On 14 November, KIK Lithuania, together with representatives of other cultural associations, met with the newly appointed Minister of Culture, Vaida Aleknavičienė, to discuss the critical situation surrounding the Ministry of Culture’s proposed budget for 2026–2028. Compared to the 2025 budget, funding is set to decrease by €5 million, with a total reduction of €56 million projected by 2028.
During the meeting, we presented clear risks and potential consequences of reducing funding for the cultural sector, particularly for institutions that support the independent NGO sector and cultural activities in the regions, including the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Lithuanian Culture Institute, and the Lithuanian Film Centre.
We called for a 15% increase in the Ministry of Culture’s budget compared to 2025 and urged the Government to halt the alarming reduction of cultural activities. Since 2019, the share of culture within the national budget has steadily declined, and further cuts would have serious consequences for Lithuania as a whole.
Earlier this week, we also submitted a formal appeal to the Seimas and the Government, presenting detailed arguments on the potential consequences of reducing cultural funding:
We thank Minister Vaida Aleknavičienė for the meeting and for listening to the concerns of the cultural community. We now look forward to concrete results, particularly during the upcoming budget discussions in the Seimas Committee on Budget and Finance on 17 November.
Representatives of the National Association of Cultural and Creative Industries (KIK Lithuania), the Lithuanian Association of Art Creators, the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Lithuanian Film Centre, the Lithuanian Culture Institute, as well as associations representing publishers, libraries, artists, and film producers, participated in the meeting.
Photo: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania