National Conference of Cultural Managers – 9th Edition

The National Institute for Cultural Research and Training (Culturadata) organized, between November 17^th and 18^th, 2022, the National Conference of Cultural Managers (CNMC) – the 9^th edition, at the National Library of Romania, the main partner of the event.

CNMC is the most important national conference organized annually since 2014 by Culturadata as a platform for consultation and dialogue, which has become an opportunity for meeting and exchanging good practices for managers from public cultural institutions, specialists in cultural management and entrepreneurship and representatives of authorities.

This year’s edition was dedicated to presenting the Sectoral Strategy for Culture 2023-2030 (SSDC 2023-2030) and included sessions whose topics correspond to the strategic objectives regarding the increase of culture consumption and the professionalization of cultural management at the national level. In addition, the conference program highlighted the essential role that cultural management has in fulfilling the mission of culture, from an administrative perspective, but also in relation to the beneficiaries.

For the first time, the Conference facilitated the meeting and dialogue between cultural professionals, representatives of the academic environment and young people who aim to contribute to the promotion of a performing cultural management and to the development of related professions.

In order to encourage future generations of cultural managers, under the aegis of the Conference, the second edition of the Culturadata Symposium was organized – a scientific event dedicated to research in management, marketing and cultural policies, conducted by masters and doctoral students.

PROGRAM

Day 1 – Thursday, November 17^th 

9.00 – 10.00 Registration of participants

10.00 – 10.30 OFFICIAL OPENING

Speakers: Lucian Romașcanu – Minister of Culture│PhD. Prof. Mircea Vasilescu – University of Bucharest, member of the Culturadata Scientific Council│PhD Assoc. Prof. Carmen Croitoru – General Director, Culturadata

10.30 – 12.15 SESSION I│The Sectoral Strategy for Culture 2023 – 2030

The first session of the Conference was dedicated to a brief presentation of the Sectoral Strategy for Culture 2023-2030 (SSDC 2023-2030), followed by a Q&A session in the form of a professional environment consultation. SSDC 2023-2030 is a document that defines the trajectory of the measures and objectives that the Ministry of Culture – as the responsible central authority – has decided to adopt and promote in order to clarify the position, role, and benefits of culture for all categories of beneficiaries, and its decisive role in social and economic development.

This is the first time when a strategic document is developed based on a diagnosis that takes into consideration all forms of cultural activity (public and private).

The concept of the Strategy is “Culture with priority!”, in response to the development perspectives, but also to the specific problems of the  cultural system. This message starts from the belief that the best tool for safeguarding social, democratic and identity values is culture.

SSDC 2023-2030 was developed within the POCA project “Strategic and Coherent Vision for the Cultural Sector”, implemented by the Ministry of Culture through the Project Management Unit and Culturadata.

Speakers: PhD Assoc. Prof. Carmen Croitoru – General Director of Culturadata│Bogdan Trîmbaciu – Director, Project Management Unit, Ministry of Culture│PhD Assoc. Prof. Virgil Nițulescu – General Director, National Museum of the Romanian Peasant

12.15 – 12.30 Coffee break

12.30 – 13.30 INFORMATIONAL SESSION regarding the National Strategy for preventing and combating anti-Semitism, xenophobia, radicalization and hate speech for the period 2021 – 2023

For the first time, this national strategy aims to coordinate the efforts of the entire Romanian cultural field in preventing and combating anti-Semitism, xenophobia, radicalization and hate speech, providing the necessary tools for sanctioning the inadequate behaviors. Furthermore, the informational session aims to increase the resilience of cultural institutions facing the threats of anti-Semitism, xenophobia, radicalization and hate speech.

