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1. Fostering equality and young people involvement through cultural activities

2. Combating discrimination and poverty through cultural activities

Fostering equality and young people involvement through cultural activities

Policies/programmes/initiatives, their objectives and outcomes, and target groups and main lines of funding

Romania benefited from the Programme: ‘Promotion of Diversity in Culture and Arts within European Cultural Heritage’ under the European Economic Area Agreement between the European Union, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The Programme has been implemented by the Ministry of Culture from Romania, through the Project Management Unit (PMU) as Programme Operator, in partnership with Arts Council Norway as Donor Programme Partner. The aim of the "Promotion of Diversity in Culture and Arts within European Cultural Heritage” Programme referred to:

• increasing cultural dialogue and fostering the European identity through understanding of cultural diversity;
• helping reduction of economic and social disparities in the European Economic Area;
• strengthening the relations between the Donor States and Romania.

Young people are not an explicit target group of the programme, but they may be among target groups in specific projects. However, participation of young people to these projects is not monitored.

While no systematic evaluation of the programme have been conducted, the website presents success stories of funded projects. Being success stories, these projects have met  their aims and objectives as prezented:

• The Political Theatre Platform 2015, a project aiming at promoting cultural diversity through performances about vulnerable groups, the cultural representations of the Jewish minority through performances enacted by the residents of the “Dr. Moses Rosen” Home for the Elderly, raising awareness about civic issues among young people through participatory art, facilitating free access to theatre performances in Bucharest and 4 other Romanian cities, enhancing the artist's’ experience through Forum Theatre, developing bilateral relations by working with a Norwegian theatre company.
• Art Education Program for Roma Children, a project aiming at developing and implementing an education programme for social inclusion using art. The activities included the training of 16 socio-cultural animators through practice and mentorship; the training of 16 professionals from the field of culture and education for cultural expression; the participation of 400 Roma children to 6 camps and 3 visual arts workshops throughout a period of 6 months with the support of the 16 animators and 16 professionals; the promotion of education through art and culture as an instrument for social inclusion and consolidation of multiculturality by means of a street exhibition, short movie, website and an online brochure.
• Balkanik: Arts and Culture Festival, a project aiming at bringing to light the rich cultural traditions of minorities and the most expressive cultural manifestations of these traditions and to disseminate minorities’ stories and culture, offering them an opportunity to exhibit themselves.
• Amalgam International theatre festival, a project celebrating multiculturalism through a variety of activities, ranging from a scientific research, a complex communication campaign, a 5-day festival, workshops and seminars dedicated to professionals.
• Theatre Dialog Box, a caravan in which 28 students from Bucharest, selected on the basis of an application form, performed a play conceived by themselves, which highlighted the role of ethnic minorities and the commitment to equal opportunities in access to culture. The play have been represented in ten schools, eight in Romania and two in Norway.

On the other hand, with funds from the European Union through the CBC Program ENPI 2007-2013 Hungary-Slovakia-Romania-Ukraine, CREST Resource Centre in partnership with the Resource Centre for Education, Sustainable Development and Social Inclusion (CREDDIS), Star Association and Down Carei Foundation (Romania), ÉFOÉSZ Association in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County (Hungary) and the Civil Organisation for Tourism Development Rural and Agrotourism "In the Transcarpathian Valleys and Mountains" (Ukraine) carried out the project entitled ‘Cross-border Cultural Bridge for Social Inclusion’. The results of the project have been as follows:

• Development of the core competencies of 14 experts / volunteers from partner organisations for the use of expressive art therapy technology as therapeutic and educational tools working with disadvantaged children / young people in the first quarter of the project implementation;
• Improvement of the cooperation between partner organisations to develop personal development programs for disadvantaged children and young people during project implementation;
• Facilitation of the access of 50 disadvantaged children / young people to cultural and educational activities, discovering the multiculturalism of the Romania-Hungary-Ukraine border region during the last three quarters of the project implementation;
• Development of the artistic abilities of 50 disadvantaged children / young people with special needs keeping and transmitting the traditional cultural elements for 4 months of the project;
• Promotion of the social inclusion of disadvantaged children and young people in the cross-border region through a special artistic performance by 20 disadvantaged children / young people in the second semester of project implementation.

Combating discrimination and poverty through cultural activities

Policies/programmes/initiatives, their objectives and outcomes, and target groups

The Cantus Mundi National Program was institutionalized by Government Decision no. 821/2014, thus becoming, from a simple idea, a Directorate of the institution subordinated to the Ministry of Culture: Madrigal National Chamber Choir - Marin Constantin. The Cantus Mundi National Program aims to unite all children and young people of Romania through music, and aims to create an online platform that includes an extensive online scorecard, video lessons and audio scores, as well as a socializing and promoting motor the Romanian choral movement. The mission of the program includes several directions. First of all, social inclusion, so that, through the Cantus Mundi program, social inequities are overcome, children and young people from different backgrounds being able to sing together. Secondly, the program promotes the choral movement in the rural area, encouraging young people to participate in joint activities and facilitating the interaction between the vocal groups in different localities. Thirdly, Cantus Mundi aims at overcoming any form of discrimination, as the group choral activities help, through non-verbal communication, to create a social identity without distinguishing between race, religion, social affiliation, economic condition.

Main lines of public funding

Cantus Mundi is funded by the state budget.