Romanian Culture Day

On January 15th, Romanians celebrate the birthday anniversary of their national poet, Mihai Eminescu and, since 2010, Romanian Culture Day.

Official meetings, concerts, exhibitions, book launches and film screenings are held every year by all Romanian cultural institutions at home and abroad to mark these events.

In an interview with Radio Romania, Culture Minister Ioan Vulpescu has said:

“Celebrating Mihai Eminescu’s birthday anniversary and the National Culture Day on the same date is a happy coincidence. Academy member Eugen Simion first came up with this idea some years ago and Parliament passed it in 2010. There have been very few cultural initiatives in Romania to gain ground so quickly and in such a profound way. I have noticed that bookshops in Bucharest are getting ready for this cultural celebration as well, with books by and about Eminescu displayed in their windows. There are also many other events.”

Often under financed, the field of culture has been marginalised in the 25 years since the fall of communism.

This is something that Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis has also noticed:

“It’s not enough to affirm the freedom of the creative act and the unlimited access to culture as basic constitutional rights. Without mechanisms aimed at supporting them, without constant and predictable programmes for the financing and preservation of the cultural heritage, these are just empty words.”

According to the culture minister, one solution is to come up with a national strategy for this field of strategic importance for a nation. Ioan Vulpescu:

“It is essential to have a national strategy in the field of culture. 25 years have passed since the anti-communist revolution and we still don’t have a strategy for the promotion of Romanian culture and civilisation at home and abroad. “

Mihai Eminescu, Constantin Brancusi, George Enescu, Eugen Ionescu and all of Romania’s great intellectuals and artists are the true unifiers of this country and have helped us build our identity and be proud of who we are,” Prime Minister Victor Ponta has also said.

Describing himself as a staunch supporter of tolerance, freedom of speech and cultural diversity and as a Romanian citizen who is proud of his nation’s cultural values, Ponta said the main goal of a European Romania is to promote all forms of cultural expression.

“This is our passport for the future”, Ponta concluded.