26 November 2015 (h 9.00 am- 5 pm)
Vilnius City Council Hall, Konstitucijos Ave. 3, Vilnius
Programme
Organisers: European Committee of the Regions and Association of Local Authorities of
Lithuania
Partner: City of Vilnius
9:00 Registration
Networking coffee
10:00 Opening addresses
Gintaras PALUCKAS Deputy Mayor of Vilnius
Roma ŽAKAITIENĖ, Director of the Association of Local Authorities in
Lithuania
10:20-12:00 Political debate: "How to connect the citizens with Europe?"
Moderator: Aurimas PEREDNIS, journalist
Panellists:
Mindaugas SINKEVIČIUS, Mayor of Jonava District Municipality and
Bureau Member of the European Committee of the Regions
Andres JAADLA, Member of Rakvere City Council, CoR alternate member of Estonian delegation
Daiva JAKAITĖ,
Head of the EP Information Office in Lithuania
Debate with participants
12:00- 13:00 Lunch (Vilnius City Municipality)

13:15-16:00 Workshop: Success stories, failures and trends for communication at
local level. Sharing EU practices
Moderator: Aurimas Perednis , journalist
Interventions:
Build a communication strategy at local level: trends, tools and actions
engage public audience on EU affairs - Tom De SMEDT, to
Communication officer , Directorate for communication -
Questions and answers
European Committee of the Regions
The storytelling techniques -innovative ways of spreading your message and getting a real debate with your citizens- best practises across EU -
Tony LOCKETT, Acting Head of the Communication Unit , Directorate
General for Regional and Urban Policy - European Commission
Questions and answers
How to make EU news local news - Understanding and working with
journalists, Andrew GARDNER, Press officer , Directorate for communication European Committee of the Regions
Questions and answers
14.45- 15.00
Coffee break
Political communication and crisis management: how to “translate” the
political message into the citizens’ language – Cormac SMITH, Senior
Communication Manager Westminster City Council and National
Chairman LG Communications
Questions and answers
Communicating locally- sharing good practices – Vilija RAMANAUSKIENĖ
Adviser to Mayor of Alytus City Municipality
Questions and answers
16.00- 16.45 Open Debate- insights, ideas for success of communicating locally
16:45-17:00 Final remarks and Conclusions
Aurimas Perednis, journalist
*: names to be confirmed. Interpretation provided from/into English and Lithuanian