REPRESENTING THE LITHUANIAN CCI SECTOR AT THE NORTH AMERICAN AND LITHUANIAN BUSINESS FORUM!

We are delighted to represent the country’s cultural and creative industries (CCI) not only locally but also internationally.

On March 5-7th we participated in the 5th North American Lithuanian Business Forum / NALB Forum, which took place in New York City. This event is designed to bring Lithuanian and North American economic ties closer together, strengthen cooperation with the Lithuanian diaspora and build mutually beneficial business relationships.

This is the second year that the Forum has spread the word about Lithuania’s CCI potential internationally. The event highlighted the potential of the creative economy. With an attractive business environment for talented creators and advanced technologies, Lithuania is striving for a competitive advantage. Like the USA, we aim to foster innovation by focusing on attracting young talent and cross-sectoral cooperation.

Edita Sabalionytė, Director of the National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries (NKIKIA), participated in the CCI Sector part of the programme which aimed to create a platform for a joint discussion between Lithuanian and US decision makers and creative professionals. We presented the potential of the country’s sector during the roundtable meeting and the public discussion „Creative Industries | Embracing the Future: Nurturing and Attracting Talent in the Transition to Industry 5.0”. Together with the other panellists, we highlighted the opportunities that the CCI sector creates for society and the increasing economic value of the sector.

Participants in the discussion included: Minister of Culture Simonas Kairys, Vice-Mayor of Vilnius Arūnas Šileris, Senior Policy Advisor Anne del Castillo, Alia Jones-Harvey from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, and Patricia Bayley, Vice President of Digital and New Media Development for New York State, filmmaker and founder of the „Tenfold Gaming Initiative” Tony Patrick, founder of the „Vedliai” programme Monika Katkute, entrepreneur Ilma Nausėdaitė, filmmaker Joseph White, filmmaker Vincas Sruoginis. Moderator – Chairman of the Board of the American Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania Tadas Vizgirda.

Under the common banner of „Lithuania Team”, this year’s CCI sector part of the programme was created by the Lithuanian American Business Association in Los Angeles,  Lithuanian World Arts Council, Consulate of the Republic of Lithuania In California Central Coast, American Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania, Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania in Los Angeles, the Cultural Attaché of the United States of America, the National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries of Lithuania (NKIKIA), the Lithuanian Design Association, the Lithuanian Game Developers Association, the Baltic Film & Creative Tech Cluster, the ArtTech Agency Lithuania, and the representatives of Vilnius Film Office.

Together we visited Bloomberg Philanthropies, Navy Yard, Pratt Institute and Cornell Tech, where we had the opportunity to get a closer look at New York’s sustainable CCI ecosystem, the city’s role in fostering the breakthroughs of young creators and securing investment in the sector’s infrastructure.

We are pleased to have the opportunity to work together with other culture and creative industries professionals from Lithuania and the USA to address the current issues of Lithuania’s competitiveness in the global market, share insights into the potential of the country’s CCI sector, establish new contacts and share best practices.

The North American and Lithuanian Business Forum (NALB) traces back to 2019 when Lithuanian professionals and clubs met at the Lithuanian Embassy in Washington, D.C. to brainstorm about collaborative projects. The idea was that although there are already many initiatives that connect Lithuania with foreign countries through the prism of Lithuanianness, there is no such platform with the United States (including Canada) that connects through an economic prism.