- 20 June 2024
- Tags Icr Eunic Liviu jicman Presedinte EUNIC Reteaua institutelor culturale
At the General Assembly held in Bucharest on June 19-20, 2024, the President of the Romanian Cultural Institute, Liviu Jicman, took over the mandate of President of EUNIC – European Union National Institutes for Culture. EUNIC is the network of national cultural institutes from the member states of the European Union, but also from the United Kingdom and Ukraine, and currently includes 39 cultural organizations from all EU member states and associated countries. EUNIC is active in 140 clusters worldwide. The new executive leadership of the EUNIC network (EUNIC Board) has the following members: President Liviu Jicman, Vice President Kirsten van den Hul (Director, DutchCulture), Hanna Lamsa (Executive Director, Finnish Cultural and Academic Institutes), Mary Ann Cauchi (Director of Funds and Strategies, Arts Council Malta), Carmen Noguero Galilea (Instituto Cervantes), Johannes Ebert (Goethe-Institut).
"I am honored by the trust my colleagues in the EUNIC network have given me. I begin my mission in this position, which I will hold for a year, with the belief that the vision, values, and collaborative actions of EUNIC are part of the solution for a strong cultural sector. The vocation for intercultural dialogue coupled with the common voice of EUNIC members provide the opportunity to promote the Funding of culture, the Role of cultural diplomacy in international relations, and Support for the Republic of Moldova in its European journey", said Liviu Jicman.
The General Assembly brought together at the headquarters of the National Bank of Romania and The Ark the leadership of EUNIC member organizations from 27 EU member countries, as well as representatives of the British Council and the Ukrainian Institute.
The special guest of the General Assembly was the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, Sergiu Prodan, who emphasized: "Culture is a bridge for the integration of Moldova into the European space, cultural cooperation being a cornerstone of our efforts to become an EU member. By strengthening cultural ties with European nations, we not only enrich our cultural landscape but also affirm our commitment to European Union’s core values: unity, diversity, and solidarity in a united Europe."
Volodymyr Sheiko, General Director of the Ukrainian Institute (UI), an associated partner of EUNIC, shared opportunities for cooperation between UI and EUNIC, emphasizing the acute need to multiply mobility programs for Ukrainian artists.
During the meetings over the two days, which included working group consultations, debate panels, plenary sessions, and presentations, the members of the network contributed to the development of the common vision for the EUNIC Strategic Framework 2025-2029, and the major topics chosen for the events that the network will organize in the next period. They also discussed mechanisms for supporting the activity of EUNIC clusters worldwide, as well as the development of collaboration with local partners in the more than 100 countries where the EUNIC network is active.
The program of the meeting also included the presentation of the study entitled New Geopolitics, Soft Power and International Cultural Relations, conducted by Hertie School/University of Oxford, commissioned by IfA.
The event in Romania was attended by guests from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, United Kingdom, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, Ukraine, Hungary.
For further details: https://www.eunicglobal.eu/
About EUNIC
EUNIC – European Union National Institutes for Culture is the network of national cultural institutes from the member states of the European Union, established in 2006, which currently includes 39 cultural organizations from all EU member states and associated countries, as well as 140 clusters. The Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) joined this network in 2007, and since spring 2008 has been a member of the EUNIC Romania cluster, alongside other foreign cultural institutes and embassies in Bucharest. Furthermore, through its foreign representations, the Romanian Cultural Institute is also a member of 22 other clusters: ICR "Titu Maiorescu" in Berlin is a member of the EUNIC Berlin cluster; ICR Beijing is a member of the EUNIC Beijing cluster; ICR Brussels is a member of the EUNIC Brussels and EUNIC Netherlands clusters; ICR Budapest is a member of the EUNIC Hungary cluster; ICR "Mihai Eminescu" in Chisinau is a member of the EUNIC Moldova cluster; ICR "Dimitrie Cantemir" in Istanbul is a member of the EUNIC Turkey cluster; ICR Lisbon is a member of the EUNIC Portugal cluster; ICR London is a member of the EUNIC London cluster; ICR Madrid is a member of the EUNIC Madrid cluster; ICR New York is a member of the EUNIC New York and EUNIC Washington DC clusters; ICR Paris is a member of the EUNIC Paris cluster and FICEP Paris – Forum des Instituts Culturels Étrangers à Paris; ICR Prague is a member of the EUNIC Prague and EUNIC Slovakia clusters; Accademia di Romania in Rome is a member of the EUNIC Rome cluster; ICR Stockholm is a member of the EUNIC Stockholm cluster; ICR Tel Aviv is a member of the EUNIC Israel cluster; ICR Warsaw is a member of the EUNIC Warsaw cluster; IRCCU Venice is a member of the EUNIC Milano cluster; ICR Vienna is a member of the EUNIC Austria cluster. In addition, the Romanian Cultural Institute is represented in another 29 clusters through the Romanian embassies: EUNIC Athens, EUNIC Azerbaijan, EUNIC Bosnia and Herzegovina, EUNIC Brasilia, EUNIC Buenos Aires, EUNIC Bulgaria, EUNIC Chile, EUNIC Cyprus, EUNIC Croatia, EUNIC Cuba, EUNIC Denmark, EUNIC Finland, EUNIC Iran, EUNIC Ireland, EUNIC Jordan, EUNIC Kenya, EUNIC Lebanon, EUNIC Malaysia, EUNIC Norway, EUNIC Ottawa, EUNIC Pakistan, EUNIC Peru, EUNIC Qatar, EUNIC Serbia, EUNIC Singapore, EUNIC Thailand, EUNIC Tunisia, EUNIC Uzbekistan, EUNIC Vietnam.
Since 2014, the EUNIC network has been supported by the Creative Europe program of the European Union.
