On Friday, January 31, the Pauls Stradiņš Museum of Medical History hosted the co-creation workshop “Culture and Health.” The event brought together representatives from Latvia’s Ministries of Culture, Health, and Welfare, along with sector experts, to outline the current state of cross-sector collaboration and establish a shared vision for its further development on a national scale. Policymakers and specialists worked on crafting a vision for cooperation between the culture and health sectors in Latvia.
Addressing the workshop participants on behalf of the organizers, Atis Egliņš-Eglītis, Deputy Chairman of Cēsis Municipality Council, emphasized:
“Culture is not just culture alone. It is also a pathway to health and well-being, representing a new and innovative approach and way of thinking. Cēsis and the Cēsis region have always been places of creativity and innovation, and this project continues our commitment to fostering a high quality of life for all residents. More importantly, we need to understand how we can ensure the long-term and nationwide application of our unique expertise in addressing cultural and well-being issues. That is why it is crucial to initiate this important dialogue and cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Welfare.”
The workshop opened with a keynote lecture by Ülla-Karin Nurm, Director of the Secretariat of the Northern Dimension Partnership on Public Health and Social Well-being. Her presentation, “The Role of Culture in Improving Human Health and Well-being,” introduced research on the positive effects of culture and the arts on both physical and mental health. She also shared insights into approaches adopted by various Baltic Sea region countries in developing national-level support systems for cross-sector collaboration.
This was followed by experience-sharing from Cēsis and Saldus municipalities on implementing the “Arts on Prescription” model—a cross-sector collaboration framework originally developed in the UK and adapted for the Baltic region. This model enables healthcare and social service professionals to refer clients to cultural activity programs aimed at improving mental health.
The workshop was facilitated by Līga Lindenbauma, an innovation project manager and service designer specializing in innovation and co-creation workshops. Throughout the day, participants engaged in carefully designed exercises, starting with mapping out current collaboration practices, resources, and obstacles, and concluding with defining concrete next steps for joint action. Participants agreed that, at present, the potential of culture in promoting public health and well-being in Latvia remains largely underrecognized and underutilized. Existing initiatives and projects have been sporadic, lacking sustainable cross-sector cooperation and service continuity. To address this, national-level policies and financial instruments are necessary.
At the conclusion of the workshop, participants collaboratively developed a roadmap outlining the steps to be taken by the state, municipalities, NGOs, and the private sector to strengthen collaboration between culture and health. Key proposals included integrating culture and health into the sectoral policy guidelines for the next planning period, developing a new cross-sector policy document, fostering new collaboration formats between municipal institutions, establishing an organization for “Culture and Health” based on international models, and identifying funding opportunities for cultural and health programs at both the European Union and local levels.
Cēsis and Saldus municipalities continue their work within the “Arts on Prescription” project, which will conclude in Latvia in November 2025 with an international conference dedicated to the collaboration between the culture, health, and social sectors in Latvia and beyond. Leading up to this event, sector specialists will continue to meet and engage in discussions.
The workshop was held as part of the “Arts on Prescription” project, supported by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme. The project is led in Latvia by partners from Cēsis and Saldus municipalities.
The project “Arts on Prescription in the Baltic Sea Region 2023–2025” is co-financed by the European Union (ERDF) under the INTERREG Baltic Sea Region Programme.
This text has been automatically translated using artificial intelligence.
