Between October 6-8, 2022, the Prin Banat Association, together with the Western University of Timișoara, the European organization Europa Nostra and the Monumentum Association are organizing the international symposium with the theme: Why does culture matter? // Why culture matters?

International experts, renowned local and national specialists together with the local community of Timișoara meet at FABER and at the University of the West, to find the answers to the question Why does culture matter? // Why culture matters?,  in the exceptional context of Timișoara 2023 – European Capital of Culture. For three days, Timișoara becomes the scene of debates on topics that are as current as they are complex: material and immaterial cultural heritage, the center-periphery relationship and the phenomenon of migration.

Bringing together actors involved in projects and initiatives relevant to these themes, the symposium invites participants to reflect on how they interact and shape culture (in its various dimensions: as a product, as a process and as a tool), in the context of Timișoara 2023 – European Capital of Cultures. 

Representatives of Europa Nostra, the most important organization in the field of protection and promotion of European heritage, will present the List of the 7 most endangered heritage sites in Europe 2022, among which is the historical monument building Baia Neptun in Baile Herculane, whose reactivation and safeguarding is handled by the Locus Association, through the Herculane Project. The laureates of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards from Romania in 2022 and from previous years will also be presented during the event. They will also be with the local community, sharing examples of good practice and representatives of UNESCO, ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), Monumentenwacht, Cultural Heritage Without Borders. 

Another topic addressed during the event will be the disappearance of heritage and cultural identity, but also the long-term impact of this phenomenon on the community, which will be correlated with the current situation in Ukraine where multiple monuments, sites and historical and architectural ensembles have been destroyed partially or totally from the beginning of the war. The event will be attended by representatives of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation from Kyiv, as well as Anastasija Prymachenko, director of the Maria Prymachenko Cultural Foundation and great-granddaughter of the Ukrainian artist. The art of Maria Primachenko could be admired by the people of Timisoara in August 2022, during the event Sensitive Content – ​​Video Mapping Performance, organized by the Prin Banat Association, in the center of Timisoara. 

The event will include case studies, conferences, round tables during which the opportunity of creating and including in the curricula of the University of West Timișoara a bachelor's or master's course dedicated to regional heritage studies will be discussed, as a result of a partnership between the university and institutions and cultural operators in the field of promoting and protecting cultural heritage. In this sense, Valy Ceia, PhD and vice-dean of the Faculty of Letters, History and Theology, and Andra-Mirona Dragotesc, director of the Department of International Relations, high-profile representatives of the Western University of Timișoara and experts in the field of tangible and intangible cultural heritage , accepted the invitation of the organizers to participate in the event. Also, Nicoleta Mușat, lecturer at the Faculty of Letters, History and Theology, will be the moderator-host for the second and third day of the event, which will take place in the Aula Magna hall of the University of West Timișoara.

Participation in the symposium is free, but participant registration is mandatory, as places are limited.

The symposium programme, guest list and registration form are available at: https://prinbanat.ong/why-culture-matters/

The event is presented in the frame A week for Monuments and is a joint activity of the Association's cultural projects Through Banat – Centriphery, Homes in Motion and Ambulance for Monuments – Banat. Organized in partnership with Europa Nostra, West University of Timişoara and the Monumentum Association. 

Strategic partners: Europa Nostra, the West University of Timișoara and the Monumentum Association

Local partners: National Institute for Heritage, Romanian Order of Architects, Association from 4, Timiș County Youth Foundation, Jazz Banat Cultural Foundation, Revolution Memorial from December 16–22 in Timișoara

International partners: Festival of Regions (Austria), New Culture Foundation (Bulgaria), Dansehallerne (Denmark), Espoo City Theater (Finland), La Manufacture Collectif Contemporain (France), Cultura Nova Festival (Netherlands), Walk & Talk (Azores, Portugal), Community of Romanians in Serbia, FabLab Zagred (Croatia)

Co-financed by the Creative Europe Program of the European Union and the Municipality of Timișoara through the Project Center. Action financed by the Timiș County Council, through the TIM Cultura Program. The symposium is part of the cultural project A Week For Monuments, co-financed by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund.

The project does not necessarily represent the position of the National Cultural Fund Administration. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or how the results of the project may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the beneficiary of the funding.