Revitalisation and promotion of the Oltenia minorities’ cultural heritage in the context of cultural diversity

Project facts

Project promoter:
University of Craiova
Project Number:
RO13-0025
Target groups
Minorities,
Roma
Status:
Completed
Initial project cost:
€170,464
Final project cost:
€149,786
From EEA Grants:
€ 127,318
The project is carried out in:
Romania

Description

The aim of this project is to document the cultural history of ethnic minorities living in the south-western Oltenia, from a multidisciplinary perspective. It will revitalise this cultural heritage and it will integrate it in a cultural tour accessible not only to specialists, but also to the general public. The tools used and the practical results of the project will be attractive and modern: an interdisciplinary guide book with a DVD that will highlight the minorities and will present their cultural heritage, in the context of cultural diversity. The project plans to reconsider the cultural history of larger (Roma) and smaller groups of minorities of Oltenia - Macedonians, Jews, Italians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Czechs, Armenians, Albanians, Serbians from a multidisciplinary perspective and to present it to the general public. 10 events with and on minorities - 2 workshops and 8 seminars with members of the minorities and cultural mass media will be organized. A permanent exhibition of heritage items specific to all the minorities will be organized. The project will also create an interactive bilingual webpage providing information on these minorities. The Norwegian School of Theology in Norway is the donor project partner in this project. It organises a study visit in Norway in order to share good practices and methods of valorisation of the ethnic minorities' traditions and values. The partner also appoints 2 experts in inter-ethnic and religious studies who will carry out interdisciplinary research besides the Romanian expert. The partner will also be involved into the organization of 2 workshops for the general public.

Summary of project results

There was no academic study of this kind about representative ethnic minorities in Oltenia region, but only disparate studies and documents on ethnic minorities in the region.. A multidisciplinary study was elaborated including religious, anthropological, sociological, historical, ethnological perspectives. The study offers an integrated and complex picture of the historical and cultural particularities of Oltenia region identity. The cultural products created within the project stimulated and will continue to stimulate the revitalization of the cultural heritage of Oltenia region represented by the material and spiritual contributions of the ethnic minorities established here, by making it visible and accessible to the general public. Among the main results, it is worth mentioning: 102 documentation sheets containing descriptions on cultural material and spiritual objects of ethnic minorities; part of the documentation sheets are published in the interdisciplinary study on ethnic minorities; over 100 digitized transpositions made, such as: 483 relevant photos of ethnic minority communities, architecture, monuments, cultural artefacts; 14 registered testimonials, artistic performances, speeches of ethnic minorities members; 90 selections of relevant bibliographic material; over 300 members of ethnic minority communities approached throught the research activity: 1 intercultural study published in 2000 copies Romanian and 1000 copies English and distributed; 1 working visit to Norway hosted by Norwegian partner, where 12 experts of the project team participated, an exchange visit in Romania, in Sibiu, hosted by Muzeul Astra Sibiu that implements a project financed by SEE, to exchange best practices and disseminate results; 1 permanent collection set up, exhibiting cultural artefacts of ethnic minorities from Oltenia region and 3005 visitors signed in the register of the collection; 1 bilingual website dedicated to the project. The ethnic community members benefited of visibility and recognition among the general public, having the opportunity to expose their defining cultural elements. The local community benefited from the enrichment and activation of the local cultural life through the cultural evenings and the opening of the permanent collection. The academic community benefited from the interdiscplinary study, since it brought a new, integrated and coherent perspective on the cultural heritage of Oltenia region.

Summary of bilateral results

The contribution of the Norwegian partner to the research study added an inedited perspective, as an example to the Oltenia region, in terms of harnessing the cultural diversity to which the ethnic minorities in Norway contributed. The realization of the interdisciplinary study in English and Romanian, with the involvement of the Norwegian partner, is a concrete result of the cooperation and useful use of expertise and resources. Experts in ethnic and religious studies on behalf of the Norwegian partner have also contributed to the work of collecting and processing documentary and field data. Experts have done documentary work by studying archives, bibliographic sources, sociological studies, etc. They selected and processed relevant information on the Norwegian experience with national minorities, which were included in the study printed in English and Romanian, "Minorities in Oltenia. Cultural Studies". Also, the sharing of the experiences with the integration of ethnic minorities, the resources and methods used by the Norwegian state in this respect, enriched and added the impact of the efforts and actions undertaken within this project in order to revitalize the cultural heritage. The experts on behalf of project promoter participated in a study trip to Norway in Oslo, an activity that was supportive for research and for the organization of the permanent collection. The partnership with the Norwegian School of Theology - a prestigious research institution - has increased the impact of the project by promoting the idea of cooperation in a context of cultural diversity, by increasing the complexity of the project, considering the involvement of a European partner with the ability to make relevant contributions to the creation and development of project results.