The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lithuania has a history of over 100 years bilateral cooperation with Lithuania. Through the course of history this cooperation has allowed the protection of many Human Rights. One example is the role of the Dutch consul in Lithuania, Jan Zwartendijk, who during WWII created over 2000 visas to ensure safe passage for Lithuanian Jews to the Dutch Island Curacao, saving their lives.

It’s important to look at role models from the past, such as Zwartendijk but also Andrei Sakharov, who teach us about the importance of critical thinking that enables us to make the right choices, protect human rights, and support our European and democratic values.

We created an exhibition of 30 cartoons titled You make the difference that will be on display at the National Martynas Mažvydas Library in Vilnius, Lithuania. The exhibition shows past and present perspectives on various ways of how we can make a difference when it comes to human rights. This is a project of our new educational branch The Next Movement.

Lithuanian cartoonist Rytis Daukantas and Latvian cartoonist Gatis Sluka were specially commissioned for this project to create the cartoons about Zwartendijk and Sakharov.