When we will manage to transpose culture from the charity area to the business area, all the other directions of economic development will stand to gain and will have a strong growth perspective, said Minister of Culture Sergiu Prodan, who considers that a “consumerist” approach to the field of culture, which cannot bring added value to economic growth, requires sponsorship, charity and doesn’t provide any business possibility, is that problem that keeps us stuck in the state we are in. During an open lecture at the Moldova State University of Moldova, the official referred in particular to the need to adjust ticket prices in museums and change the legislation to highlight the national heritage, IPN reports.
“We realized that we have to change a lot of laws because the price of the museum ticket is considered a public service, museums are public institutions and charges for public services are set by the Government. It’s outrageous. The charges are for gas, electricity, water, while the museum entrance fee reflects the attitude towards the heritage object you come to see,” said the official, specifying that we cannot neglect the value of the national heritage through a museum admission ticket of 10 lei.
Sergiu Prodan said that, besides adjusting ticket prices, there is a need to make a real inventorying of the national heritage. “We have to put things in order, to understand what heritage we have, to offer authentic things the visitors, tourists. We do not have accurate heritage records in the Republic of Moldova. No inventory has been made during 33 years, at least a mimicked one. We have a register of historical monuments protected by the state, adopted by Parliament, which includes monuments that no longer exist and stopped existing in the 1960,” said the Minister of Culture.
He noted that human intervention into heritage can be more destructive than that of nature. The natural degradation of heritage is a regrettable process, but everything that has degraded can be preserved as it is authentic. When the humans intervene with repair works, it is destruction of patrimony, a crime. “Don’t touch it. Leave it like that. If we are not able to do this correctly, let’s leave the next generations the opportunity to restore, to intervene, to do the right thing,” said Sergiu Prodan.
Maria Hămuraru, dean of the Faculty of Economic Sciences, said that the topic treated in the public lecture – promotion of the values of cultural heritage as legacy in the light of modernity and innovation – is a very important one, especially for the Hotel, Tourism and Leisure Services specialty that comes to provide inspiration and also pursues the goal of making the young generation becomes aware of the value of cultural heritage and continues to transmit traditions and habits. The iscussed topics will also be included in the curriculum. “If we fail to preserve what culture and history have offered to us for years, we will not be able to capitalize on this heritage and will not have a developed economy in the Republic of Moldova,” stated the dean.
More than 100 students of the Faculty of Economic Sciences attended the public lecture.
