The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania is a governmental body of the Republic of Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

. Its mission is to formulate and implement state cultural policies supporting professional and amateur art, theatre, music, fine arts, cinema, museums, libraries, and written publications, to guard copyright and copyright-related interests, and to protect cultural values.

The ministry awards the Lithuanian National Prize

Lithuanian National Prize

The Lithuanian National Prize , established in 1989, is an award granted for achievements in culture and the arts. It has been awarded annually in six categories since 2006...

 for achievements in the arts and culture, and the Martynas Mažvydas Award for scholarly research.

Functions

The Ministry of Culture performs the following functions within the framework of Lithuanian legislation:

• Drafting legislation pertaining to cultural activities;
• Drafting concepts and programmes supporting the development of various forms of art, and coordinating their implementation;
• Allocating funds to museums, libraries and organizations that support visual, musical, and performance arts
• Coordinating activities on behalf of copyright and related rights;
• Coordinating state public information policy;
• Assuring the accounting of, and protection of, cultural values;
• Development and implementing international cultural programmes, and drafting international agreements pertaining to these programmes;
• Initiating regional cultural development strategies.