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Black Sea Twilight A Talk and Book Presentation by Domnica Radulescu Hosted by Dr Mike Phillips OBE, British novelist, historian and curator Followed by a Q&A session Thursday 21 July 2011, 19.00-21.00, The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre Manchester Square, 18 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1H 6EQ; Tel. 020 7486 0295, ext 108 e-mail: bookings@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk; Entry is free but booking is essential.

Romanian-born American writer Domnica Radulescu, author of best-selling Train to Trieste, is coming to London for a special talk and presentation of her most recent novel – Black Sea Twilight – ahead of its UK publication in July 2011 by Transworld Publishers – Black Swan.

Domnica Radulescu will discuss some of the creative processes and sources of inspiration that lead to the creation of Black Sea Twilight in light of her experience of growing up in Romania under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu and of her experience as an émigré in the Western world.

Radulescu will offer her authorial perspective on the protagonist of the novel, Nora Teodoru, an aspiring visual artist, courageous adventurer and passionate young Romanian woman, through the lens of the interconnectedness between the female body and the female creative imagination and the ways in which the latter is affected by the experience of exile. A book of carnivalesque occurrences, tragic separations, suspenseful escapes and dreams of overpowering passion, Black Sea Twilight takes even farther some of the themes developed in her first novel, Train to Trieste, and weaves them through a rich palette of wrenching emotions, fantastical visions and colorful landscapes.
Excerpts from the novel will be read to illustrate the themes and notions developed in the talk.

Domnica Radulescu won a national prize for a volume of short stories when she was twenty, just before she fled her native Romania during Nicolae Ceausescu’s dictatorship. She settled in the United States as a political refugee in 1983. She is a Professor of French and Italian Literature and Chair of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Washington and Lee University in Virginia.
Her first novel Train to Trieste won the Library of Virginia Award for Best Fiction. Black Sea Twilight is her second novel.

• BLACK SEA TWILIGHT
by Domnica Radulescu. Black Swan, July 2011 • 432 pages • ISBN: 0552774758
RRP £7.99. Available to buy online from Amazon.co.uk and RBooks.co.uk.
The book will also be available on the evening, and the author will sign copies

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Organised by the Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre in London
Culture Power is a programme initiated by the Ratiu Foundation, consisting of a number of presentations and constructive dialogue with an invited audience.

With the support of Profusion International Creative Consultancy.
Note: Images above © Courtesy of Transworld Publishers.

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Romanian Playwright Saviana Stanescu at the Ratiu Foundation Talk and Drinks Reception on Monday 1 July 2011 19.00-21.00, The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre Manchester Square, 18 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1H 6EQ; Tel. 020 7486 0295, ext 108 e-mail: bookings@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk; Entry is free but booking is essential.

SAVIANA STANESCU introduces her play
ALIENS WITH EXTRAORDINARY SKILLS

In a special event at the Ratiu Foundation, New York-based Romanian playwright Saviana Stanescu introduces her critically acclaimed play ‘Aliens With Extraordinary Skills’, a dark comedy about a clown from the “unhappiest country in the world”, Moldova, who pins her hopes on a US work visa. Chased by Homeland Security, a deportation letter deflates Nadia’s enthusiasm and a pair of spike heels might be all it takes to burst her American Dream (or turn it into a nightmare). The event will feature readings from the play.

“Saviana Stanescu’s Aliens With Extraordinary Skills is an enchanting piece of theater… Ms. Stanescu’s dialogue is flawlessly observant…the energy people talk about as New York’s essence comes from all those newcomers’ hopes and dreams in the air. Aliens pays tribute to that energy and at the same time radiates tons of its own” – The New York Times

Saviana Stanescu was born in Bucharest, Romania, and was ‘reborn’ in New York. Her plays have been widely presented internationally and in the US, in stage productions, readings, and workshops, gathering rave reviews and awards. Saviana won the 2007 Marulic Prize for Best European Radio-drama for ‘Bucharest Underground’ (presented, with the support of the Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre, at the Edric Hall Theatre of the London South Bank University in January 2009). Saviana teaches at New York University.

