President Iohannis: Jan 15 - opportunity to reflect on destiny of our national culture, heritage

President Klaus Iohannis sent a message on Wednesday, on the occasion of the National Culture Day and the 170th anniversary of Mihai Eminescu's birth, saying that Eminescu's creation, the keystone of our national identity, is celebrated on January 15. 

He reminded, in the message conveyed by presidential adviser Sergiu Nistor, during the solemn session of the Romanian Academy, that ten years ago the Academy proposed to Parliament to establish the birthday of Mihai Eminescu as a national holiday and to mark the date of January 15 as the Romanian culture day and congratulated the institution for this tradition that it instituted. 

"Happily placed between the holidays of the unification of the Romanians on December 1 and January 24, January 15 celebrates Eminescu's creation, the keystone of our national identity. The birthday of the national poet brings us around the Romanian language and literature, gives us the opportunity to honor our artists, but also the opportunity to reflect on the destiny of our national culture and heritage. The National Culture Day has offered us, each time, a valuable moment of consensus and cohesion around the fundamental values of the Romanian society's spirituality , an opportunity to rejoice in their universal acknowledgement and hope in their European destiny. For this precious legacy, we are grateful to Mihai Eminescu and the culture whose Morning Star He has been for 170 years!," President Iohannis conveys in his message. 

He points out that he has often evoked the contribution of culture to the modernization and Europeanization of Romania and says that, at present, poets and prose writers, painters and filmmakers of the "new wave", composers and performers, artists of the Romanian dramatical and lyrical stage are admired all over the world. 

"Free and non-discriminatory access to the cultural product, by building a functional cultural infrastructure, included, is the objective that a normal Romania must pursue, the country that capitalizes on its strategic resources, among which spirituality and creativity are to be found at a place of honour. To this commitment, the programme Educated Romania, which I initiated, will also make a special contribution," says the head of state.