President of the RCI elected Vice President of the European Union National Institutes for Culture

Liviu Jicman, President of the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR), has been elected Vice President of the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) during the General Assembly held in Brussels. Representatives of member institutions in EUNIC voted to supplement the composition of the EUNIC Board of Directors - the leadership structure of the EUNIC network - with a new member, Kirsten van den Hul (Director of DutchCulture, Netherlands), and a new Vice President, the President of ICR. Liviu Jicman stated, "Together with the President of EUNIC, Camilla Morhorst (Danish Cultural Institute), and colleagues from the EUNIC board - Kristen van den Hul (DutchCulture), Johannes Ebert (Goethe Institut), Matthieu Peyraud (French Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Carmen Noguero Galilea (Instituto Cervantes) - we aim to strengthen the constantly expanding EUNIC network and communication within it: between clusters, member organizations, partners, and the EUNIC Global office. Through dialogue with EU institutions and the implementation of cultural projects on all continents, Romania will benefit from increased visibility on the European and international stage, playing a leading role in promoting the cultural and linguistic diversity of the European Union."

The agenda of the meeting included discussions on the annual report and the agenda for 2024. An important topic was the opportunities for accessing European funds, programs managed by the Directorate-Generals for Education and Culture, as well as Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission. The EUNIC General Assembly also analyzed the working principles of the future EU Strategy in the field of international cultural relations, in dialogue with Stefano Sannino, Secretary-General of the European External Action Service, who emphasized the importance of strengthening coordination between EU member states and European institutions for organizing common cultural events in third countries.

The next General Assembly of EUNIC will take place in Bucharest and will be organized by ICR, on the occasion of Romania assuming the presidency of EUNIC in June 2024.