Romanian Cultural Institute moves under parliament authority

The government decided last week to transfer the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) from presidential authority to that of the parliament. This means that the director of ICR will no longer be appointed by the president but elections held under the supervision of the parliament will determine the management of the institution.

When discussing the decision PM Victor Ponta argued the institution is “too politicized” and it has to be more democratic and transparent. The decision has been taken under the government ordinance OUG no. 27 from June 13 with the justification that using public funds should be beyond any suspicion and it has to be under parliamentary control.

Responding to this statement, ICR argued that they yearly present the fund’s report. For 2011, ICR received from the state budget RON 41 million for which they organized 859 cultural events at ICR centers worldwide, 111 events in Romania, 31 events for the Romanian diaspora, 23 EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) events, 65 published titles of Romanian writers, 93 scholarships for Romanian students at ICR centers and more than 250 foreigners who studied Romanian language in Bucharest and Brasov.

According to the new law, the elections for ICR will be under the control of the Senate and the new director will be selected by a board of specialists.

The transfer from the authority of the presidency to that of the parliament has raised concerns from several NGOs. ARCEN (The Romanian Association for Culture, Education and Normality) is organizing tonight The Bow Tie Movement for supporting ICR. The movement is meant to show solidarity with the present director of ICR, Horia Roman Patapievici. Their manifesto supports five points which include the revocation of the new ICR law, keeping the term of the present management of ICR (which is supposed to end January 2013), maintaining a board of trustworthy intellectuals at the management of ICR, promoting and financing the projects of ICR according to the criteria of professionalism, without any political influence and respect for intellectuals in the Romanian public sphere.

The Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) is tasked with raising the profile of Romanian culture around the world. Cultural exports from Romania are mostly facilitated by the institute’s 16 foreign branches, located in Berlin, Brussels, Budapest (with a subsidiary in Szeged), Istanbul, Lisbon, London, Madrid, New York, Paris, Prague, Rome, Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Venice, Vienna and Warsaw. These are tasked with organizing high-visibility cultural events adapted to suit the tastes of foreign audiences, while at the same time ensuring that a balance is maintained between their uniqueness and an international appeal.

Oana Vasiliu