NEW REGIONAL CULTURAL COOPERATION

The recent global health crisis has generated many changes that our society is struggling to cope with. Different fields of economy were deeply affected, among them, the cultural field that, in this region, is not considered essential for sustainable development of the economy. Many of the cultural operators had to cancel their activities and many of those acting in the independent cultural sector had to close their businesses with no possibility of relaunching them in the near future. In some cases, instead of bringing us together, the pandemic surfaced xenophobic and egocentric approaches. For this reason, NRCC programme aims to build a climate of solidarity between professionals from Romania, Serbia and the Republic of Moldova in an effort to launch a debate, involving independent cultural operators as well as public cultural institutions, to discuss and find solutions to common problems in order to ensure a sustainable development of the cultural sector in the region and to promote culture as a pillar in education and social inclusion.   

Through lecturers, workshops, discussions, and presentations NRCC aims to find  answers to questions like:

• what is the understanding of sustainability in the cultural field and how does it contribute to sustainable development?;
• What is solidarity today, how, and why it matters?;
• How can other fields like digital technologies, sciences etc. can contribute to the sustainable development of the cultural sector?;
• How to make projects relevant to different communities?;
• How we can address an issue to get the best possible results?  

NRCC is offering the opportunity to learn from international trainers and develop new skills, to share ideas through transversal networking with the aim of developing cross-sectoral innovation that will contribute to the sustainable development of the cultural sector.   

If you are from/ living in Romania, Serbia or the Republic of Moldova and you  

• are a cultural manager, PR manager, cultural producer, artist, cultural journalist or art critic with min. two years of experience   
• work independently, or in a public or private cultural organisation    
• want to build your own and your organisation's capacity    
• are curious about changes in the world, solution oriented in the field and want to change your working environment for good   
• are currently in the process of rethinking your activity and want to share your perspective and learn from trainers and peers    
• want to find like-minded people and develop new ideas and solutions together   

…then, the NRCC is the right place for you!     


Participants will need to provide proof of Covid 19 related testing /vaccination /recovery from illness!

The NRCC 2021 offers the opportunity to be part of the Cultural Management School - an intensive six-day seminar in Bucharest, and a Project Incubator taking place in Belgrade as it follows: 

1. Cultural Management School in Bucharest | 14th - 19st of September   

The programme offers the opportunity to participate in an intensive six-day seminar, which will include lectures, workshops, interactive exercises, collective and individual sessions, and other capacity building formats dealing with the topic of the NRCC 2021. We want to create a framework in which various creators and operators within the cultural field can attend a professional week-long seminar held by international trainers, so that they can deal with the new challenges facing this sector. The seminar is planned to take place onsite, in compliance with all measures issued to prevent the spread of coronavirus, at Pavilion 32 at the Goethe-Institut Bucharest.  

The seminar‘s programme is curated by EUNIC Romania Cluster and is built upon the specifics and challenges of the regional cultural scene. Here is a list of topics and modules for the NRCC 2021:  

• Building sustainable ways of cooperation between public and private sectors  
• Cross-sectoral innovation 
• Art&STS – Science, Technology, Society   
• Ethics and values of solidarity 
• Artistic research: linking management and research 
• Cancel culture 

Trainers and speakers in the seminars will be local and international professionals from the field:   

• Klaus Obermaier (AT)  
• Denisa Kera (CZ)  
• Veit Stratmann (DE)  
• Delia Mucică (RO)  
• Raluca Iacob (RO) 
• Corina Bucea (RO)  
• Răzvan Pascu (RO)
  …and more to be announced!  

During the seminar, side activities will be organised, such as guided tour for foreign participants and guests; outdoor networking events; indoor bonding events; speed dating between participants and local cultural institutions and other activities that will be announced after the selection process.  

Public talks  | 14th, 15 th and 17th of September 

Apart from the six-day Cultural Management School dedicated exclusively to the participants selected after the open call for cultural managers, the NRCC will also host three public talks. International and national renowned cultural managers will engage in a dialogue about encouraging the resilience of the sector by supporting the development of co-created transversal projects and generating cross-sectorial innovation. The discussions will be open to the general public. 

2. Project INCUBATOR IN BELGRADE | 3rd - 7TH of November 

Apart from the six-day seminar, through NRCC it will also be organized a Project Incubator in Belgrade. All participants in this year´s edition of the NRCC will gather to network and reflect on the topics of the program. The incubator will encourage sharing, collaboration and exchange and will create a space for developing new project ideas. 

3. Funding possibilities  

Throughout this call, 15 participants from Romania, Serbia and the Republic of Moldova will be selected. To support the capacity building process, the program offers funding possibilities for collaborative projects/ cross-border initiatives, relevant for the regional context, that will provide new and innovative solutions for the cultural sector through EUNIC funding.  
The aim of the NRCC Project Fund is to provide participants with more space to develop new ideas and collaborate with other managers from their and other countries in the region. In this way the NRCC is aiming to establish a capacity building model based on theory, practice, creativity and collaboration.   

In 2021, the NRCC Project Fund offers the following funding opportunities to participants in the program:   

• Closed call (November): Up to 2 of the projects developed at the Project Incubator in Belgrade will be provided up to 4.000 Euro.  

4. Networking   

As it was for previous regional editions of CMA, networking is a fundamental element of the NRCC 2021. For its past editions, CMA established a network of nearly 250 cultural managers from Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and 70 established professionals from all these five countries, Germany, UK, France, Poland, Czechia, Austria, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Portugal, who took part in the project as trainers and speakers.   

This years’ edition of NRCC is aiming to further develop the network focusing on cultural professionals from Romania, Serbia and the Republic of Moldova, working both in private or public organizations.  

Participation in the NRCC offers access to develop your professional international network and future connections with the cultural institutes from the EUNIC cluster.    
 
!! Depending on the evolution of the pandemic, the seminar can also be organised online in order to ensure both participants’ and trainers’ safety.  

The working language of the NRCC is English.    

The fee for participation*** in the NRCC is 100 Euro. We require your full-time engagement in the project during the Cultural Management School and the Project Incubator. Full participation in the programme is the only way to receive a certification for the NRCC, attested by the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Political Science (ECTS), and to have the opportunity to win funding for your projects.  

 
The participation fee includes:   

• participation in all NRCC activities and access to apply for the NRCC Project Fund  
• acommodation and travel costs from your city of residence to Bucharest for the Cultural Management School  
• acommodation and travel costs from your city of residence to Belgrade for the Project Incubator
• lunch and coffee breaks during all events (no further per diem is provided)  
• materials   
• access to online learning materials   
• mentoring during and after the NRCC  

*** We will consider applications for scholarships, based on the motivation (see application form).

Please, submit your application until 11th  August 2021 here.
The selection`s results will be published on August 16th 2021.  

If you have any questions, please contact us at:
tamina.bojoanca@goethe.de