Culture worries about the new wave of viruses: cinemas are already canceling shows Culture

The MO Museum hopes to have a passport of opportunity

Milda Ivanauskienė, director of the MO Museum, admits that she is worried about the fall.

“We very much hope that vaccination and the opportunity passport will allow the sectors to act,” he added. 15 minutes she said. “We understand that the use of masks will resume, there will be some restrictions on the number of visitors, but it is very important that cultural institutions do not stop working.”

“This will be the third time, so it is much easier to plan what the scenarios will be,” thought M. Ivanauskienė.

“We have tried everything: virtual education, field trips, but we know very well that it will not change the live experiences. September 3 A new exhibition will open at the MO Museum, so very few people would see it if it closed. And this great labor would be unexploited, “he said.

“Finance is a completely separate issue,” said the MO Museum director. “We are not recovering after the two closings.”

The small theater of Vilnius will perform in autumn

Daiva Baltūsytė-Len, deputy director of the Vilnius Small Theater (VMT), is planning a repertoire of performances in the fall.

As always, we will continue to operate in accordance with the resolutions currently in effect. If there are exacerbations or other requirements, we will take them into account, “he said about next fall.

If the quarantine were introduced, it would interrupt the planned performances, the premiere, the rehearsals, said D. Baltūsytė-Len.

“The theater must look for opportunities to negotiate and re-plan everything. I am no longer talking about unearned income when our activities were banned,” he said. “After all, the remuneration of actors and creative workers depends directly on the number of performances “.

“We are committed to the Ministry of Culture to implement the plans, but they often have to be changed due to quarantine restrictions,” he said. He noted that the ministry takes creative plans into account, but it would be worth looking at some aspects – the distribution of annual budgets, the possibility of freely adjusting the creative activities schedule – in a more flexible way.

The LNOBT would contribute to the promotion of vaccination

“Sadder thoughts are coming,” said J. Sakalauskas, speaking about next fall.

He assured that the LNOBT “will really contribute to the promotion of vaccination”: “We will do everything possible to remember those who want to be vaccinated and do not have a negative attitude towards vaccines.”

“It just came to our attention then. The world is already taking action and Lithuania has not yet taken it. Concerned that we have an exceptional season. And we expected it to be as before. And now we wait for the last ones,” said J. Sakalauskas.

According to him, several LNOBT events have already been canceled at his initiative: “The medical community is already preparing for a more difficult period, so it is obvious that some level of quarantine will be announced. I don’t want to scare the public, but all the signs are, although it has yet to be officially confirmed. “

J. Sakalauskas hopes that the approaching autumn will not hinder the trials, we have “vaccinated most of the people”: “We hope that many people will receive the vaccines in August, we will live this month testing, and in September we will see”.

The head of the LNOBT said he was confident that the conditions would be created for those vaccinated.

The National Library does not feel stressed

Renaldas Gudauskas, director of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library, said that “as a library director you do not feel stress due to the autumn.”

He expressed confidence in their authority and said they had “acted proactively” since the first quarantine began. “We adapt to the situation as much as possible, because we have many opportunities and creative employees,” said R. Gudauskas.

Currently, R. Gudauskas is preparing for a broader integrity so that the library can operate under limited conditions. “We are becoming a consumer space for active content creation, where everyone can participate,” he said.

“All these restrictions are not an additional plus for us, but, like all other organizations, they have forced us to move faster on the path of digital transformation,” said R. Gudauskas. – These are not formal words, but in reality we are a library open 24 hours. per day. This operating model is already visible in the world and we are among the most successful national libraries that operated during the period of the pandemic. “

S.Kairys: “No superplan will help”

15 minutes The Minister of Culture, Simonas Kairis, asked if the passport of opportunities will guarantee the activities of cultural institutions in the fall.

“First of all, we shouldn’t be talking about the passport of opportunities, but what we should all do together for the fall. “Everyone, especially those who work in the field of culture, whose leaders, who do not shy away from public communication, could invite people to get vaccinated, so that we do not think about closing the sector in the fall,” he said.

In his opinion, “no superplan will help”: “It is very clear what we have to do in the coming months.”

“We can think of some recovery plans, but they won’t always be effective. Still, the best support is activity. That means we shouldn’t stop them as much as possible.”

Are you considering preventing unvaccinated cultural workers from coming to work? “It just came to our notice then. The government has clearly decided which areas of the workers should be screened or vaccinated. At that time, we heard discussions about whether it is really fair for the state to pay for each test, despite the vaccine being has taken over, ”replied S. Kairys.

The minister assured that assistance with the quarantine was planned. “The Ministry and the Council of Culture are willing to respond flexibly to the processes.” Individual scholarships must be available and part of the costs that cannot be covered by the hearing must be reimbursed. “At the same time, there are measures from the Ministry of Economy and Innovation,” he said.

After calling the minister, he also shared his thoughts on the crash on his Facebook account:

How do cultural institutions manage to get vaccinated?

Minister of Health A. Dulkys July 21 setthat the word “quarantine” is from the dictionary of the past. According to him, it can be assumed that the closure will apply only to those who have not been vaccinated:

“If someone wants to talk about a pandemic, it is probably worth emphasizing that at this time it is not a pandemic in general, but a pandemic of those who have not been vaccinated.

If you want to talk to someone in Lithuania about the status of the quarantine or the quarantine itself, let’s start with the fact that it is the quarantine of those who have not been vaccinated, ”he said.

Kairys also confirmed that “the government would not want something like quarantine to happen.”

So, How15 minutes Do the cultural institutions in question achieve vaccination?

According to M. Ivanauskienė, the MO museum team “got vaccinated as soon as the opportunity arose.” “We really want to receive visitors safely and not endanger others,” he said.

D.Baltūsytė-Len stated that the majority of VMT employees have been vaccinated. “Inside the theater, we have a proven warrant to provide proof that we have been vaccinated or screened.”

At that time, J. Sakalauskas claimed almost 70 percent. LNOBT has some protection, that is, it is sick or has received one or two vaccines. “We can say that our theater is moving towards the development of herd immunity,” he said.

“We do not expect a miracle to force everyone to get vaccinated. However, the majority of workers are in favor of vaccination. Our goal is that LNOBT 75-80 percent. People should have protection,” said J. Sakalauskas.

R. Gudauskas stated that due to the number of vaccinated employees he does not have very precise data, “because they are changing.” But he assured: “We are behaving 100 percent. in accordance with all Government instructions, and more than 50 percent. library staff have been vaccinated. “

“We highly recommend these things,” assured R. Gudauskas. However, our encouragement is light, as the union community (two-thirds of the team members belong to them) has categorically warned that leaders respect human rights. If vaccination is not mandatory, it is. “

Would you hire unvaccinated people?

When the heads of cultural institutions asked them if they would agree not to hire unvaccinated people, there were different opinions.

According to the head of the LNOBT, the mandatory tests should be left because “everyone has to be protected.”

“It is a last resort not to hire those who do not apply. Also, I’m sure we still have a month and a half to encourage people to get vaccinated by other means. They should be used, “said J. Sakalauskas. He added that there are still people who have not been vaccinated, not because of the attitude towards the vaccine, but because of the relaxation.

Responding to this question, R. Gudauskas stated that the draft bill is currently being prepared: “I will only receive the latest version of it, so I would not like to improvise the answer. We observe current conditions. And really those who have a relationship with external users must work safely, be vaccinated. However, we have many employees who can work remotely. “

M.Ivanauskienė’s response sounded like this: “Theoretically, we didn’t even consider that possibility. The MO Museum team are conscientious people who are thinking about a secure future for themselves and for all citizens. “