Republican festival of ethnicities XVIth issue inaugurated in Moldova

Chisinau, 24 September /MOLDPRES/ – The sixteenth issue of the Republican Festival of Ethnicity titled, Unity through Diversity, was inaugurated in Chisinau, in the central public park today.

The event began with laying flowers at the monument of tuler Stefan cel Mare and a parade of folk garments. The inauguration event was attended by state dignitaries, representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Moldova, republican and municipal ethno-cultural organizations.

The head of state, Igor Dodon, specified that "this festival has become a beautiful tradition for Moldova. I assure you that the rights of all ethnic minorities will always be respected in Moldova. We wish you a beautiful holiday today, where you can capitalize on the cultural diversity of our country," said Dodon.

Director-General of the Bureau of Interethnic Relations (BRI), Oleg Babenco, said that "the aim of the festival has been to capitalize and perpetuate the national minorities' traditions, develop intercultural dialogue, strengthen friendship relations between representatives of different ethnicities living on the territory of Moldova, in the context of the European integration of Moldova".

Throughout the day, a musical – literary show will be presented at the festival with the participation of the artistic groups of the ethno – cultural organizations in Chisinau and districts of Moldova. The guests will be able to visit ethnic courts and book exhibitions in the mother tongue of ethnic Moldovans, decorative – applied art exhibitions, fine arts and crafts. Also, the ethnic representatives will present their national cuisine.

In premiere, the festival hosts Ukrainian guests from fencing federation РАТАР, the police choir of the Straseni house of culture, and Ivancea village mayor’s office in Orhei district, with an extensive exhibition and artistic programme.

For the first time at the Ethnic Festival, the BRI participates with a pavilion in which exhibits a set of publications, photos and video presentations from the institution, as well as the EU Delegation in Moldova, AGEPI and the National Association of European Trainers from Moldova, the BRI partner on the dimension of the linguistic training of the Alolingvians, who present practical lessons for the Romanian language study.

The issue of 2017 comprises about 75 ethno – cultural organizations, representing 30 ethnic groups, including many artistic groups from the country districts.

The coordinator of the organization and running of the Festival is the BRI in partnership with the Chisinau city hall, Coordinating Council of Ethnocultural Organizations, Local Public Administration in the Territory and the Moldovan media institutions.

(Reporter A. Ciobanu, editor M. Jantovan)