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The EuroBanat – Cultural Identity project has in mind to carry out a series of activities meant to achieve one of the strategic targets of the Phare CBC 2006 program: to improve the quality of the life standards of the population in the region. This relates not only to economic growth, to infrastructure and environment, which is the focus of Priority 1, but also to its central objective, that is to achieve unity between rural and urban communities, through transborder cooperation.

We strongly believe there is a direct connection between improving the quality of the life standards of a community and enlarging its expectations. Video: Alegoric Concerts: Picture from an exhibition (May, 9, 2009) and  The Road of Music (July,4, 2009) {wmv}eurobanat{/wmv}

The cultural restitutions meant to reinforce, within the community conscience, the perception of a well-defined identity, of a tradition that is the precious heritage of all Banat region inhabitants, the rediscovery and the exploitation of the authentic specific cultural elements shall make the basis of this expectancy, the reason why citizens and communities will get involved in the effort to combine the present with the rich, yet almost forgotten, local tradition.

 

The EuroBanat Cultural Center, which will be hosted in the building of the Banatul philharmonic, will be the common point for all activities. The Zrenjanin Theatre shall be the Serbian partner institution for the project.

Therefore, we aim to establish a Museum Complex of the Banat Community Culture, which will include The Philharmonic Society Museum, The Violin Museum, The Entertainment Technique Museum, The BANATica Music Library, but also chronicles, monographies, testimonies related to any artistic (quire, brass band, chamber group, folk dance groups, amateur theatre, literary clubs, etc.), educational (music school, literary clubs) or social (orphanages, elderly home, firemen groups, etc.) initiatives started and developed in rural or urban communities in the eligible transfrontier area, which has influenced the field of entertainment arts.

Another product of this research and cultural restitution work will be a dictionary, containing the names and contributions of persons who have been initiators and promoters of the Banat community culture, especially in the field of music.

Within the EuroBanat Cultural Center, we will mount two large plasma screens on the outside wall of the Banatul Philharmonic building, which will display information on the tradition of the Banat community culture, known at the moment only by a small number of specialists, so that the larger public has access to this kind of information as well.

The EuroBanat Cultural Center will also host on-going trainings in the field of cultural management, of cultural tourism development, of alignment to the community acquis regarding the legislation on intellectual property and its application, etc., courses meant for regional and local public servants, as well as for citizens, Romanians and Serbs, involved (or interested in getting involved) in nongovernmental initiatives.
Two other outside large screens will promote touristic offers in the region.

In order to stimulate the transfrontier tourism, we will organize large-scale artistic events, as follows:

• a short season of 6 concerts performed by artists of the Banatul Philharmonic of Timisoara, held in Zrenjanin
• two large open air allegory-concerts, in Timisoara, on Europe Day 2009 and the opening of the 2009 season, featuring Serbian artists and, hopefully, a large number of tourists from Serbia
• musical performances (woodwind octet, quintet, trio) and participation of groups of amateur artists (fiddlers, pantomime, theatre, quire) from both sides, during social-cultural events drawing people’s attention (city days, cultural days, open-gate days, beer festivals, wine festival, etc.) in 10 different cities or villages (5 in Serbia and 5 in Romania)
• music summer school, in Timisoara, for 24 young instrument players (12 Romanians and 12 Serbs) during which they will also prepare a concert to be held in 5 Romanian cities and 5 Serbian cities (Deta, Jimbolia, Sanicolau Mare, Faget, Oravita, Vrsac, Bella Crkva, Pancevo, Zrenjanin, Kikinda), under the motto: “Let’s sing together”
• 24 induction conferences related to the cultural Banat (a caravan going through 20 cities and smaller locations on both sides of the border and 4 conferences with European participation held in Timisoara and Zrenjanin)
• Four international debates (workshops) organized in Timisoara and Zrenjanin, regarding the Banat community culture, with the participation of several EU experts in the fields to be debated

Our objectives are:

• To establish unity between rural and urban communities on both sides of the border, through transborder cooperation, starting with the re-acknowledging and exploitation of a tradition that represents the precious and prized heritage of all the Banat inhabitants
• To improve the transfer of citizens, goods, services and idea on both sides of the border between Romania and Serbia
• To increase the visibility of the Banat community culture and to propagate its local, regional and European acknowledgement and appraisement

The main project implementing partners are

• The Zrenjanin Theatre, which will host the events the EuroBanat Cultural Center will organize in Serbia, and which will also identify and promote the groups of amateur artists in Serbia required for activity no.7
• The Regional On-going Training Center for the Local Public Administration - Timisoara, body under the aegis of the National Administration Institute, which will supply training for the courses offered by the EuroBanat Cultural Center, within the project and in future.

The project sustainability is ensured by its impact. If it has sufficient impact on the citizens, the project will continue to stimulate promoters. People love doing things that have a meaning and an end to them, especially when they relate to the people themselves and to their dear ones.