Rom-Antique Stories

As a historical minority in Romania, the Roma people have lived with the majority population for about five centuries, according to documentary evidence. However, the social distance between the Roma people and the majority population continues to be maintained, with stereotypes and prejudices remaining the main vectors that describe the Roma people in the minds of the majority population. This situation is caused by the ignorance and the lack of recognition of the history and culture of the Roma people, in the society as a whole, but especially in the educational system.
The project responds to the need for social and cultural inclusion of Roma people, starting from the following problems: difficulties in employment, discrimination against Roma children from marginalized communities, strong negative perception of Roma ethnicity, high level of distrust of the majority population towards the Roma. Their involvement in cultural and artistic events aims to stimulate interest and emphasize the importance of participation in education, but also to increase self-esteem as a result of inclusion through culture. Recognized for their talent in crafts, music and not only, both counselling and training Roma people in the creative cultural sector, as well as vocational training in cultural entrepreneurship will have a strong positive impact in increasing Roma employment.
The main objective of the project aims to increase the level of awareness and capitalization of Roma culture through integrative actions with cultural – artistic and professional content, with the involvement of Roma people from Neamţ county.
The “Ion Creangă” House of Culture, acting as project promoter, together with the National Athenaeum of Iaşi and DAC MUSIC PERFORMANCE from Norway, as project partners, propose a complex approach meant to improve the current situation of the Roma community in Romania and Norway. Thus, the project includes research activities on the formation and evolution of the Roma ethnicity and the highlighting of the contribution of Roma culture to the development of the cultural-artistic sector, as well as identification of stories and their dissemination through the publishing of a book. The National Athenaeum of Iasi will develop an artistic production of dramatic art based on the defining elements of Roma culture which will be staged in 10 performances. Another important indicator to be achieved is the development of a platform for the promotion of creations in the field of visual arts and cinematography (short films, recordings) made by children or young people from the Roma community in Romania and Norway and the organization of an exchange of experience and knowledge in Norway. There will also be information and vocational counseling sessions with an emphasis on identifying artistic and entrepreneurial skills, and organizing an internship for Roma people already working in the cultural-artistic sectors, in which they will gain knowledge regarding the functioning and organization of a public cultural institution.
The impact of the implementation of the project on the development of the cultural-artistic sector is based both on the results related to the improvement of the cultural context (development of a research and, subsequently, of a theatre play on Roma culture, publication of a book with a strong cultural content and development of a platform to promote Roma culture at international level), as well as the professionalization of specialists in the cultural-artistic field and investing in identifying and encouraging the artistic potential of Roma people (organizing an information and vocational counselling programme and deepening the knowledge on the use of artistic skills in the creation and development of innovative business models and by organizing an internship programme and exchange of experience and know-how).
The multiplier effect of the cultural-artistic approach is related to the process of transition from the status of non-consumer of culture to that of consumer in the case of at least 315 Roma people (200 people participating in the 10 performances of the play created, 75 children who participate in the art club, 35 people who participate in the program of information and vocational counseling in the artistic field, 5 people who participate in the program of internship and exchange of experience).
The degree of innovation of the project is focused on the platform for promoting creations in the field of visual arts (photographs, drawings, painting) and cinematography (short films, recordings) made by children or young people from the Roma community in Romania and Norway. The product innovation targeted by the project will be based on a staged structure that takes into account:
• digitizing artistic creations, creating a dataset and accessing it instantly;
• understanding the strategy and objectives that determine the adoption of digitized procedures in the process of consuming a cultural act;
• creating/strengthening software infrastructure and capacity for cultural inclusion and analysis;
• changing and innovating organizational management processes in the cultural-artistic sectors.