‘Aliens With Extraordinary Skills’ was published by Samuel French in 2009. Besides plays included in various anthologies, Saviana has also published six books of poetry and drama including ‘Google me!’ (poetry), ‘Black Milk’ (four plays) and ‘The Inflatable Apocalypse’ (Best Romanian Play of the Year UNITER Award in 2000). Saviana also co-edited the anthologies of plays “Global Foreigners” (with NYU professor Carol Martin) and ‘roMANIA after 2000’ (with CUNY professor Daniel Gerould).

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Organised by the Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre in London
Culture Power is a programme initiated by the Ratiu Foundation, consisting of a number of presentations and constructive dialogue with an invited audience.

With the support of Profusion International Creative Consultancy.
Note: Image above © Ratiu Foundation

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LOVE TRADITION DISPLAY AND SALE OF ART FURNITURE Talk and Drinks Reception on Monday 4 July 2011 19.00-21.00, The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre Manchester Square, 18 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1H 6EQ; Tel. 020 7486 0295, ext 108 e-mail: bookings@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk; Entry is free but booking is essential.

Display of Romanian Folk-inspired Art Furniture

Open from Monday 4 July to Tuesday 19 July 2011, Mon – Fri 12.00 – 18.00. Admission free, booking is essential

The merging of tradition and modernity was a constant preoccupation of many artists and designers. Furniture designer Simona Stoicescu, founder of Black Bird Creators and also a painter, together with her friend, sculptor and designer Oana Gyarmath – author of the collection on display – were inspired by Romanian traditional motifs and brought to life a series of functional art objects which sometime include vintage, authentic pieces of traditional Romanian folk costume. On the evening of 4 July, the presentation of the works on show will be made by Simona Stoicescu. She will be introduced by novelist, historian and curator Dr Mike Phillips OBE, convenor of the Culture Power series.

The Love Tradition collection was inspired by, and is dedicated to, the memory of Queen Marie of Romania. A grand-daughter of Queen Victoria married to King Ferdinand of Romania, Marie has proved the love for her adopted country by embracing and assimilating the Romanian people’s traditions, her contribution and dedication to promoting arts and heritage being tremendous and hard to equal.

Black Bird Creators’ artistic work is a two-way journey between the archaic and the contemporary, a fundamental quest for the primary source of art, and an effort to promote Romanian artistic tradition and modernity in the same time.

The objects exhibited at the Ratiu Foundation are on sale, part of the proceeds going to support the Ratiu Foundation’s restoration and heritage work in Romania.

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Organised by the Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre in London
Culture Power is a programme initiated by the Ratiu Foundation, consisting of a number of presentations and constructive dialogue with an invited audience.

With the support of Profusion International Creative Consultancy.
Note: Image of Queen Marie and art furniture © Courtesy of Black Bird Creators.

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Culture Power Monday 7 March 2011 19.00-21.00 CULTURE, MODERNITY AND EXTREMISM The Criterion Association of Interwar Bucharest (1932 - 35) by Dr Cristina Adriana Bejan Ion Ratiu Post-Doctoral Fellow in Romanian Studies, Georgetown University Hosted by Dr Mike Phillips OBE, British novelist, historian and curator Followed by a Q&A session The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre, Manchester Square, 18 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1H 6EQ; Tel. 020 7486 0295, ext 108; e-mail: bookings@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk Entry is free but booking is essential.

The interwar period in Romania is easily romanticized as a “Golden Era” but there were in fact genuine cultural triumphs that deserve to be celebrated not just in Romania, but as remarkable contributions to European thought and civilisation in the 20th Century. The foremost example is The Criterion Association, arguably the pinnacle of interwar Romanian Modernity, an intellectual and cultural society that featured the greatest minds of Romania’s “Young” Generation of 1927 (Emil Cioran, Petru Comarnescu, Mircea Eliade, Eugene Ionesco, and Mihail Sebastian, among others).

