The hosting of the European Political Community Summit by the Republic of Moldova attracts international attention and opens up new opportunities for cultural interconnection of the counties of the European community. The moment is opportune for the Republic of Moldova to open doors to new cooperation relations and to assume responsibility for integrating its culture into the European one in an organized way, said experts invited to IPN’s public debate “EPC Summit, opportunities opened up for cultural interconnection”.
Director of the National Museum of Romanian Literature Maria Shleahtitski said that from the viewpoint of cultural heritage, the Republic of Moldova has what to offer to the European community and she would like the credit of image that will be given after the EPC Summit to be maximally put to good use.
“I want very much the summit to take place in safe conditions so that we could show in the best way our essence, that we are actually good people, that we are a young state and that we draw conclusions from what we experienced in time. That’s why we want to join the European Union and we are actually united by a national idea, which is the integration into the European Union. Regardless of the ethnicity, we all want to live better. I would like this thing to be disseminated and realized and also the fact that Moldova is a southern country with picturesque places and that tourists can come and investors can come and that this country, this state can soon become an EU member state, and that the people of this state can be trusted and the legislative tasks given to them will be fulfilled and they will show they are Europeans and their values are also European,” stated Maria Shleahtitski.
Andrei Chistol, secretary of state of the Ministry of Culture, said the diversity and intercultural communication element is a defining one and a principle of governance. The EPC Summit will open many doors for cultural interconnection, but this should also bring an increased level of responsibility for taking these new opportunities.
“The investments must be prioritized. We need rather many programs and financing for a multitude of activities in the Republic of Moldova, and also access to foreign markets, mobility, exhibitions, participations. We need this support because it brings recognition and a positive image and also persons who are willing to come to the Republic of Moldova. If we refer to the tourism’s contribution to the GDP of 3.3%, this is not at all ignorable. This is a sector with prospects and it develops in a harmonious way with the cultural life in the Republic of Moldova and with our localities. We surely have extraordinary cultural heritage. We have extraordinary artists and this potential is an important element of the national and international tourist offer. That’s why a bigger investment in the competitiveness of these elements is essential, but the investment in quality and safety is the most important one, including on the part of the fellows who work in public institutions, cultural institutions of the local and central levels,” stated Andrei Chistol.
As to the policies pursued by the state to support the ethnic minorities and integration into the European space, the director general of the Interethnic Relations Agency Dmitri Moruz said that these should be for a long term and should be sustainable as it is hard to speak about the integration in the short run only. The EPC Summit is an additional reason for telling the world how the Republic of Moldova manages to do so that all the citizens feel safe and live in harmony.
“If a country becomes part of a larger community, we found ourselves among many countries and this reminds me of the airport. In the airport, I never saw discrimination or abuse related to the language, ethnicity or the country of origin. Everyone is welcomed and everyone is somehow tolerated as the people deal with their own businesses and have something to do. In this regard, I hope and expect that we will make use of everything that will be offered to us and will develop our communities further,” stated Dmitri Moruz.
The public debate entitled “European Political Community Summit, opportunities opened up for cultural interconnection” was the fifth installment of IPN’s project “Support for European Integration by stimulating discussion in the mass media about the European Political Community (EPC) Summit” that is supported by Soros Foundation Moldova.
