in DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURAL AND SPORTING ACTIVITIES IN VILLAGES OF LITHUANIA

. In large and small villages, regardless of tourist attraction, cultural life is faded; people's initiative is low as urban migration is extremely high. Many ethnographic villagers do not realize that they live in a significant for the state areas. The younger generation is embarrassed by local traditions, folklore. The low level of aesthetic education (music, art, design, architecture), and the poor possibilities of organizing artistic celebrations for the younger generation make them the users of the lowest level of urban culture. The relevance of the research: employees of Lithuanian rural culture centers - a group uniting almost three thousand people, invited to make sense of rural people's leisure time, to create conditions for the development of amateurism in small villages. 882 country cultural centers in villages, towns and cities are institutions of universal use or specific activities. Their work varies, depending on what traditions have formed, the ambitions of the district or eldership that local cultural and sports departments seek. You will not find a cultural center where they would not sing, dance, play, perform, or celebrate. Also, exhibitions are regularly opened. Obviously, more intensive activity takes place in metropolitan areas, district centers, and in resorts during the summer. As here there is more space, more culture and more communities. Village and town culture institutions that are constantly communicating with schools, libraries, religious communities, neighborhoods, and sports clubs are also gaining significant results. However, it is appropriate to move to specific data from the theoretical point of view. Those members of rural communities who go in for sport individually face health supervision problems. Inadequate attention is paid the development of personal responsibility for the main problems of rural community activities, the poor condition of rural social infrastructure objects are mentioned, therefore the process of establishment of community centers for the establishment of universal multifunctional centers is one of the significant tools for the development of rural communities and thus the development of cultural and sports activities.

Cultural and sporting services in the context of community development.
Defining culture precisely and unambiguously is extremely difficult.It is said that about 150 definitions of cultural concept have been created.The idea of culture, like all important ideas, was a work of many great minds and it was gradually developed.There are still large civilized nations that, according to Kroeber, a prominent American anthropologist, refuse to include the word 'culture' in their intellectual vocabulary.
On the other hand, both the ancient people and the inhabitants of the poorly civilized countries know some cultural phenomena, such as specific customs."We are not doing that, we do this" -such an affirmation is the recognition of a cultural phenomenon.In certain situations and contexts, the concept of culture is inherent in the concept of society.Culture can only exist if there is a society, and on the contrary, every society has a particular culture.It should be emphasized that culture can only be created and functioned in the human community.
Culture encompasses all aspects of group activity -thinking, belief, cognition, and feelings that have accumulated through the long ages of social group existence and have been passed down from generation to generation [6].Social groups mean different attitudes, beliefs and feelings.It is embedded in different cultural ideals, superstitions, logic, stereotypes, word, music, visual arts, and technical creation, ranging from a simple arrow to an airplane.
Culture consists of wellestablished patterns of thinking, sensation and reaction, with the help of symbols acquired and transmitted.Culture is based on traditional, historically tested ideas and values.Culture has not only content but also structure.Culture is like a "plan of life" that has settled in the course of history.Both parts of the culture must be taken into account when studying culture: visible and understandable, and hidden, symbolic side of culture [6].Culture is a system of meanings that members of that culture give to individuals and the environment that make up that culture.
Culture encompasses the whole body of ideas and material things created by human society and adapted to life.Culture is a product of human activity, but at birth a person already enters the appropriate culture that has been created before.participation in the provision of public services and public policy [8,9].
