Rima Puniška Awarded LT Citizenship
Rima Puniška, a former Torontonian living in Paris, was awarded Lithuanian citizenship at the Embassy in Paris on January 19, for promoting Lithuanian culture.
The Lithuanian ambassador Nerijus Aleksiejūnas gifted her with a Lithuanian passport, saying that it was a pleasure to welcome Rima Puniška to Lithuanian citizenship as someone who has shown such great love for Lithuania, its literature, language and customs.
Puniška was born in Montreal, Canada, and grew up in Toronto, where she attended Lithuanian language school, was a member of the folk dance group “Gintaras”, sang in the Resurrection Parish choir and was a long-time member of the executive committee of the Lithuanian Community Toronto chapter.
In 1980 she moved to France, where she discovered the art of bookbinding. Aside from her regular job, she works on individual bookbinding projects, one of which was the book “Ėko” published in 2019 by the Lithuanian writer Valdas Papievis, who also lives in Paris. She also oversees the Lithuanian book section of the St. Genevieve Library in Paris.
News and photos from LT Foreign Ministry
All 20 copies of the French translation of Valdas Papievis‘ prizewinning book “Ėko” were hand-bound by Rima Puniška, who also designed and created each cover
