proposals for the 19th GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME
In recent years, the cultural and creative industries (CCI) sector in Lithuania has been one of the largest employers and one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, generating significant value for the Lithuanian society, contributing to the creation of the social economy, and shaping the country’s identity and image. The CCI sector also plays an important social role by promoting social cohesion, reducing social exclusion, strengthening communities and contributing to the reduction of regional inequalities by strengthening civic self-awareness and solidarity. The contribution of the CCI sector in education and health generates long-term benefits for society, fostering creativity, critical thinking, overall social well-being and emotional health.
According to the State Data Agency, in 2021, the CCI sector will account for 4.8% of the total number of economic entities operating in Lithuania. In total, 50.2 thousand employees or 3.7% of the total number of employed persons in Lithuania will work in enterprises in the CCI sector in 2021. In 2021, the CCI sector’s output was worth EUR 1.94 billion and the total value added was EUR 1 billion. Compared to the country as a whole, in 2021, the value added by all economic activities in Lithuania was €50.196 billion at current prices, so the CCI sector accounted for almost 2% of the country’s total value added. In 2022, CCI value added accounted for 3.28% of the total gross value added and represented a significant share of the economy compared to other sectors (e.g. in 2020, Food, Beverages and Tobacco Manufacturing accounted for 3.19%, Accommodation and Food Service Activities 1.2%, Telecommunications 0.9%).
The number of employees in the CCI sector has been growing steadily over the last few years, with 48.75 thousand (2019), 49.12 thousand (2020), 50.2 thousand (2021) and 55.85 thousand (2022) employees respectively. Comparing the employment structure of young people (15-29) within the CCI sector and with the Lithuanian average confirms the European Commission’s conclusions that CCIs are one of Europe’s most dynamic sectors, showing above-average growth and creating a favourable environment for work and other attractive forms of employment, especially for young people, while also strengthening social cohesion.
Lithuanian talents are raising the country’s profile, winning top international awards and recognition: the opera Sun and & Sea was awarded the prestigious Golden Lion of the Venice Art Biennale in 2019, Asmik Grigorian was named Best Soloist in the World at the International Opera Awards in 2019, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla won the Best Recording of the Year Award at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards in 2020, and the audio producers Aleksandra Kerienė and Vilius Keras were nominated for Grammy Awards four times. The main award of the Venice International Film Festival, Venice Horizons went to “Pilgrims” by Laurynas Bareiša in 2021, and the European Film Award for the best documentary in 2022 went to “Mariupol 2” by Mantas Kvedaravičius. Sundance Film Festival (USA) awarded Marija Kavtaradzė Best Director for “Slow” 2023. Human Fall Flat is among the top 20 best-selling video games of all time with more than 50 million copies sold and hundreds of millions of views on YouTube. Lithuania’s first unicorn in service and product design Vinted, Lithuanian breakdancing talent Dominyka Banevič, etc.
Investments in improving the competitiveness of the CCI sector, improving infrastructure and other CCI operating conditions are necessary to promote and properly exploit the potential of CCIs, to increase employment, and to create a high value-added, flexible and sustainable operating environment. It is essential to strengthen the CCI ecosystem as a whole in a balanced way, to reduce fragmentation, to strengthen cooperation between government sectors, developers and society, to create fiscal incentives, to develop a systemic approach to the CCI ecosystem, to foster synergies between CCI areas, to develop a transparent, coherent CCI policy and the tools to implement it, and to foster the growth and development of CCIs at the national, regional and international levels.
The National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries makes the following proposals:
1. We propose that the Lithuanian creative and cultural industries (CCI) sector be recognised as a priority and strategically important sector for the national economy, given its importance for the country’s socio-economic development and its contribution to the creation of national identity, cultural and economic value. Include the CCI sector in the State’s strategic documents, the Government Programme, the National Progress Plan, sectoral development programmes and the priorities of the new European Union investment programming period (2028-2034). We also suggest that the Lithuanian Government and the relevant institutions intensify the positioning of the CCI sector in international markets in order to attract talent and investment, contributing to the attractiveness of the country.
2. Develop an advanced creative and cultural industries ecosystem to mobilise and strengthen the sector’s potential. Particular attention should be paid to fostering interdisciplinarity and the development of creative fusion/co-creative hubs that meet the highest technical standards and meet the requirements of the European Union’s Green Deal. This infrastructure should become a key factor in helping Lithuania to retain and attract talent, to accelerate, and to develop innovative, high added value CCI products and services able to compete in global markets.
3. Develop and implement comprehensive measures to attract and retain talent in Lithuania’s CCI sector. A coherent talent development system needs to be developed, covering the whole development chain from school, vocational training and higher education to lifelong learning. Particular attention is proposed to be paid to the development of cross-sectorality in the sector, as well as to the retraining of talent to adapt to the ever-changing market needs and challenges.
4. Evaluate and adapt corporate tax incentives in the creative industries. Create a favourable tax environment to stimulate the growth of creative industries businesses and attract talent, while contributing to increasing the sector’s competitiveness in international markets.
5. Establish a Creative Industries Centre at the national level to take care of the growth and development of the CCI sector at national, regional and international level, to contribute to the formulation of CCI policy, implementation of measures, to promote synergies in the sector, to reduce fragmentation, to strengthen cooperation between government sectors, CCI organisations, developers and the general public, and to carry out CCI national statistics and research requests, with the aim of evidence-based CCI policy formulation and implementation.
6. Embed sustainability principles in the cultural funding model, to be resilient to political change, with a particular focus on the NPO sector. Develop funding mechanisms that are in line with the ‘arm’s length’ principles, ensuring the independent development of cultural and creative activities (e.g. annual indexation of programme funds, establishment of investment funds, etc.).
7. Ensure a high level of copyright protection. In the age of artificial intelligence, creative people – authors, performers, and the companies that invest in creative outputs, such as producers – run the risk of losing the income from the exploitation of their work. Illegal exploitation is also closely linked to the spread of disinformation, which is why it is important to put in place tools to control such exploitation.
8. Strengthen the activities of the non-state sector in the regions to achieve diversity, accessibility and sustainability of services in the cultural and creative sector, to create incentives and instruments to help establish, maintain and develop NGOs at local level, to contribute to the development of the regional economy, and to the creation of local attractiveness and identity.
9. Create conditions for the development of patronage and encourage private support for cultural and creative NGOs.
10. Strengthen interdisciplinary and inter-institutional cooperation, develop measures to unlock the potential of the cultural and creative sector in education, health, science and innovation, foreign policy and other areas.
11. Enable the social partners to engage and actively participate in the various decision-making formats of governance of public institutions and organisations; ensure feedback and sustainable cooperation.
The National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries, which has represented the CCI sector for more than 15 years, is a trusted social partner participating in various advisory formats and expert working groups. We are ready to cooperate in contributing to the coherent implementation of the programme of the Lithuanian Government, the development and sustainable growth of the Lithuanian CCI sector, and to work together for the benefit of the Lithuanian people.