The national intercultural dialogue in Lithuania is mainly understood as a dialogue between different national communities living in Lithuania, fostering their cultural identity and citizenship. According to the State Data Agency, at the beginning of 2025, Lithuanians accounted for 82.3% of the country’s resident population, Poles 6.2%, Russians 5%, Belarusians 2.1%, Ukrainians 2.2%, and others 2.2%.
Figure 3. Proportion of the population by ethnicity, compared to the total resident population | per cent
Source: the Official Statistics Portal
The main initiator of national intercultural dialogue at the policy level is the Department of National Minorities of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, established in 2015. The Department operates in accordance with the Law on National Minorities of the Republic of Lithuania, adopted in 2024. The Law defines a national minority as “a group of persons composed of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who reside in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, have long-standing, strong and permanent ties with the Republic of Lithuania, are smaller in number than the part of the population characterised by Lithuanian national identity, and are united by the aim of preserving their national identity”. This means that residents of Lithuania of various nationalities (immigrants, refugees) who are not Lithuanian citizens do not fall within the department’s remit. The affairs of members of national minorities living in Lithuania who are not Lithuanian citizens are handled by several institutions: the Migration Department (under the Ministry of the Interior) issues residence permits, administers temporary protection and asylum procedures, and e-permits. The Ministry of Social Security and Labour and its Reception and Integration Agency (from 2025; formerly the Refugee Reception Centre) handle accommodation, social services, state support, and integration programmes for asylum seekers, beneficiaries, resettled persons, etc. The Employment Service oversees employment rules, quotas, work permits, and employer procedures. Municipalities manage practical local integration (social services, education, housing solutions), often through municipal centres/coordinators. International organisations/NGOs—IOM Lithuania (Migration Information Centre), the Red Cross, Caritas, etc.—provide counselling, essential assistance, and integration services. The cultural integration of these people is not coordinated and, at best, occurs at the initiative of municipalities and voluntary organisations.
The Department funds cultural projects within the framework of the Integration of the National Minorities in the Society while Preserving Their Identity Programme. The programme funds three categories of project proposals: 1) the Dissemination of National Minorities Culture; 2) the Dissemination of National Minorities Culture and Cultural Cooperation in Southeast Lithuania; 3) the Promotion of Intercultural Dialogue and the Dissemination of the National Minorities’ Culture in the Mass Media.
A consultative body of the Department of National Minorities is the National Communities Board. The board represents national minorities and deals with the policy coordination issues related to Lithuanian national minorities, and involves the representatives of the national minorities in the decision-making process. The members of the Board are selected from the national communities’ representatives. The number of Board members from each national community depends upon the community’s population as presented in the Population and Housing Census 2011. If the national community’s population is above 100 thousand, then 3 Board members from the community shall be selected into the Board; if the national community’s population is from 10 thousand to 100 thousand, 2 representatives; for small national communities with a population of up to 10 thousand, there is one Board member.
National communities living in Lithuania develop cooperation and dialogue through cultural centres and non-governmental organisations. There are 4 intercultural centres in Lithuania, established by the Department of National Minorities: the House of National Communities in Vilnius (established in 1991), the Kaunas Centre of Various Nations Culture (established in 2004), the Roma Community Centre (established in 2001), and the Folklore and Ethnography Centre of the Lithuanian National Minorities (established in 2007). These and other cultural centres initiate various arts, cultural and interdisciplinary projects, organise cultural events, arts exhibitions, book presentations, and cooperate with non-governmental organisations of national communities. Approximately 180 non-governmental organisations of national minorities are engaged in cultural activity in Lithuania. The Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Chechen, Estonian, Greek, Karaites, Latvian, Polish, Roma, Romanian, Russian, Tatar, Ukrainian, Uzbek, Hungarian, German, Jewish, and other national communities have established their cultural, educational, professional, and other non-governmental organisations.
Intercultural dialogue on an international level is coordinated by the Lithuanian Culture Institute. For several years, the Lithuanian Culture Institute has been organising Lithuanian culture seasons in various countries. In 2015, the Lithuanian Culture Institute represented Lithuania in Krakow; in 2016, it organised Spring and Autumn seasons in Ukraine; in 2017, Lithuania was a guest of honour at the international Leipzig book fair; in 2018, the institute realised two large-scale international events – Baltic Countries Market Focus programme at London Book Fair and the Lithuanian art festival “Flux” in Rome. In 2019, Tel Aviv became a host to the largest to date presentation of contemporary Lithuanian culture: “Lithuanian Story. Culture Festival in Tel Aviv 2019”. The festival aimed to introduce Israel’s audiences to Lithuanian artists from the fields of poetry, classical and contemporary music, performance, dance, and film. In 2021, Lithuanian Culture Institute organised the Lithuanian culture season in Bavaria Without Distance: Lithuanian Culture in Bavaria 2021. The cultural season held a varied programme of music, literature, visual arts, and performances by the most prominent Lithuanian artists and performers. The Season of Lithuania in France 2024 was a three-month cultural initiative from September 12 to December 12, 2024, aimed at showcasing contemporary Lithuanian culture to the French public. The project featured over 200 events across more than 80 French cities, including performances, exhibitions, debates, and conferences, under the overarching theme “The Other Same” (Kitas tas pats). Organized by the Lithuanian Culture Institute and the French Institute, the season fostered long-term cultural cooperation between the two nations. The “Lithuanian Culture in Tampere 2025” program showcased Lithuanian contemporary art and culture through various events in the city, including the Tampere Film Festival, contemporary dance, the Tampere Guitar Festival, the Nykyaika Photography Centre, and the Tampere Theatre Festival. Key highlights included a Lithuanian film focus at the film festival, photography exhibitions by artists Tadas Kazakevičius and Ieva Maslinskaitė, a performance by the Dansema Dance Theatre, and a special piano concert. The initiative aimed to deepen the Finnish audience’s knowledge of Lithuanian cinema, music, dance, theater, and photography.
Comments are closed.