Lithuania ratified the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in 2006. The last quadrennial report on its implementation was presented in 2016. Since then, significant developments in the formation and implementation of the state’s cultural policy have taken place.
A great number of new measures were introduced to support cultural and creative sectors. The Lithuanian Cultural Policy Strategy was adopted in 2019, marking an important shift in cultural policy formation. The Strategy establishes the cultural policy directions for a period of ten years and is the first long-term comprehensive document for the cultural field. It proposes an integrated and balanced policy covering a broad network of cultural institutions and organisations that would create more equal cultural opportunities for the country’s citizens, including Lithuanian communities and artists living abroad. An integrated approach to the cultural development is also promoted by the Inter-Institutional Action Plan “Culture”, which contributes to the implementation of cultural policy objectives through various collaborative programmes and consolidated financial resources of different ministries. The Cultural Passport programme is a leap towards the engagement of young audiences in cultural consumption and assurance of diversity of the cultural supply.
Over the last four years, a variety of measures have been introduced to promote a free, independent and pluralistic media in the country. Strategic Directions for Public Information Policy is the first initiative to define and implement the state’s priorities in the media sector, while the establishment of Information System on Public Information Producers and Disseminators, which contains individual detailed data on the players in the media sector, is expected to ensure a greater transparency of public information providers and therefore greater objectivity of public information. Tax incentives for the press also contribute to objective and diverse public information. One of the state priorities in the media sector – increased accessibility to information – is being implemented by adopting amendments of the Law on the National Radio and Television that oblige the national broadcaster to ensure a better accessibility of its services to people with hearing and visual disabilities.
Partnerships with the civil society are playing an increasingly important role in policy making processes. The Ministry of Culture has developed a network of Advisory Councils composed of experts in different fields that provide their feedback on institutional initiatives and incite discussions on various cultural policy issues. The representatives of each Advisory Council as well as external civil society organisations (Youth Council, Council for People with Disabilities, Council for Non-Governmental Organisations and Association for Culture Self-Governance) are included in the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Art whose goal is to analyse culture and art processes and discuss various questions on cultural policy in a broader cultural context.
International outreach has become a significant dimension of Lithuanian cultural policy. The concept document of the Culture Internationalisation Policy laid down the main objectives in this field and defined the network of players that are implementing integrated coordination of this policy and emphasised the role of cultural attachés. Culture internationalisation objectives are implemented through various measures aimed at increasing mobility of artists and cultural professionals: granting free visas to the participants of cultural events (agreements with Belarus and Russia), organising tailored study visits to foreign artists, curators and organisers as well as introducing specific funding programmes for residencies and international events. These initiatives were complemented by a great number of cultural cooperation agreements with other countries. A continuous cooperation between Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia has resulted in the establishment of the Baltic Culture Fund.
Over the past years, the Government has placed special emphasis on the development of sustainable national policies that could bridge the social, economic and cultural gaps between the country’s major cities and the regions. The Model for Sustainable Regional Cultural Development was designed with the aim to empower regions and enable them to participate in the decision-making process for project financing. Another initiative supporting region-oriented cultural policy – Lithuanian Small Capitals of Culture – contributes to reviving cultural activities in smaller towns and villages.
International cooperation for sustainable development was addressed as one of the Convention’s goals by implementing the cultural projects supporting the civil society in Belarus that were initiated by the Lithuanian Diplomatic Mission and implemented in cooperation with a number of civil society organisations.
The reference period was also marked by significant improvements in the local audio-visual industry. After demonstrating positive results and generating significant inward investments, the new tax incentive scheme for film production was approved for a new period of five years and has already attracted a number of large-scale film productions to the country. The rise of the #metoo movement has sparked heated debates on gender equality and sexual harassment issues in the film industry as well as other cultural sectors. It resulted in institutional initiatives aiming to prevent harassment in the workplace and provoked broader discussions about participation of men and women in culture.
Even though various policies and measures that contribute to the goals of the UNESCO 2005 Convention have been introduced in the past few years, there are many remaining challenges for the cultural sector that will require more attention in the years to come.