Background
Romania has twenty national minorities, which represent a significant proportion of the total population. Although the last sixteen years have seen important civic initiatives in the field of ethnocultural tolerance, there remain important challenges for those seeking democracy and social justice. Notable among these are the lack of accepted institutional solutions for accommodating and reconciling ethnocultural differences, a shortage of qualified policy-makers to address the diverse needs of minorities and an insufficiently developed institutional framework for interethnic dialogue that could contribute to raising awareness of the need for such interchange.
Mission
EDRC’s mission is to contribute to the construction of democracy in Romania by improving the country’s interethnic climate and promoting the principles of ethnocultural peace and justice.
Position
To contribute to the improvement of ethnic relations by valuing diversity.
Objectives
- To provide a gradually more favourable climate for interethnic relations in Romania;
- To increase participation and visibility of minorities in the public sphere;
- To promote interethnic dialog and initiate interethnic partnerships;
- To promote public policies on ethnocultural diversity;
- To encourage and assist minority NGOs;
- To investigate, document and monitor interethnic relations;
- To cooperate with local authorities in promoting minority interests;
- To initiate partnerships with public authorities;
- To promote good governance in multiethnic communities;
- To support ethnic minorities in asserting their cultural identity;
- To promote multicultural educational programmes.
Contact details:
Levente Salat Zakarias, Executive President
Mariana Salagean, Programme Coordinator
Ethnocultural Diversity Resource Center
21 Tebei Street
400305 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Tel: +40 264 420 490
Fax: +40 264 420 491
E-mail: info@edrc.ro
Website: www.edrc.ro