Lithuania holds its 16th national dictation event

Lithuania’s annual National Dictation will take place for the 16th time on Thursday, with participants writing simultaneously across the country, LRT reports.

The event begins at 11:00 local time, with participants gathering in libraries, municipalities, schools, community centres, or joining from home. The dictation text will be broadcast live on LRT Radio.

Organiser Vytautė Šmaižytė-Kuliešienė emphasised the event’s role in fostering national unity and connection to the Lithuanian language. “Each spring, we receive countless questions about when the next dictation will be held,” she said. “We are delighted to invite everyone once again to come together over the dictation sheet.”

Top performers will advance to the final round, where winners are traditionally selected in three categories: most literate student, adult, and Lithuanian living abroad. The event has been held annually since 2006, drawing tens of thousands of participants both in Lithuania and overseas, including students, professionals, and members of Lithuanian diaspora communities.

Each year’s text is an original piece by a Lithuanian author—last year’s was written by prose writer Birutė Jonuškaitė. The dictation typically takes around 50 minutes to complete, depending on the length of the text.