Lithuania joined UNESCO in 1991. In 1992, the Lithuanian National Commission for UNESCO was established, and the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Lithuania to UNESCO was established in 1993. The Secretariat of the Lithuanian National Commission for UNESCO serves the Lithuanian National Commission for UNESCO and supports the implementation of its decisions. The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania coordinates the implementation of the UNESCO conventions and decisions (see the list of UNESCO conventions ratified by Lithuania in chapter 4.2.1).
Lithuania became a member of the Council of Europe on 14 March 1993. In 2025, Lithuania participated in the following cultural initiatives of the Council of Europe: EURIMAGES – European Cinema Support Fund, national coordinator is Lithuanian Film Centre; European Audiovisual Observatory, national coordinator is Lithuanian Film Centre; Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends, national coordinator is Lithuanian Council for Culture; HEREIN: Observatory on policies and values of the European heritage, national coordinator is Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture; European Heritage Days, national coordinator is Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture.
Lithuania became a member state of the European Union in 2004. Since then, Lithuania has participated in the EU programs European Capitals of Culture, Creative Europe, Europe for Citizens, Horizon and Horizon Europe. Currently, the Lithuanian Science Council coordinate the network of Horizon Europe national contact points in Lithuania. Participation of Lithuania in the Creative Europe Programme is coordinated by the Lithuanian Culture Institute, which is responsible for the CULTURE sub-programme, and the Lithuanian Film Centre, which is responsible for the MEDIA sub-programme. Information about the programme Creative Europe is provided by the Lithuanian office of Creative Europe.
Lithuania takes part in the Council of the Baltic Sea States, established in 1992. The Council is an overall political forum for regional cooperation. It aims to develop and foster the concept of Baltic Sea Region identity and a sense of belonging to the Baltic Sea Region through engagement, dialogue, people-to-people contacts, macro-regional networks and multilevel governance. To this end, several activities, programmes and networks are operational within the priority. This includes the Baltic Sea Monitoring Group on Heritage Cooperation, focusing on preservation of the common heritage in the Baltic Sea States, and specifically on building preservation and maintenance in practice, underwater heritage, coastal culture and maritime heritage, and sustainable historic towns. The national coordinator of the project is the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania.
In 1991, the Ministries of Culture of the Baltic Sea Region created the Ars Baltica network that was aimed at encouraging cultural collaboration. Ars Baltica supports cultural cooperation within the Baltic Sea Region and beyond, advocates for the significance of arts and culture on the political level and promotes cultural life around the Baltic Sea. It is a cultural framework, gathering and offering information on different aspects within the arts and culture sector through network building and by supporting the implementation of multilateral cultural projects.
In 1991, the Baltic countries started to cooperate with the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Lithuania was established in 1991. The Office promotes Nordic culture in Lithuania and encourages Nordic-Lithuanian cultural cooperation. Since 2009, the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture has participated in the Nordic-Baltic Cultural Mobility Programme, which is coordinated by the Nordic Council of Ministers and consists of 3 modules: networking, art residencies and artist mobility.
Lithuania also cooperates with the two other Baltic States. Cooperation between the three Baltic States is based on the trilateral Treaty on Concord and Cooperation, signed on September 12, 1934, in Geneva. The Declaration on Unity and Cooperation, signed on May 12, 1990, in Tallinn, in full scope restored the cooperation between Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Within the framework of Baltic co-operation, active dialogue is ongoing at the level of Presidents, Speakers of Parliaments, Heads of Government, Ministers and experts. Baltic Parliamentary Cooperation takes place in the Baltic Assembly, which was established on November 8, 1991. Since 1993, the Baltic Assembly has annually awarded a prize for achievements in literature, arts, and science. Intergovernmental co-operation of Baltic states takes place in the Baltic Council of Ministers, founded on 13 June 1994. The Baltic Council of Ministers is a regional organisation that promotes intergovernmental cooperation between Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It attempts to find a common position in relation to many international issues, including economic, political and cultural issues.
Trilateral cooperation in the field of culture is coordinated by the Baltic Cultural Committee of senior officials, who meet annually to discuss cooperation issues. Cultural cooperation guidelines are provided by the Programme of Cultural Cooperation, signed between all three Ministries of Culture in 1994. The programme is regularly renewed. The current programme is designed for the period 2023-2026 and proposes to continue such long-term joint projects as Baltic Museology Summer School, the international chamber orchestra of three Baltic States Kremerata Baltica, and to foster collaboration with Baltic Film and Media School, Baltic Drama Forum, Baltic Dance Platform, Baltic Architects’ Unions Association, etc.
As of 2019, the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture participates in the Baltic Culture Fund programme. The main goal of the Baltic Culture Fund, founded on 8 July 2018 on the basis of Agreement between the Ministries of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, Republic of Estonia and Republic of Latvia on the Establishment of the Baltic Culture Fund, is to promote cultural cooperation between the Baltic countries and strengthen the internationalisation of Lithuanian, Estonian and Latvian culture through joint cultural projects and events. Grants are awarded annually. The Fund is administered by national cultural endowments on a three-year rotation basis. The Cultural Endowment of Estonia was the first to coordinate the Fund’s activities from 2019 to 2021. In 2022, the coordinator of the Fund became the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation. The application rounds in 2025-2027 are hosted by the Lithuanian Council for Culture. Each Baltic country contributes 100,000 EUR to the Fund annually.
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