Culture to go digital

VILNIUS - Minister of Transport and Communications Rimantas Sinkevicius attended the meeting of the chairpersons of the Education, Science and Culture Committees and the Information Society Development Committee where he emphasized the importance to further enhance the Lithuanian language and culture in the context of all information and communication technologies, reports the Web site sumin.lt. The meeting was set to touch upon questions of European linguistic and cultural development as well as political and social aspects that unite the countries.

The minister said that the Lithuanian language and culture should exist also in the digital space. “The Ministry of Transport and Communications, being responsible for the implementation of the Europe 2020 Program for Information Society Development in Lithuania, has already defined its goals that include digital products and resources of the Lithuanian language as well as new technologies. The priority of our linguistic heritage is to foster the Lithuanian culture and language in the context of all information and communication technologies,” said Sinkevicius.

The minister underlined that the fostering of a small state language within a global digital world dominated by modern communication technologies is particularly relevant. “Approximately three million people are speaking Lithuanian. Due to the fact that we are a small state, we need to constantly work on new ways to preserve our language and culture and develop the innovative tools that would allow the existence of the Lithuanian language also in the digital space,” said Sinkevicius.

One of the main objectives of Europe 2020 is the development of a smart, suitable, knowledge and innovation based economy. Evidently, the number of e-services, fast Internet, intellectual technologies and widely applicable technologies will also increase in Lithuania. “However, I would like to emphasize that our economic integration into the single European market and efficient communication with business and social partners are impossible without multilingualism and modern means of communications,” underlined the minister.

European Union structural funds are expected to contribute to further enhancement of the Lithuanian language and culture as well as to ensure the implementation of objectives set for the period from 2014-2020.