PART 3: Involvement of the Community 

In Lithuania cultural and artistic education are integrated into the various educational programs and instruments. The country representatives claim that art education is an important part of raising a full-fledged individual, determines a person’s creativity, communication skills, and applying the acquired knowledge and experience in new life situations.

Taking into account the new challenges facing the Lithuanian society, the cultural and artistic field demands more attention based on the analysis of contemporary cultural, technological and political trends, develop cultural and artistic education drawing upon the experience of other countries: multicultural aspects, creative industries, attention to practical creative activities in studios, offices, laboratories, etc., introduction of new technologies and provision of instruments and equipment required for this purpose; comprehensive integration of artistic subjects into the teaching of other subjects and the cultural life of the school, e.g. social drama and cultural heritage protection projects.

The Lithuania 2030 Strategy also draws attention to the importance of non-formal education related to cultural education, and anticipates the need to involve professionals from various fields of culture in education.

The Education Strategy also points out that museums, libraries, cultures and arts institutions, have little or no involvement in non-formal education. The organizations subordinated to the Ministry of Culture mark cultural education as a priority in their annual activity plans. Many institutions develop new educational programs, for example the Folk Museum has developed a special material: "You will solve the riddle - get to know the exhibit" for the teacher's independent work in teaching students.

In terms of content, cultural education activities are very different and diverse: creative workshops, sightseeing tours, musical educational programs, providing opportunities to participate in rehearsals, get acquainted with musical instruments and performers, and various creative activities in museums, cultural history, educational concerts, interactive musical installations, public lectures, etc.

In Lithuania, it is more common to have a program specially adapted for young people at various festivals. Some of these events involve young people more actively, giving them the opportunity to contribute to the planning of the program or activities themselves. One of them is the initiative of the international film education project “Moving Cinema”, implemented in Lithuania by Art Beehive, for senior students “Young Cinema Programmers”, during which students select the films they think are most relevant to their peers and make film programs for Lithuanians. Film festivals (Vilnius International Film Festival “Cinema Spring”, Vilnius Documentary Film Festival). Another initiative is the KITOKS educational program “Young Critic” of the Children and Youth Festival “Menų spaustuvė”, during which a deeper understanding of theater art, the ability to reflect and evaluate is developed.

The free museum visit initiative has been in place since 2018, when a pilot test of the tool for students took place. After that, the tool was adjusted and adapted for everyone (both students and adults). However, visiting cultural institutions remains a challenge for non-big city residents.

Approved in 2018, the Cultural Passport program is a state-funded initiative for schoolchildren aimed at improving their access to cultural and educational projects and events. It allows Lithuanian schoolchildren to enjoy free services of cultural and arts institutions and encourages them to participate in the cultural life. It is believed that the formation of schoolchildren's cultural consumption habits should be consistently and systematically based on the needs, knowledge and abilities to perceive the information that develop at a certain age.

It can also be assumed that cultural education activities, which last longer and involve artists, are more likely to have an impact not only on students and their learning, but also on teachers, parents, school management and the general school culture.

According to the Arts and Cultural Education at School in Europe study Lithuania views extra-curricular arts activities as providing opportunities for pupils to gain practical experience for professional occupations and creative jobs. Such activities also help develop transferable skills such as communication skills, and are intended to improve pupils’ quality of learning and motivation.