Moldovan communities abroad will be financially supported under special regulations

The activities aimed at preserving the national-cultural identity of the Moldovan natives residing abroad (the Moldovan communities) will be financed according to special regulations. The regulations came into force after published in the Official Gazette on January 18. The regulations describe the method of using the resources allocated for financing the programmes and activities organised by the ethno-cultural public associations in cooperation with the central and local public administrations of Moldova “with the aim of preserving and strengthening the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious Moldovan identity” (from the document’s text – e.n.). The money will go to purchase Moldova’s state symbols, national costumes, decorative-applicative art objects, literature about the people’s art, traditions and customs, video cassettes for studying the “Moldovan language”, video and audio recordings of musical operas, films, theatre performances, as well as to organise festivals, conferences, seminars, exhibitions etc. The resources will be allocated from the relevant funds included in the state budget each year, from the money offered by sponsors and from the donations made by individuals and legal entities, national and foreign organisations and foundations. The money will be collected in the special and budgetary funds of the Interethnic Relations Bureau. A specially created Administration Board will ensure the efficient utilisation of the given resources. The Board is composed of three representatives of the Interethnic Relations Bureau and of a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, the Ministry of Finance, the Government’s Apparatus, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Education and Youth, the Academy of Sciences of Moldova. The general director of the Interethnic Relations Bureau, Olga Goncearova, was named as the Board’s chairwoman.