Lithuania expands Culture Pass to preschoolers and launches new Education & Youth Department in Vilnius

The Lithuanian government approved the Culture Ministry's proposal to extend the Culture Pass programme to include children in pre‑school education and students attending Lithuanian schools abroad. Currently serving about 380,000 children, the expansion will allow roughly 100,000 preschoolers to use the pass from 2028 and an additional 10,000 abroad‑based students from 2029. Culture Minister Lukas Alsys highlighted the initiative’s role in integrating cultural education early and noted the programme’s budget of €5.2 million, providing about €14 per student and access to more than 6,000 cultural activities nationwide.

Separately, the Vilnius City Municipality began a major restructuring of its education administration. A new Education and Youth Department will be created to clarify responsibilities, implement data‑driven strategic management, and improve monitoring of school performance. Deputy Mayor Vytautas Mitalas said the reform aims to accelerate decision‑making, reduce overlapping functions, and support the city’s plan to rebuild over ten schools in the next five years. The department will encompass early childhood and general education, as well as informal education and youth policy, cooperating with organisations such as EDU Vilnius and the Vilnius Development Company.