Criterion successfully organized a number of provocative and progressive events: lectures, performances and art exhibitions, as well as a corresponding publication. Eliade considered Criterion to be an existentialist philosophical movement in its own right: the predecessor to Paris’ Left Bank. The way that Criterion functioned illustrated the liberal ethos of the time: it operated according to democratic vote by its members. Criterion dissolved abruptly in 1935 due to the ascension of extremist politics within and outside the intellectual circle, King Carol II’s fear of the organization, and a tragic public scandal. This lecture focuses on the activity of Criterion from 1932 to 1935.

Cristina Adriana Bejan recently completed her DPhil (PhD) at the University of Oxford with a dissertation entitled “The Criterion Association: Friendship, Culture and Fascism in Interwar Bucharest” under the joint-supervision of Regius Professor Robert Evans and Professor Dennis Deletant. She completed her Masters in Modern History and started her doctorate at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, and research as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Bucharest. She was the Yetta and Jacob Gelman Fellow at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2009. Cristina is also a theatre artist, director and playwright. She is currently directing Lucian Blaga’s ‘Zalmoxis’, opening on 29 April 2011 at Georgetown University’s Devine Studio Theatre.

Dr Mike Phillips OBE is a novelist, historian and curator, a member of the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Expert Panel, and consultant to various cultural organisations across Europe.

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Organised by The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre in London
www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com; www.romanianculturalcentre.org.uk

Culture Power is a programme initiated by the Ratiu Foundation, consisting of a number of presentations and constructive dialogue with an invited audience.

With the support of ProFusion International Creative Consultancy.

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Culture Power Thursday 3 February 2011 19.00-21.00 Acting the Manager and Managing the Act Behind the scenes with Constantin Chiriac, in an open discussion with Dr Mike Phillips OBE Followed by a Q&A session The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre, Manchester Square, 18 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1H 6EQ; Tel. 020 7486 0295, ext 108; e-mail: bookings@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk Entry is free but booking is essential.

For more than seventeen years, Constantin Chiriac has been running the extremely successful SIBFEST, the annual international theatre festival in the Transylvanian city of Sibiu, Romania. He has also been a star of the Romanian stage and screen and an important influence in East-European theatre management, running the ‘Radu Stanca’ National Theatre of Sibiu since 2000, and teaching at the Theatre Studies department of the University of Sibiu. For the last six years Constantin Chiriac has, in addition, been engaged in the cultural operations of the European Union. In 2007 the town of Sibiu was appointed European Capital of Culture, a year before Liverpool, and Constantin was a major influence in the successful bid. Since then, he has been involved in choosing the new European Capitals of Culture, as well as in many other cultural issues in Europe. Further afield, he works as a consultant and collaborator with Japanese and Korean theatres and has in the last couple of years begun to work in China.

However you look at it, Constantin seems to be a very busy man indeed, and if we add the stress of having to deal with Romanian bureaucracy under several administrations, the only thing that can be safely assumed is that he is a true Renaissance man.

At the invitation of the Ratiu Foundation, actor, director and cultural manager Constantin Chiriac will be in London at the beginning of February 2011 for a conversation centring on his work and plans for the future. This is one of a number of conversations Constantin plans to undertake in the near future. ‘The issue is that we are, both in Romania and the rest of Europe, at a crossroads of cultures. We must understand how to create a new role and new relationships with our neighbours on social, economic and cultural fronts. Otherwise we are doomed. Conversations such as the ongoing discussions I have with my friends all over the world are an important part of this movement in which we are trying to come to terms and come to grips with who we are.’

Dr Mike Phillips is a long term friend and critic of Constantin’s, as well as an astute observer of the European cultural landscape, and the conversation between the two will take place at the Ratiu Foundation on the evening of Thursday 3 February, part of the Culture Power series of talks and presentations.

