The debate took place on 9 May, during Europe Day activities. The hosts of the event - Vilnius University (VU) Culture Centre gathered leaders of collectives, members of the VU community, representatives of other Lithuanian universities, a guest from the Slovak Comenius University in Bratislava, as well as Division of Grants and Financial Support of the State Study Fund (SSF) official, and Vygintas Gasparavičius, Vice-Minister of Culture. The discussion was moderated by Arminas Varanauskas.
The event was opened with a welcome speech from Pro-Rector for Organisation Development and Community Affairs of VU Prof. Vilmantė Pakalniškienė who stated that the success criterion for discussions is the ability to take at least one idea away from the discussion. The organizers were happy to confirm its success, describing that the event had gone by in a flying 1,5 hours with multiple takeaways about the importance of cultural life, the possibilities of creative communities and the challenges involved.
Perhaps the most striking thread connecting the various speeches was the link between culture and citizenship. Mr Varanauskas revealed that active involvement in cultural activities is linked to all kinds of personal and societal benefits:
“We see that these [actively involved in culture] people are <...> the happiest, we see that they vote the most, we see that they are the most proud to be Lithuanian citizens, and they have a strong enough civic and national identity.”
In an unfavourable political situation, the University and its cultural life can be a real refuge. E. Tamaškovičová, Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator at the Faculty of Arts, explained how, following the recent parliamentary and presidential elections in Slovakia, Bratislava Comenius University has become an island of progressive, liberal and democratic thinking, a space for different communities to come together, express themselves, and organise events.
To read the full article, press here: https://www.kultura.vu.lt/en/news/2184-first-ever-cross-sectoral-debate-highlights-the-importance-of-cultural-life-in-universities
Event was hosted by one of the Universities for Culture partners - Vilnius University.
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