Simonas Kairys at the EU Council of Culture Ministers: we have to create better conditions for culture and arts workers
During the meeting of the ministers of culture of the European Union (EU) in Brussels, the Minister of Culture Simonas Kairys supported the European Parliament’s proposal to create a European system dedicated to improving the working conditions of artists and cultural and creative workers.
This proposal encompasses many aspects important to the culture sector: from recognition of artistic and cultural study qualifications, improvement of the accessibility of cultural services for the youth, and the freedom of artistic expression to the fair setting of remuneration for authors, promotion of sector mobility, simplification of EU programmes’ procedures, etc.
During the discussion on the improvement of the working conditions of artists and cultural specialists in the EU, the Minister of Culture pointed out that creators are nurturers of the EU’s cultural diversity and democratic values, a part of a lively economy which unavoidably faces challenges. Speaking about the situation in Lithuania, Simonas Kairys claimed that, in 2019-2022, Lithuania was one of three countries in the entire EU (together with France and Portugal) where the number of people working in the culture sector was rising (based on the data by Eurostat). Moreover, 88.5 percent of the sector’s employees in Lithuania have only one job (EU average is 93 percent).
“All this shows that the culture and arts sector is getting stronger in Lithuania and that it has managed to defeat the challenges caused by the pandemic, not without the aid of the EU and national support measures as well. We continue consistently strengthening the culture and arts sector in Lithuania: we are increasing the salaries for the cultural employees of the budget sector and the scholarships for individual creators; we are investing in the digitisation of cultural resources and new services and products of the cultural and creative industries as well as the improvement of the sector’s resilience against crises”, Kairys said. The minister also shared the experience how the Cultural Passport measure is functioning in Lithuania, which could become an example for other countries as well.
In his speech, the Minister of Culture also underlined the necessity to ensure fair remuneration to authors for the use of their work in the new technologies, e.g. the training of artificial intelligence. It is important to regulate the use of buy-out and work-for-hire contracts that are utilised by the large VOD platforms, circumventing the author’s right to fair and proportionate pay enshrined in the EU legal acts. According to the minister, in the face of global challenges, it would be purposeful for the member states to actively operate in several new directions: at EU level, collect and process cultural statistics that are comparable between states, continue developing the sector’s mobility through such instruments as Culture Moves Europe, and invest more in the culture sector without forgetting the artists that have been affected by crises, such as creators from Ukraine.
During the session of the EU Council of Culture Ministers, the conclusions regarding videogames were approved, emphasising both the cultural and creative aspects and significance of this rapidly rising sector to the further growth of culture and education as well as the need to create conditions for further development and global competitiveness of this sector.
While visiting Brussels, the Minister of Culture of Lithuania will also meet with Jan Jambon, the Minister of Culture of Belgium, which will preside over the Council of the EU during the first half of 2024. The ministers of both countries will discuss matters of European identity, exchange opinions on cooperation with Belarussian opposition, and talk about the priorities of Belgium’s presidency, the digital transformation and good practices of our country’s cultural and creative sector, its future after 2027, and the possibilities of cooperation between Lithuania and Belgium.
In a trilateral meeting with the Ministers of Culture of Latvia and Estonia, Simonas Kairys discussed the trends of the development of cultural and creative sector in the Baltic states as well as the matters of the culture sector’s funding and fight against misinformation.
Last updated: 07-12-2023