Romania plans national arts awards

The Ministry of Culture and National Identity in Romania is looking to establish the national arts awards, introduced through a 2008 government decision that was not implemented so far. The awards are meant to recognize the value and contribution of several personalities of Romanian culture and civilization who played an important part in making Romanian culture known abroad. The Culture Ministry will fund the awards from its own budget. These will be granted in a yearly ceremony, on January 15, the National Culture Day. Introduced in 2010, Romania’s National Culture Day is the birth date of Romanian poet and novelist Mihai Eminescu, a canonical figure of Romanian literature, and a representative of the local Romanticism. The proposals for nominees can be submitted by local creative unions and associations to the Culture Ministry until November 15. The Culture Ministry will also be in charge with drafting the eligibility criteria for the nominees, the criteria for grating the awards, and the functioning rules for the national commissions that will grant the awards. The ministry has the project of the awards under public debate until June 12. The text of the project is available in Romanian here. editor@romania-insider.com