The launch of the Cultural Consumption Barometer 2018: how free do Romanians feel, 30 years after the revolution?

On October 26, 2019, the National Institute for Cultural Research and Training launched the ”Cultural Consumption Barometer 2018” with the occasion of the National Conference of Cultural Managers.

The ”Cultural Consumption Barometer 2018” is the most extensive national study, which measures the practices, preferences and trends of Romania’s consumers of culture. The 2018 edition focuses on analyzing cultural trends and practices before and after the celebration of the Great Union Centenary and on highlighting the indissoluble relationship between Culture and Education.

According to the Barometer, there is a 6-point increase in the percentage of people who go to the cinema, from 33% in 2016, to 39% in 2018. There had been an increase in the percentages for the consumption of music and entertainment performances too, from 43% in 2016, to 57% in 2018 (at least once a year). Despite the increase in the number of theatre performances, the theatre consumption decreased from 37% in 2014, to 33% in 2018. Still, it is worrying that 67% of Romanians have never attend to a theatre performance. In contrast, 92% of those interviewed watch TV at least once a week and 79% do so on a daily basis.

Romanians prefer outdoor festivals and events, as usual. Theatre consumption is in a slight decline and here are two-three barriers that we identified: on the one hand, the infrastructure that no longer exist at the small urban level and, on the other hand, the price of the tickets or the quality of the performances. Although the number of performances during the anniversary of the Great Union Centenary increased, the number of the audience decreased. Romanians started to be more demanding and we must pay attention to this, said Carmen Croitoru, Manager of the National Institute for Cultural Research and Training.

The President of the National Institute of Statistics, Tudorel Andrei, was present at the launch of the Barometer where he spoke about the amounts that Romanians spend on culture, compared to other European countries.

Romanians spend on average 27 euros per person on culture, while the European average is five times higher. Most of the amount is allocated for the payment of TV providers and less for the purchase of other cultural services, said Tudorel Andrei, President of the National Institute of Statistics.

Today, 30 years from the fall of the communist regime, the Cultural Consumption Barometer presents some interesting results about how free do Romanians feel. Thus, 84% of the respondents do not trust people around them and consider that it is better to be cautious, and only 66% believe that in Romania, people are free to say what they think without being afraid of consequences; only 17% are against this statement. 26% of the respondents that think they are free to say what they think live in the Western region and 24% of them in the North-East region.

But what does it mean to be a true Romanian? 94% of the respondents consider that in order to be qualified as a true Romanian, it is important and very important to respect the Romanian laws and institutions, 88% – to be born in Romania, 72% – to be an orthodox. Also, 80% of the respondents prefer to be Romanian citizens rather than another country’s citizens.

The Cultural Consumption Barometer 2018 is based on a survey conducted by the Romanian Institute for Assessment and Strategy – as operator, in the period September 1st – October 5th, 2018, on a national sample of 1.200 people aged 18 above, through CAPI method (face-to-face interviews). The theoretical margin of error on the whole sample was +/- 2.8%, at a confidence level of 95%.

The National Conference of Cultural Managers is the most important annual debate-event organized by the National Institute for Cultural Research and Training. Since 2014, this Conference is a dialogue platform and an opportunity for public cultural institutions managers, private Romanian cultural entrepreneurs, cultural management experts and representatives of governmental authorities to meet and exchange ideas in terms of good practices. The 6th edition of the National Conference of Cultural Managers took place on 26th-27th of October 2019, in the Ministry of Culture and National Identity’s Auditorium Hall and the theme of the entire event was “Training and reform in public culture”.