Local communities are most different from NGOs because they do not formalize their activities.It is therefore suggested to define a functional local community as follows: a functional local community is a group of people living in a defined area and performing certain activities for the benefit of that place, which creates a common interest and an inner feeling that they belong to the same group of people.A functional local community can be defined by the following key criteria: • Communication system is in operation; • explores spiritual values, ethno-culture, and therefore creates a favorable environment for the community's individual to grow and develop; • interaction between individuals, neighbors, groups, organizations takes place; • Social order development; • Individuals trust themselves and their neighbors; • Democratic principles are implemented.What is called here a functional local community in the Western countries is called a civil society, and it is defined as being characterized by citizen participation in public affairs, and their interrelationship is based on horizontal mutual and interpersonal relationships, based on mutual respect and trust, even when attitudes towards the essentials are different [10], or neighborhood, which is an area where the population occupies certain spaces of life; use the same services and shared facilities, participate in the same activity: take care, strive to maintain and improve material things, spiritualize community life, enrich the environment, which also requires commitment.Both local communities and civil society or neighborhood cannot be confused with longstanding institutions in the western countries, though, in Lithuania rapidly developing only in recent years, as it has been mentioned earlier.
The place where different ages, different levels of education, diverse societies meet, people who come here to unite their knowledge, combine their experience and desire to learn, study common problems, work for the same purpose [2].This is nothing more than one or more community organizations in the local community that are formal.
At present, the formation of rural communities has been influenced by movements of ethnic minorities by ethnographic regions and associations of rural women farmers.The main goal of rural communities in Lithuania is to encourage the population to try to improve their living conditions, motivate them for self-help and cultural self-expression, to strengthen the expressions of solidarity and community, and to prevent the spread of social exclusion.It is precisely from the social development of the communities that the economic growth of the population may begin, which is crucial for creating the right conditions for sustainable rural development [1].
To sum up, the concept of "community" also includes other concepts, the formation of which was influenced by the conditions and factors of different periods, although the main unifying relationship -"common", "community" -remains at all times.From the point of view of public law, the rural community is a municipal unit for local affairs.
The local community is the population of the municipality's residential area (part of it or several residential areas), linked to the common needs and interests of the neighborhood and meeting these needs and interests through various forms of direct participation (meeting, public hearing, survey, activity through their representatives, community organizations and etc. [10] In the application of these definitions, the community can form a compact group of people living in the territory of a local municipality, which may be a municipality or an eldership, but there may be several independent communities within the territory of one local self-government.
The laws of Lithuania do not preclude the villages from having their own community.The same situation should be in towns where there may be several communities with different local names in the territory of an eldership.It would be appropriate to describe the community as a group of people sharing the same space, similar experiences and / or similar interests, pursuing commonly formulated goals.
The rapid growth of the number of organizations in rural communities is determined by various objectives and expectations of material and ideological nature.However, the objectives formulated by the organizations themselves are not so much the desire to create something new, but to correct the current situation.The main goal of rural communities in Lithuania is to encourage people to try to improve their own living conditions, increase reliance on self-help and motivate cultural self-expression, to reinforce the manifestations of solidarity, to prevent the spread of social exclusion trends.
Activities carried out by rural community organizations cover a wide range of community needs.They are involved in the organization of cultural and sporting events, preparation of environmental management tasks, take care of leisure activities of children and youth, improvement of rural infrastructure, education of inhabitants, solving of rural social problems, representation of inhabitants in governmental institutions, etc.
The following main problems of rural communities can be distinguished: lack of information and some services in rural areas, poor condition of rural social infrastructure objects, limited economic development opportunities and dependence of rural population on social support system; low community interest in solving their own problems.One of the possible obstacles to the development of new activities is the lack of competence and skills of community leaders.
There is no lack of young people in rural areas, more and more young people studying in metropolitan areas are eager to visit parents and grandparents in homesteads, actively participate in community life, offer new ideas and try to implement them.New technologies transform the approach to life in the area -access to information services is unlimited, but a person who lives in a clean environment, has more space and freedom.Indeed, the approach to the village is increasingly changing -rural areas are improving and getting better every year, and projects funded by the European Union are attracting more and more young entrepreneurs.
According to Jasaitis (2014), studies show that the rural population of the new categories appreciates the relaxation and rehabilitation effects of the countryside.This feature is implemented in several directions: 1.
Creating new wellness and sports areas tailored to the needs of both mass and small groups, families and individuals; 2. New types of nature entertainment are being developed, as well as infrastructure for them; 3.
