Lithuanian Culture Strengthens and Broadens Ties

Meetings between the Ministers of Culture of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as between the Chancellor of the Ministry of Culture of Lithuania and Georgian representatives have resulted in agreements about the necessity of intensifying cultural cooperation through professional and expert contact and joint projects.

Last Friday, the 2nd of September, the Ministers of Culture of the three Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania came together in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital city, for the re-opening of the Martynas Mažydas National Library of Lithuania after eight years of reconstruction.

During the event, Šarūnas Birutis, Dace Melbārde and Indrek Saar, the Ministers of Culture of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia respectively, discussed the issue of strengthening cultural cooperation on institutional, professional and expert levels. The main goal of this is to outwardly showcase the three states as a unified block of cultural good governance, achieved by mutual exchange.

An additional motivation behind the meetings is the upcoming joint celebration of 100 years since Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia’s first achievement of independence, following the breakdown of the Russian Empire and the end of the First World War in 1919. Since then, the three Baltic states have worked together towards their common goals, especially since their renewed independence following the fall of the Soviet Union and their joint entrance into the European Union in 2004.

Georgia is another former Caucasus Soviet state with which Lithuania also shares its independence history and is in the process of strengthening cultural ties with. The two states celebrated the Lithuania-Georgia Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the 5th and 7th of September this year, with the Chancellor of the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture, Laimonas Ubavičius in attendance.

During the recent meetings, representatives from Lithuania and Georgia discussed increasing cooperation between experts and professionals of both countries in the fields of culture and creative industries. The Lithuanian and Georgian Ministries of Culture also agreed to plan bilateral initiatives through the Programme of Cooperation from 2017 to 2019.

This program will include the exchange of experts and professionals, participating in joint events like seminars, conferences and festivals. The Lithuanian Chancellor Ubavičius has already extended an invitation to Georgian art and culture professionals to actively participate in the ‘Visiting international Art Experts in Lithuania’ program, administered by the Lithuanian Institute of Culture, in order to exchange good practices and foster cultural exchange.