Mike Phillips invites you to assist in a public discussion about the director’s work and the “backstage” events at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival. In the context of a troubled economy, public anger about cuts, and a consistent challenge to arts expenditure, Mike’s questions will attempt to explore the political economy of cultural entrepreneurship in the contemporary East, e.g:

- What did it take to create an international theatre festival in 1990’s Romania, at a time when the transition to a market economy seemed to have no end in sight?
- What does it take to host in Sibiu one of the largest events of its kind in Central and South-eastern Europe?
-How is it possible to create bigger and better editions of the festival each year, in spite of the transition and in the context of the current economic crisis?
- How can political interference from the local and national authorities be kept at bay, and how does one deal with officials of all sorts bent on making a propaganda tool of any public event?
-And, not least, how can one physically cope with so many tasks?

Constantin Chiriac has visited London previously at the invitation of the Ratiu Foundation for a lunch-time talk at Tate Britain, hosted by Mike Phillips, in July 2007, and for a discussion on identity, migration, and cultural capital, at the London South Bank University, in November 2006. This discussion was followed by the reading performance of ‘You Think You Know Me But You Don’t’, a one-man play written by Mike Phillips.

Constantin Chiriac is a theatre director and manager with a very successful career as a stage and film actor, with more than 45 theatre characters, 23 one-man shows, and 17 films.

Dr Mike Phillips OBE is a novelist, historian and curator, a member of the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Expert Panel, and consultant to various cultural organisations across Europe.

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Organised by The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre in London
www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com; www.romanianculturalcentre.org.uk

Culture Power is a programme initiated by the Ratiu Foundation, consisting of a number of presentations and constructive dialogue with an invited audience.

With the support of ProFusion International Creative Consultancy.

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The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre,
Manchester Square, 18 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1H 6EQ; Tel. 020 7486 0295, ext 108;
e-mail: bookings@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk
Entry is free but booking is essential.

In connection to the Romanian Cultural Managers’ Trip to London, the Ratiu Foundation organises a special Culture Power Roundtable with the participation of Bogdan Georgescu (Bucharest), Irina Malcea (Bucharest), Mirela Nastasache (Bucharest), Andrada Vaida (Timisoara), and Monica Zarna (Arad). The Romanian guests will present their practices, their approaches to cultural management in the current economic conditions, and the Romanian cultural landscape of today.
The Series’ Convenor, Dr Mike Phillips OBE, will then chair the speakers and the guests to a discussion on culture, society, social activism, and cultural capital.

Bogdan Georgescu is an artist and social activist, using tools such as community theatre, video composing, event-producing, social intervention, project management. Bogdan is the stream founder for Active Art, the process of revealing the work of art in each of us, transforming everyday life into a collective work of art. Under the initiative of the Generosity Offensive he works as an artist, facilitator and project manager in a creative process based on the collaboration with the community involved, and interdisciplinarity for active art, in projects such as Build your community!, The Countryside Tour community project for creative education in rural areas, The House of People active theatre project in the Maximum Security Prison in Craiova.

Irina Malcea is currently working as a cultural manager for the Visual Arts Department of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Bucharest. For the last three years, she has gained experience in coordinating both local and international events, such as Romanian film festivals, international tours of Romanian theatre plays, two editions of a simultaneous international short film festival, workshops, film projections, debates, etc.

Mirela Nastasache is a cultural manager with an eye for new drama. She studied Theatre and Cultural Management in Bucharest and Paris, and works as a literary councillor at Teatrul Mic (The Small Theatre) where she set up a programme for young Romanian writers and directors. She is also in charge of the Press & PR Department of the Romanian National Theatre Festival.
Currently Mirela is developing a project dedicated to New Writing in Romania – a website meant to promote the new generation of Romanian playwrights.

