Romania

Last update: April, 2020

Over the years, the Romanian Government has targeted the increase of the population's interest in culture. This is the reason why the central administration has fostered several policies and programmes in this respect. Such an example is the programme INVEST IN YOURSELF. This is a governmental programme with the purpose to grant a credit to individuals aged between 16 and 26 within the education system or who are attending specialised courses authorised by the Ministry of National Education and by the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice, as appropriate, as well as to individuals aged 26-55 within the education system or who are attending professional reconversion and / or specialisation courses, authorised by the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice, as appropriate, for a maximum period of 10 years, including the grace period. The destination of the credit is to cover the needs of the beneficiaries and their families in terms of education, health and culture. 

Another important programme for the promotion of culture among children and youth is Alternative School. This programme supports culture in education. During each school year, a week is planned for extra-curricular and extra-school educational activities. The goal of this programme is to involve all pre-school and school pupils and their teachers in activities responding to the various interests and preoccupations of pre-school and school pupils, to valorise their skills and capacities in various fields, not necessarily present in the national curriculum, as well as to encourage their participation in various activities, in non-formal contexts.  These activities may be organised as: workshops of theatre, dance, music, plastic arts, media and cinema education; competitions organized at various levels; volunteering or community activities; community and social responsibility projects; creation or research camps / schools.

Last update: April, 2020

Since 2005, the Cultural Consumption Barometer has been one of the most important studies carried out by the Research Team of the National Institute for Cultural Research and Training. The Cultural Consumption Barometer is a representative survey and its goal is the description and analysis of the cultural sector in Romania as far as the level of the cultural consumption is concerned. The main objectives of the study are: measurement of the degree of adjustment of cultural goods distribution infrastructure to the population needs, measurement of the cultural consumption and participation, measurement of the population’s cultural needs, identifying the preferences and cultural consumption behaviour. Among the topics approached in the study there are: distribution infrastructure of the cultural goods and services, cultural heritage, private cultural infrastructure, cultural capital, allocated budget to the cultural consumption and Romanian population’s preferences in terms of leisure.

Table. People who participated in or attended a certain cultural activity during the last 12 months in Romania (in % of the population, over 3 available years)

Source: Cultural Consumption Barometer 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 

Although the forms of cultural consumption within the non-public space still have the highest level of frequency, for certain cultural consumption practices within the public space we recorded a slight increase of the frequency in the last two years: watching films in movie theatres and participation in music or entertainment shows. Visiting museums or libraries has remained at the same level in the last two years, while the participation in theatre performances has been decreasing.

Last update: April, 2020

Table: Household cultural expenditures by expenditure purpose (2015, 2016)

Source: National Institute of Statistics of Romania, Household Survey for Incomes and Expenditures, 2015 and 2016

Last update: April, 2020

At the national level, the activity of the cultural centres is regulated by the Emergency Ordinance no. 118/21 December 2006 (updated) on the set up, organisation and development of cultural establishments' activities. The funding of the cultural establishments is provided by the local public administrations, but there is no official statistics with the number of cultural centres at national level as yet. These small, nationwide-spread entities, present in almost all the territorial administrative units, are important especially for the drafting of a minimal cultural offer in the rural and small urban areas, inclusively due to their actual or possible contribution to the permanent education, to the professional training and orientation, as well as to the preservation of the intangible heritage.    

We must mention that these establishments play a unique role, which should not be underestimated, not only in providing basic cultural and ongoing education services, but also in terms of intangible heritage. From the viewpoint of the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) protection, which is one of the main goals of the establishments, and main  centres/departments for the conservation and promotion of traditional culture,  Law no. 26/2008 on the protection of the intangible cultural heritage and the subsequent regulating framework must be mentioned. Under the effect of this framework, a series of important measures and action directions were set, many of them in accord with the provisions of the Convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage, adopted in Paris on the 17^th of October 2003, ratified by Romania through the Law no. 410/2005.