Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada

present at the second consultative meeting regarding

"The strategic framework for the development of the infrastructure of public policies carried out by

Department for Romanians Abroad"

On Wednesday, November 23, the Department for Romanians Abroad (DRP) organized a consultative meeting regarding the project with European and own funding "The strategic framework for the development of public policy infrastructure carried out by the DRP."

The project has as its general objective the development at the Department level of a set of strategic planning tools by establishing a new Strategy for Romanians Abroad.

At the opening of the event, the Secretary of State for Romanians Abroad, Gheorghe Cârciu, thanked everyone for their involvement and solidarity and signaled the need for permanent collaboration between state institutions, in supporting Romanians living abroad. The real need at the level of diaspora communities to preserve the linguistic, cultural, ethnic and religious identity of Romanians living abroad was emphasized.

Considering that it is a large-scale project that can bring real benefits to the Romanian communities in Canada, the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada actively participated for the second time, through the presence via zoom of HG Ioan Casian, the Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada and Mrs. Carmen Ognean the youth counselor and camp coordinator in the province of Ontario.

As a general objective, the strategy acts to preserve, develop and express the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity of Romanian communities and organizations, taking into account the frameworks of international and Romanian State legislation.

It was a fruitful consultative meeting that brought to the table different initiatives but specific to each geo-political area of ​​the diaspora. Continuing the suggestion made at the first meeting to include young people from Canada in the camp programs - Discover Romania, supporting and partnering with Training Centers for clergy, catechists and Sunday school teachers to promote the Romanian language and culture, it was suggested to include magazines and North American cultural and religious publications in grant and non-reimbursable funding programs. The wish was expressed for the Romanian Language Institute to actively consider the development of programs addressed to the diaspora in Canada and the United States.

(notes by Carmen Ognean)