldies!

Estonian Book Donation Karen Fairchild, of Philomath, Oregon, recently donated three boxes of Estonian books from the library of her father, Agu Ounapuu. These texts, which include many publications from the prominent Eesti Kirjanike Kooperatiiv series, enrich the collection of Estonian emigre literature at the University of Washington Libraries. Agu Ounapuu was born in 1887 in Lullikatku, Estonia and taught Estonian from 1907 to 1944. A veteran of the War for Estonian Independence, he fled his homeland in 1944, as a result of the Soviet occupation. He journeyed to the United States, settling in Portland, Oregon, in 1949. Aitäh !

"Latvia Today" Spring Quarter 1996

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