New evidence base for Culture and Health initiatives across Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia
Report Status Quo in the Field of Culture and Health Interventions for Vulnerable Groups in the Baltic Countries (2025) provides the first comprehensive overview of how culture and health are connected across Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, mapping policies, training frameworks, practices, and end-user perspectives at macro, mezzo, and micro levels. Developed within the Erasmus+ project Inclusive Wellbeing Through Arts and Culture in the Baltics (WITAC) by the Latvian Academy of Culture, Riga Stradiņš University, Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, the report consolidates international and national evidence demonstrating the positive impact of cultural and artistic engagement on health and well-being, while identifying key gaps in regulation, professional training, cross-sector collaboration, and impact evaluation.
This report aims to provide a comprehensive mapping and analysis of cross-sector initiatives connecting culture and health in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, with a focus on programmes serving vulnerable groups such as individuals with mental health challenges and others. Combining extensive desk research with a qualitative study (in-depth interviews) involving stakeholders from the cultural, health, and social sectors (including voices from vulnerable communities), it is structured around a three-tier framework: the macro-level review surveys national and municipal policy frameworks that support culture and health collaboration, the mezzo-level explores professional training, institutional support mechanisms, and current practices, and the micro-level highlights on-the-ground initiatives and the experiences of end-users within vulnerable communities. To further contextualize the Baltic findings and provide inspiration, comparisons are drawn with good practice examples from Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Finland), showcasing effective models and approaches in the Culture and Health domain. By highlighting themes ranging from policy development and capacity-building to community engagement, the study offers practical insights and evidence-based recommendations for stakeholders. It serves as a valuable resource for policymakers, educators, practitioners, and researchers, guiding intersectoral policymaking, enriching professional training curricula, and inspiring the development of innovative Culture and Health interventions to enhance health and well-being across the Baltic region.
The evidence reflected in the report has served as the evidence base for the development of the micro-qualification programme Culture and Health: Managing Cross-Sectoral Initiatives by systematically identifying gaps in existing policy frameworks, training provision, and professional competencies at the intersection of culture, health, and social work across the Baltic region. Drawing on these findings, the programme’s learning outcomes, curriculum structure, and interdisciplinary competency framework were designed to prepare professionals to lead cross-sectoral initiatives that support inclusive well-being and cultural participation among vulnerable communities, directly addressing needs highlighted in the report. Launched for professionals from Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, the course runs from September 2025 to June 2026 and awards a micro-qualification worth 10 ECTS, fully supported by the Erasmus+ project Inclusive Wellbeing Through Arts and Culture in the Baltics (WITAC), thereby translating research insights into structured, practice-oriented training that strengthens cross-sector collaboration and sustained professional development.
Read the report here.
