Lithuania has been chosen to host the century-old forum for its outstanding efforts to promote the Esperanto language, invented by Dr. Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof in 1887 to facilitate communication between people with different linguistic backgrounds.
More than 3,000 Esperanto-speaking people from 70 nations across the world, including 100 from Russia, are expected to attend this year's congress. The first global gathering of Esperanto enthusiasts took place in 1905 in the coastal French town of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The event has been held on an annual basis since, with exceptions made only for the years of World War I and World War II, and a total of 165,000 delegates have participated thus far.
This year's congress has been organized by the Universaka Esperanto Asocio (the World Esperanto Association), the Lithuanian Esperanto Association under the auspices of Lithuania's President and government, and the Vilnius and Kaunas city halls.
Apart from general sessions, delegates will also discuss topics within specific interest groups. They will travel around the host country to explore its culture and language and attend various arts events to be held in conjunction with the congress.
