Its mission is to formulate and implement state cultural policies supporting professional and amateur art, theatre, music, fine arts, cinema, museums, libraries, and written publications, to guard copyright and copyright-related interests, and to protect cultural values.

The ministry awards prizes including Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts for achievements in the arts and culture, the Martynas Mažvydas Award for scholarly research, National Jonas Basanavičius Award for outstanding achievements related to ethnicity, also awards to young creators, librarians, translators, etc.

The Top Prize of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania is the honorary badge “Nešk Savo Šviesą Ir Tikėk”.

It is an acknowledgment of many years of work in the field of culture and arts, of creativity and its promotion.

Among the first laureates are the group of opera Sun & Sea (Marina) creators Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, Vaiva Grainytė, and Lina Lapelytė together with curators Rasa Antanavičiūtė and Lucia Pietrouisti, as well as the group of the documentary Bridges of Time creators and operatic soprano Asmik Grigorian.