In 2012-2015, the culture policy focused on implementing the Benchmarks for Lithuanian Cultural Policy Change (2010), which emphasized culture as a priority. During that period, the long term sectoral strategies were developed, and a new institutional cultural policy implementation model was established.
The Lithuanian Advancement Strategy “Lithuania 2030” reflects a national vision and priorities for development as well as the Guidelines for their implementation by 2030 (2012). This roadmap reflects culture in the spirit of the Convention. The need to develop high quality cultural services across the country in order to ensure a wide diversity of cultural services and their accessibility and to promote partnerships between culture and other areas of life through creative cultural products and services is emphasised. State policies aim at facilitating cultural dynamism, international cultural exchanges and international artist mobility with a focus on the digitalisation of cultural contents. The strategy integrates and creates inter-connections among business, education, science and culture, and stimulates the development of creative and cultural industries and their international competitiveness. As a short-term document, the National Advancement Strategy for 2014-2020 was created and approved by the Government. The Strategy highlights culture as a horizontal priority and aims at strengthening identity and creativity, and developing competitive and accessible cultural products and services. The inter-connections of culture, education, economy, social development and environment are reiterated and their contributions to culture policy goals are stressed. The Ministries of Education and Science, Economy, Interior Affairs, Agriculture, Transport and Communication, Social Affairs and Culture are acknowledged as partners in the Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy.
The commitment to foster the cultural sector in response to the specific needs of developing countries with regard to the diversity of cultural expressions and to strengthen the link between culture and development is embedded in the Law on Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid of Lithuania (2013). According to the Law, a development cooperation policy aims to strengthen political, economic, social and cultural relations with partner countries and, where appropriate, with other developing countries.
A number of sectoral culture policy documents were approved during that period reflecting the needs and aiming to reach the goals of the previously mentioned strategies. Such documents as the Programme of Culture and Creative industries (2014-2020), and the Regional Culture Development Programme 2012-2020 should be mentioned.
In 2012, the most important changes in the cultural policy implementation model started. After the change of respective legal acts, two new institutions – the Culture Council and the Film Centre were established. Implementing an “arm’s length” model was the biggest change in culture policy over the last decades.
Those important political decisions and changes created a significantly better environment for the implementation of the Convention. Although the Convention was not always the only source of arguments in policy making processes, the challenges mentioned in the 2012 periodical report were taken into account.