Organizations", collectives" and personal celebrations are organized in the countryside.New objects are being built for these needs, reconstructed manor complexes are being adapted, etc 4.
The role of the institute of religion in rehabilitation and resocialization processes is restored.Pilgrimage tourism, youth camps, churches and monasteries and their environmental management talks are becoming more popular.
The main goals of sport as leisure and recreational activities are to create conditions for municipal residents to systematically engage in physical education and sports, to develop mass sports, to guarantee access to sport for everyone, to provide access to school sports bases and inventory for municipal residents, to achieve the introduction of the third physical education lesson at schools, to provide the right conditions for cultivating sport and physical education.
Тhe value benchmarks of the concept of sport as a social system, a social institution and a social movement expressing its cultural core are revealed; it is proved that modern sport as a social system, social institute and social movement is an effective means to overcome the crisis phenomena of modern civilization [3,4].
Studies have shown that rural areas have not yet developed a relaxation and rehabilitation function.Although the demand for this type of service is constantly increasing, a very small proportion of the available recreational resources have been used up to the recent time.Unlike residents of many Western countries, Lithuanian society is not yet able to get rid of the health-obsessive routine.
There is a lack of appropriately equipped places suitable for rehabilitation, during post-operative and post-traumatic periods.And the persistent tensions in workplaces and in the public environment, new qualification requirements for professionals, the challenges of globalization, even the problems of personal life, are leading to a rapid increase in the value of the so-called recreational industry.According to Jasaitis (2014), restoring the economic and cultural vitality of these areas, which has recently dwindled drastically, can be achieved through the development of alternatives to agriculture, which means nonagricultural businesses.
The need for more efficient use of local resources and renewable energy sources also creates a favorable environment for economic activity.Such diversification, based on the creation of new jobs for educated people, increases the attractiveness of economic and socio-cultural potential of these areas.
It is planned that in rural areas where no more than 1000 inhabitants live, new types of services for the population -multifunctional centersshould emerge.60 percent of multifunctional center activities should be devoted to education: preschool, pre-school children can be trained here, mother-child groups are created for young children, where parents together with their children improve their parenting skills, children and pupils are provided with education as well as information, psychological and special pedagogical help, moreover, various out-of-school activities are organized: clubs, events etc.For adults various courses, distance learning and entertainment are provided.Other activities in this area could be cultural or social: the center could be a library, a reading room, a charity, the hairdresser"s, etc.
The multifunctional centers will help to create and develop a modern, complex system of educational, cultural and social services in rural areas.It is planned to finance the establishment and development of centers by modernizing and adapting the premises of former small schools, cultural houses, libraries for community use.Premises repairs, equipment and furniture will be financed to accommodate the building to different age groups and their needs.
Centers are expected to solve the problem of insufficient quality, supply and accessibility of education and social services in rural areas.According to Aleksandravičius and Ţukovskis (2011), principles of successful rural community activities are that communities must be open, learn from their own and other activities, be able to adapt to constantly changing living conditions, should be flexible and receptive to innovations.And this is achieved if community members share the same values; their members trust each other and clearly understand the goals of the local community.
Through targeted community activities and in order to integrate the rural population into active social life, creative activities of cultural and sport managers can become one of the important factors in creating sustainable rural development.

Conclusions
The community is defined as a group of people sharing the same space, similar experiences and / or similar interests, pursuing commonly formulated goals, and the main goal of rural communities is to motivate the population to focus their efforts on improving their living conditions, motivating them for self-development and cultural self-expression, strengthening solidarity, trying to prevent the spread of social exclusion trends.
Activities carried out by rural community organizations cover a wide range of community needs.This includes organizing cultural and sporting events, arranging environmental management tasks, taking care of leisure activities for children and young people, improving rural infrastructure, educating the population, solving rural social problems, representing residents in government institutions and others.
The poor condition of rural social infrastructure objects was mentioned as the main problem of rural community activity, therefore, the process of establishment of community centers in the establishment of Universal Multifunctional Centers is one of the significant tools for the development of rural communities and thus the development of cultural and sports activities.