The Ethnic Minorities Department under the Lithuanian Government held a discussion called “Respect for Ethnic Community Heritage a Successful Element of Integration” just before Christmas where heritage specialists, representatives of Lithuania’s ethnic minorities and members of the press discussed ethnic heritage.

Ethnic Minorities Department director Dr. Vida Montvydaitė opened the discussion noting the topic of heritage unites all of the country’s communities and associations.

Diana Varnaitė, director of the Cultural Heritage Department under the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture, said Lithuania’s cultural heritage is reflected in the country’s ethnic associations and their stories in the context of the development of the Lithuanian state. “Our state is very rich in associations who have created symbols. The most easily and most frequently recognized ones are sacred sites,” she said, noting many associations hold dear their historical cemeteries. She said there is often a lack of knowledge preventing recognition of this diversity, so that the ethnic communities are often the best partners in heritage protection work, and that her organization has great expectations of the Ethnic Minorities Department. Varnaitė said recognition of heritage is the key to its preservation. “What we recognize, what we hold dear, becomes part of us, our communities, the ethnic associations themselves and the local communities.”

The first step in state protection of sites is their listing on the registry of cultural sites, providing them legal protection and declaring the state is taking responsibility for protecting these sites. Varnaitė invited the ethnic communities to learn about registry and to propose sites for inclusion.

“Our long-term experience shows one of the most important things is publicizing heritage,” Varnaitė commented. She said no country exists which has sufficient funding for these issues. Synergy between communities, local and ethnic, is the most effective method to preserve and celebrate heritage, Varnaitė said. The Cultural Heritage Department make allocations annually to contribute to the protection of heritage sites important to ethnic associations.

Alfredas Jomantas, director of the Registry, Public Relations and Education Section of the Cultural Heritage Department, said recognition of local heritage is essential. Recognition begins locally, he said. “Recognition creates a relationship with the site and helps in recognizing its value. Understanding unites, and is the key, a sign of recognition,” Jomantas commented on European Culture Days held several years ago when the theme was “We Create History Together.”

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky stressed the need for education and the role of teachers in recognizing cultural heritage. She said every small town has sites which are important and significant, but about which few know and few pay any attention. The town or regional administration should do what they can to teach students about their own local history, she said.