A group of graduate and post-graduate students from Germany will participate during August 24 – September 14 in the 7th Summer School “The European Course: Challenges and Opportunities for Moldova and its Neighbors”. The Summer School is organized by the education organization Moldova-Institut Leipzig, in partnership with the Moldova State University's History and Philosophy Faculty, the Romanian Language House “Nichita Stanescu” and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), IPN reports.
The Summer School will officially open on August 25 at the Romanian Language House. The program will include an intensive course of Romanian, taught by Violeta Crudu and Alexei Axan of the Romanian Language House. Additionally, the participants will have a series of meetings with representatives of governmental and civil society organizations, which will familiarize them with many aspects of Moldovan history as well as current sociopolitical situation and Moldova's relations with different countries in the region.
Formal discussions within the Summer School will cover issues such as: “Moldova as part of the Russian Empire: governance in Bessarabia”, “Moldova as part of the Romanian Kingdom – WWII – the Soviet Era – from the Proclamation of Independence to the Present Day”, “Moldova between the EU and Russia: Opportunities, Expectations, Illusions”, “Moldo-German Cooperation. Politics, Economy and Culture” etc.
The School's participants will be offered Chisinau tours as well as excursions to Iasi, to Bender and Tiraspol, to Orheiul Vechi and Saharna, to Comrat and Odessa.
The Moldo-German Summer School has the financial support of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the “go east – Sommerschulen” DAAD Program, and was initiated in 2009 by the president of Moldova-Institut Leipzig, professor and academician Klaus Bochmann, with the purpose of building a bridge between the youth from both countries and increase the interest of German students for Moldova and for the Romanian language.
The 16 participants of the Summer School have degrees in political and administrative sciences, culture, social sciences, history and so on, and their motivations include the desire to learn Romanian and potentially continue their studies in Romania through the Erasmus Program; and the opportunity to gain insights into the Moldovan realities and gather material for their projects, to name a few. The particular interest for Moldova as a neighbor of the European Union is fueled by the complexity of Moldova's Eurointegration processes, including aspects of economic development or human rights issues from the perspective of European values.
