The Moldova State University (USM) is part of the university consortium formed of nine large universities, and this offers multiple opportunities to students and teachers, USM rector Igor Sharov stated in a debate titled “National Congress of Romanian Historians, 4th edition, Chisinau-Suceava”. According to him, the USM competes not with universities from the Republic of Moldova, but with higher education institutions from abroad.
The first stage of the National Congress of Romanian Historians, which is convened every two years, will take place in Chisinau. The fourth edition of the Congress will be opened on August 28 at the Palace of the Republic and meetings by sections will be then held at the State University of Moldova. The USM rector said the agenda of the discussions also includes the way in which history is taught in the country’s educational institutions.
“The problems of teaching history in schools will be on the agenda of the Congress. The participation of history teachers from high schools of the Republic of Moldova is a proof of the existence of an extraordinary historiographical school in Chisinau, especially on the problems of history didactics. In the Bessarabian historiographical landscape, ideas of reviving Moldovenism from the political angle of the problem reappear. These things must definitely be stopped. When we talk about problems in the field of didactics, they must concern totally other topics. Today we have two worlds - a world from the East that brings with it only war and another world that brings prosperity, democracy and enormous support from Romania and the European Union, which we enjoy,” stated Igor Sharov.
According to him, this year’s edition of the National Congress of Romanian Historians aims to launch new communication opportunities between history teachers and researchers in the field, thus contributing to the improvement and promotion of Romanian research in the field of history, as well as to a greater presence of historians in the public space.
“For several years, the issue of bringing the teaching of history closer in the institutions of Romania and the Republic of Moldova has been raised. Teachers from the Republic of Moldova have been trained for many years at various summer camps organized by Romanian universities, the Romanian Academy. Efforts have also been made by the Council of Europe to organize workshops or conferences. We had several opportunities to participate in such debates in Germany, France, Romania. Together with our counterparts, we addressed controversial issues. It is necessary to look in history not only for what divides, but also for what brings peoples together. The appearance of joint German-Polish and German-French textbooks is an eloquent example. Starting Monday, a workshop on teaching history will be held at the Moldova State University with the participation of counterparts from Ukraine, Georgia,” said the USM rector.
He explained that the scholarships offered by the Romanian state to students from the Republic of Moldova represent an opportunity for development and ensure healthy competition between educational institutions of the Republic of Moldova and those of Romania or other European countries.
“In the opinion of many colleagues, including rectors, these scholarships favor the departure of young people from the Republic of Moldova. It is a totally erroneous conception. In a world where there are partnerships between universities, we must be aware that there is also competition. The USM belongs to the Romanian space. We do not compete with the universities of the Republic of Moldova. For us, it is a healthy competition at the level of the Romanian space. The participation in the university consortium, which includes nine large universities, offers us multiple opportunities,” noted Igor Sharov.
The public debate entitled “National Congress of Romanian Historians, fourth edition, Chisinau-Suceava” was the 19th installment of the project “Double integration through cooperation and information. Continuity”, funded by the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova of the Government of Romania.
