In the end of January, the Pauls Stradiņš Museum of Medical History in Riga, Latvia hosted a workshop Culture and Health. The event brought together representatives from Latvia’s Ministries of Culture, Health, and Welfare to assess the current state of intersectoral collaboration and define a shared vision for its future development on a national scale. Policy planners and experts worked together to draft a strategic vision for collaboration between the cultural and healthcare sectors in Latvia.

Opening the workshop on behalf of the organisers, Atis Egliņš-Eglītis, Deputy Chairman of Cēsis Municipality Council, emphasised the transformative role of culture.

Culture is more than just an art form; it is also a pathway to health and well-being. This represents a new and innovative approach to thinking. Cēsis and the Cēsis region have always been hubs of creativity and innovation, and this project reaffirms our commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all residents. Moreover, it is crucial to understand how our unique expertise in cultural and well-being initiatives can be sustained in the long term and expanded across Latvia. This is why establishing a dialogue and collaboration with the Ministries of Culture, Health, and Welfare is so important.

Followed by Ülla-Karin Nurm, Director of the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being Secretariat who in her presentation introduced research highlighting the positive effects of cultural and artistic activities on both physical and mental health. She also shared insights into how various Baltic Sea region countries have developed national support systems for cross-sector collaboration.

The event showcased case studies from Cēsis and Saldus municipalities, focusing on the implementation of the “Arts on Prescription” model. Originally developed in the UK and adapted for the Baltic region, this approach enables healthcare and social service professionals to refer clients to cultural activity programmes aimed at improving mental health.

The workshop was facilitated by Līga Lindenbauma, an innovation project manager and service designer with expertise in co-creation workshops. Throughout the day, participants engaged in structured activities, mapping out existing collaborative practices, identifying available resources and challenges, and, ultimately, agreeing on a set of concrete next steps. There was broad consensus among attendees that Latvia has yet to fully recognise and leverage culture’s potential in promoting health and well-being. While past initiatives have been implemented, they have largely been sporadic, lacking sustained cross-sector cooperation and long-term viability. To address this, participants highlighted the need for national-level policy frameworks and financial instruments to support such initiatives.

As a key outcome of the workshop, participants co-developed a roadmap outlining steps for national and local government institutions, NGOs, and the private sector to strengthen collaboration between the cultural and healthcare fields. Key recommendations included incorporating culture and health into the next policy planning cycle, developing a new cross-sector policy document, fostering new forms of cooperation between local government institutions, establishing a Culture and Health organisation modelled on international examples, and securing financial support for culture and health programmes at both the European Union and local levels.

Cēsis and Saldus municipalities continue their work on the Interreg BSR project Arts on Prescription in the Baltic Sea Region, which will conclude in Latvia in November 2025 with an international conference dedicated to cross-sector collaboration in culture, health, and social care both nationally and globally. In the lead-up to this event, industry experts will engage in further meetings and discussions to advance these efforts.

The workshop has been co-financed by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme 2021 – 2027 in the frame of the Arts on Prescription in the Baltic Sea Region project, coordinated in Latvia by the municipalities of Cēsis and Saldus.