Back in October 2016, a group of teachers and educators in Romania gathered for the first national conference aimed to help promote awareness of Romanian heritage at the secondary education level. The conference has set the stage for implementing a national heritge education programme designed to highlight the themes such as knowledge, promotion and preservation of national heritage community among teachers and students in public educational institutions.

In 2017, each school and region in Romania will participate in activities dedicated to exploring the country's history and culture. By motivating students to learn more about their local traditions, arts, crafts and cultural values, these projects will help promote promote national heritage and active participation of the youth in heritage preservation.

Timeless Bucharest: A journey into the history of Bucharest – famous palaces

Already proposed for approval by UNESCO World Heritage Comission, the Timeless Bucharest project recognizes students as promoters and keepers of the cultural heritage of the Romania’s capital. Through this project, students will be encouraged to explore their creativity and understanding of national cultural heritage by producing artifacts, drawings, posters, virtual images, artistic photos that celebrate the heritage of Bucharest, especially by taking into consideration the specifics of Brancovenesc style.

For two weeks between June and September, 2017, 30 students from Romania and partner countries will be involved in the activities focused on exploring heritage that resonates with the famous brancovenesc style, also known as Wallachian Renaissance or Romanian Renaissance, such as Coltea Monastery and Sfantul Gheorghe Monastery. In addition to this, particpants will also have the opportunity to learn more about the movable heritage (objects, books, clothes) dating from that time (late 17th and early 18th centuries) by studying in groups in the Romanian National Museum of Art (medieval art gallery).

Martisorul - PLEADING FOR intangible heritage

The second project that will be carried out within this heritage education initiative is dedicated to making the unique traditions of Romania closer to high school and university students. Organised by The National Commission of Romania for UNESCO and Education for Heritage online platform ( Patrimoniul Educativ) and supported by Romania’s various universities and collages, this project will have two sections:

Section I - dedicated to teachers and guests (professors, students, specialists), who will be involved in exploring the following themes:

  • Mărţişorul - a unique tradition in South East Europe (Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro and parts of Albania or Greece)
  • Popular Beliefs in South-Eastern Europe in relation to MARTISORUL
  • Social practices, rituals and festive events
  • MARTISORUL - living element of intangible cultural heritage

 

Section II – targeting students and all categories of teachers from various educational institutions (kindergarten, school, college, high school, art club for children) who can participate with up to 5 pages long research papers. More information about the project can be found on its Facebook page.

As a country-wide initiative, the heritage education programme for Romaninan schools will benefit both students and teachers by giving them new opportunities to discover heritage around them. Highlighting the importance of passing on the country’s unique traditions to new generations, the initiative ensures that the most valuable cultural and historic resources are appreciated and cherished by all generations.

 

Resources for the article provided by PhD. Roxana Zanea, National Project Coordinator