23 YEARS IN THE SERVICE OF ROMANIAN HERITAGE AND COMMUNITIES
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Pro Patrimonio Foundation and UiPath Foundation announce the start of the project Childrens’ Academy for Music and Education active in George Enescu’s house in Mihăileni, Botoșani County.
The purpose of this educational project, launched with the partnership between the two organizations, is to develop the potential of children in these rural communities and to use George Enescu’s house, a historical monument, for educational purposes. The initiative is under the umbrella of George Enescu Academy for Music and the Study of Sound, initiated by Pro Patrimonio and which made it possible to integrate the George Enescu House from Mihăileni into the cultural and educational circuit, thus transforming it into a center of excellence for the study of music.
The musical education project The Childrens’ Academy for Music and Education will be carried out throughout the year 2020 and will involve children from the secondary schools in the area, offering them access to quality education and a unique cultural environment in the proximity of the communities they belong to.
Using a historical heritage house as a tool for child education and the creation of a community around it is part of the strategy by which Pro Patrimonio Foundation has managed to save other monuments. This way, the George Enescu house in Mihăileni will be preserved and appreciated. This is the only memorial house for George Enescu in Romania that honours the composer’s memory through education and active musical culture creatively enhancing his legacy. Soon, thanks to these events, the George Enescu house in Mihăileni will enter into an active cycle that will make children and young people interested in music and the culture of the place very happy. It is a risky challenge because the rural localities are depopulated and the social cohesion is weak. Therefore, the chance is to offer the inhabitants attractive alternative activities and to connect them with music lovers from the most distant corners of the world. The memory of George Enescu, the beauty of the landscape and the architectural monuments, the complexity of the activities, all in one place have the chance to generate a cultural nucleus full of meaning. This is the scenario of a new event declared declared Șerban Sturdza, President of Pro Patrimonio Foundation.
We have joined Pro Patrimonio Foundation in this unique initiative and we believe that the potential of children in rural areas can be enhanced by creating educational opportunities in the communities they belong to. We are expanding our intervention to Botosani County in 2020 with an approach focused on facilitating access to education for vulnerable children in the communities around the George Enescu house in Mihăileni. The educational support package, which we already offer in Bucharest, Cluj, Galați and Vaslui counties, takes into account the complex needs faced by children from vulnerable families in their journey towards a better future, declared Raluca Negulescu-Balaci, Executive Director of UiPath Foundation.
In addition to the musical education activities constantly carried out within the Academy, annually, during the summer, for one week, non-formal education workshops will be organized by Pro Patrimonio in Mihăileni, while UiPath Foundation will include 20 children from vulnerable families who come from the communities around the George Enescu House in the Future Acceleration Program, an integrated support project granting access to education.
About UiPath Foundation
UiPath Foundation is a non-governmental, non-profit, non-political, non-religious organization that helps children from vulnerable backgrounds to reach their potential and grow alongside their communities, through equal access to education and by developing the skills of the 21st century. UiPath Foundation was founded by UiPath in January 2019 and acts as an independent organization
Starting with children from Romania and India, UiPath Foundation runs educational programs that respond to the multiple needs of children facing poverty, in partnership with local non-profit organizations.
About Pro Patrimonio
Pro Patrimonio is a non-profit organization whose main mission is the conservation, rescue and reactivation of cultural heritage facing extinction, especially architectural heritage. The aim is to reintroduce into the economic circuit a built heritage presently abandoned that has lost its role and to restore its identity and community ties. The actions are focused on practical education projects, oriented towards the rehabilitation and re-functionalization of the historical heritage, as well as on the communities’ involvement and awareness-enhancement with regard to their own identity. Pro Patrimonio Foundation supports the idea that every citizen can become responsible for heritage and that, by being consciously involved in its responsible use, he can gain advantages and satisfactions while contributing to the consolidation of culture.
The Foundation has branches in Romania, the United Kingdom and France and has been established in 2000; it is carrying out 8 projects designed to save the built heritage, educate and raise the awareness of the citizens regarding the importance of cultural heritage. Since its founding, Pro Patrimonio has progressively acquired and received as donations properties of national importance, related to representative personalities for the history and culture of Romania. The foundation owns, manages and collaborates, restores and enhances through various activities: George Enescu’s childhood home in Mihăileni, near Botoșani; Golescu Villa from Câmpulung Mușcel; Neamţu Manor from Olari village near Craiova; a traditional Saxon house in Viscri; Perticari Davila Manor near Pitești, P.P. Carp Manor from Ţibăneşti, near Iași; the project 60 de biserici de lemn60 wooden churches, with programs for learning heritage trades addressed to young people and the Education for Heritage program for children.
About George Enescu House in Mihăileni, Botoșani Country
The emergency intervention project regarding the rescue and rehabilitation of George Enescu’s House in Mihăileni, Botoșani County, started in 2013 at the initiative of the pianist Raluca Ştirbăţ, the president of “George Enescu” International Society in Vienna. Pro Patrimonio Foundation, the Order of Architects of Romania – Bucharest and North-East branches and Remember Enescu Foundation whose president is the violinist Alexandru Tomescu have united in an attempt to save responsibly a landmark of major importance for the national identity and European cultural heritage. Through the efforts of Raluca Știrbăț, the composer George Enescu’s mother’s (Maria Cosmovici) house, has been classified as historical monument in October 2014 (LMI code BT-IV-m-B-21063).
George Enescu’s house in Mihăileni was donated in 2014 in a proportion of one third to Pro Patrimonio Foundation by Dr. Mihai Botez, direct heir to the composer, the rest of the house being bought by the foundation (through private efforts and donations) in 2019.
