Baltic city gives promotion pointers to Panama
By Lourdes Quijada
A month or so back Newsroom published a story about the mayor of Vilnius, Lithuania, using a giant armored car to crush an illegally parked Mercedes.
We obviously continue to have readers in that far off city which is giving some pointers that Panama could follow.
Irma Jušknaite, an indefatigable media contact person, has been doing her job, and a few days ago she sent me a message that Vilnius beat Paris to the punch and became the first city in Europe to unveil touch sensitive displays with digital maps in bus shelters.
Interactive maps offer information on bus and trolley-bus routes and schedules in five languages: Lithuanian, English, Russian, Polish and German. Spanish missed the boat, but maybe they figure that with the climate at some times of the year a little on the chilly side for folks from the Iberian peninsula or Latin America, not too many would be ariving ready to whip off their gloves to check out the location of the nearest MacDonalds or Jimmy’s
The screens were unveiled in France in May, but have not yet been launched. Vilnius talked the talk and then wa
lked the walk and became “the first European city to have the innovative system available for local passengers and guests”, said Vilnius Mayor (and radio basher) Arturas Zuokas.
The modern 42-inch system is resistant to low temperatures ensuring long-term functionality even in extremely cold winter says the press release. (ah now we know why no Spanish). The maps allows public transportation riders to search for the most optimal route with the shortest travel time.
In Panama that might translate into which Metro subway construction project to avoid, and which of the traffic jams to idle away the day, and bring smiles to the faces of those who own gas stations.
Cool temperatures have not worried Italian film director Gabriele Salvatores who has recently started shooting his latest film Siberian Education starring John Malkovich in Vilnius
Says Mayor Zuokas “We are very glad international cinema is returning to Vilnius. There is a great team of 50 people working on Siberian Educationin the city at the moment. The team is excited about Vilnius and what they found here – professionalism and good working conditions”.
That’s the kind of comment the organizers of next year’s International Film Festival (IFF) hope to hear on a regular basis when the word gets around from visitors to the event that Panama has the magic ingredient for success. Location, location, LOCATION.
Almost the entire Siberian movie will be filmed in Vilnius. The story takes place in a remote region of the former Soviet Union and spans the period from 1985 to 1995.
It’s already sending shivers down my spine, but then, so does Malkovitch.
