Press release – “Childhood, Faith and Hope” – Painting and drawing competition for Roma children and their friends from Sibiu County

PARI project in partnership with the Sibiu School Inspectorate, the ASTRA Sibiu Museum, and the Studia Oecumenica Association organizes the painting and drawing competition dedicated to Roma children and their friends entitled “Childhood, faith, and hope”.

The contest is based on the desire to give a voice to Roma children, but also to their friends, i.e. any children who love and interact with Roma people, on the occasion of World Children’s Day, and aims to illustrate how children feel about the Christian faith, how it weaves into their lives and what hopes it instills in them.

Works in watercolor, acrylic, tempera, pencil, carioca, ink or collages, A4 or A3 format, made by children from primary or secondary schools in Sibiu County (aged between 6 and 15), under the guidance of a professor or teacher. They must be sent or submitted to the project headquarters in Sibiu, on Mitropoliei street, no. 30, postal code 550179, to the attention of Mrs. Brumă Ioana-Andrada, contact phone number 0769913353, until May 25, 2022.

The works will be exhibited in the ASTRA Open Air Museum in Sibiu, in the classroom of the Ticera School monument located in the Etno Tehno Park area, an area dedicated to educational activities, on June 1, 2022, during the Toy Fair held on May 28 – June 1, 2022, but also on the project website (www.participatory.ro) and on its Facebook page (PARI project).

The contest prizes are awarded by the Oecumenical Studies Association as follows: First Place 400 lei, Second Place 300 lei, Third Place 200 lei, Mention I, II, III each 100 lei.

The competition is organized within the research project “The role of religion and religious actors in the social inclusion of the Roma: towards a participatory approach” – acronym PARI – project of the “Lucian Blaga” University in Sibiu and the VID University in Norway, financed by the Norway program Grants 2014-2021 and administered by UEFISCDI through contract no. 38/2021. The project initiates, stimulates and supports Romanian and Norwegian research on the inclusion of the Roma population, focusing on the (potential) role of religion and religious actors in relation to the inclusion/exclusion of Roma. The project combines sociological, theological and historical research.

“We are convinced that those who have the best ideas, the most beautiful dreams, the most important say in our society are children. This competition wants to give visibility to these main actors for our future”, declares the project manager Prof. Univ. Dr. Stefan Tobler.

LINK TO COMPETITION GALLERY