Moderator: PhD Assoc. Prof. Felicia Waldman – Center for Hebrew Studies, Faculty of Letters, University of Bucharest Speakers: Octavian Fulop – Holocaust survivor│Dumitriţa Solomon – State Secretary, Chancellery of Prime Minister│Adrian Cioroianu – Director, the National Library of Romania│Dragoş Hotea – Special Representative for Combating Anti-Semitism, Human Rights Directorate, Minority Protection and Council of Europe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

13.30 – 14.30 Lunch break

14.30 – 16.00 2nd SESSION: Post-pandemic managerial strategies: The return to cultural spaces

Public cultural institutions and private cultural organizations are platforms of artistic creation, facilitate access to knowledge, they play a role in the development of critical thinking and education for culture, and encourage cultural consumption. Cultural managers, whose strategies and activities are recognized nationally and internationally, are invited to a session dedicated to how they have responded to post-pandemic challenges and possible changes in their relationship with the public.

Speakers: Anna Maria Popa – Manager, “Andrei Mureșanu” Theatre, Sfântu Gheorghe│Ioan Cristescu – General Manager, National Museum of Romanian Literature│Adrian Majuru – Manager, Bucharest Municipality Museum│Andrei Borţun – CEO of The Institute, President of the Civil Society Gala Foundation

16.00 – 16.30 Coffee break

16.30 – 17.30 “TECH.LIBRARY” project – presentation by the National Library of Romania

The National Library of Romania presents the results of the project “TECH.LIBRARY. Improving the services offered by public libraries to visually impaired users through ICT training tools”, funded under the Erasmus Plus program and implemented over the past 2 years by a consortium of cultural institutions from 6 countries.

Day 2 – Friday, November 18^th 

10.00 – 11.30 3RD SESSION│Cultural management as a profession: Approaches and responsibilities in the university and post-university education system

As an international profession, the accelerated development of cultural management translates into the increase in specialization programs in universities with artistic and economic profiles. In Romania, the university system has yet to assimilate, so far, the specialization in the field of cultural management and fails to meet neither the demand nor the level of professionalism required. The only dedicated and accredited study programs are found in vocational universities (respectively of theatre and music). In order to support the performance in cultural management, representatives of the authorities and the academic environment, as well as cultural managers, are invited to a session aimed at identifying ways to improve and adapt the educational offer, in accordance with the needs of the labour market and those of specialization in the field.

Moderator: PhD Assoc. Prof. Carmen Croitoru – General Director, Culturadata Speakers: PhD Prof. Aura Corbeanu – University of Arts in Târgu Mureş│PhD Prof. Dumitru Borţun – Faculty of Communication and Public Relations, National School of Political and Administrative Studies│PhD Prof. Constantin Chiriac – Department of Theatre, Faculty of Letters and Arts, “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu│PhD Assoc. Prof. Oana Bălan-Budoiu – “Gheorghe Dima” Music Academy, Cluj-Napoca│PhD. Nicoleta Branişte – Faculty of Theatre and Film, Babeş Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca│ C.D.A. Cristian Avram – “Gheorghe Dima” Music Academy, Cluj-Napoca

11.30 – 12.00 Coffee break

12.00 – 13.30 LAUNCH of the Romanian Journal of Museums no. 1/2022 | What is the strength of museums?

The Romanian Journal of Museums is one of the oldest periodical publications in the Romanian editorial and museum landscape, whose appearance has been continuous since 1964. Edited by the National Institute for Cultural Research and Training, the Romanian Journal of Museums aims to become the preferred publication of specialists working in museums in Romania. In the spirit of the ICOM General Conference 2022, the journal’s current issue addresses the general theme of the power of museums to transform the world and, in particular, the topic of redefining the concept of the museum at the national and international levels.

Speakers: PhD Assoc. Prof. Virgil Nițulescu – General Director, National Museum of the Romanian Peasant, Editor-in-Chief of the Romanian Journal of Museums│Ciprian Ştefan – General Director, ASTRA Sibiu National Museum│Mihaela Ion – Manager, Curator, ”Atelierul de Creație” Association, author of The Romanian Journal of Museums

13.30 – 14.30 Lunch break

14.30 – 17.00 Culturadata Symposium “Management, Marketing and Cultural Policies” – 2^nd edition