Andrada Vaida is a freelance cultural manager based in Timisoara (Western Romania). As a Cultural Referee at the German Cultural Centre in Timisoara she co-organized film, visual arts and music events with German and Romanian artists. She worked for a time at the Trans-Media-Akademie Hellerau in Dresden, where she developed the project Send & Receive_media art exchange_RO/DE, and she co-initiated projects with colleagues from Eastern Europe. At the time she collaborates with the Timishort International Film Festival (Timisoara) and other local actors, as well as with inter:est Kulturprojekte (Berlin).

Monica Zarna is one of the producers of the Underground Theatre Festival and the Euromarionete Festival in Arad (Western Romania). She is currently working for the mobility project for cultural workers ‘Bridge between European Cultural Centres’ as the PR and communication coordinator. Her work has been related in various forms with several renowned theatre festivals, such as Avignon OFF, Divadelna Nitra and Nordwind. Through her studies and work, she has lived in Portugal, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia and Germany.
Her hobbies include watching films, which she sometimes reviews on a Romanian online cultural magazine.

Culture Power is a programme initiated by the Ratiu Foundation, consisting of a number of presentations and constructive dialogue with an invited audience.

Photo: image from project of active art © Bogdan Georgescu

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Culture Power is a programme initiated by the Ratiu Foundation, consisting of a number of presentations and constructive dialogue with an invited audience.

Organised by The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre in London


With the support of Visiting Arts, ProFusion International Creative Consultancy, and Gabriela Tudor Foundation.

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Culture Power Tuesday 6 July 2010 19.00-21.00 TOMA ARNAUTOIU and the anti-communist armed resistance in Romania a presentation by Ioana Voicu-Arnautoiu Followed by Q&A session with Ioana Voicu-Arnautoiu, Christian Mititelu, and Mike Phillips. plus Private View of the photography exhibition ‘Toma Arnautoiu and the anti-communist armed resistance in Romania’ (see show details below). Hosted by Dr Mike Phillips OBE, British novelist, historian and curator

The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre,
Manchester Square, 18 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1H 6EQ; Tel. 020 7486 0295, ext 108;
e-mail: bookings@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk
Entry is free but booking is essential.


This is the story of Toma Arnautoiu from the village of Nucsoara on the southern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains. He led the most enduring anti-communist partisan group in Romania, starting with 1949, when twelve men and four women from Nucsoara took to the mountains. They followed discharged lieutenant Toma Arnautoiu and his brother Petre, resisting for nine years by changing hiding places and requisitioning food from shepherds, foresters or even chalets, always leaving a receipt for what was taken. On several occasions, the group clashed with the troops chasing them or with Securitate agents posing as mountaineers. Of the initial 16, one surrendered, a few were caught, and a couple were killed. Relatives and villagers suspected of helping them were brutally questioned, detained and handed heavy sentences.

In May 1958 Toma’s group was finally betrayed by a former sympathiser. They were detained and interrogated for one year. A court martial sentenced the Arnautoiu brothers to be shot alongside 14 villagers who had helped them in various ways. The parents of the Arnautoiu brothers and Maria Plop, one of the women who joined the group and had a child with Toma, were handed heavy sentences and died in prison. Their sister and others who had helped them were imprisoned until 1964, when almost all political detainees in Romania were released.

The talk will be accompanied by the screening of a short introductory film by Monica Tanase and an exhibition of photographs from the Securitate archives about Toma Arnautoiu and his resistance group.

With this event, we will be presenting the book
‘50 Years since the Trial and Execution of the Members of the Anti-Communist Partisan Group led by Toma Arnautoiu’ Edited by Ioana Voicu-Arnautoiu and Ioan Craciun (English version by Christian Mititelu), University of Bucharest, 2010. ISBN 978-973-558-479-5. The book will be for sale on the evening at the special price of £5.00.


Ioana Voicu-Arnautoiu is currently the head of the Chamber Music department at the Bucharest Conservatoire. At the age of four she was adopted from an orphanage. After the fall of communism, aged 34, she set off to discover her roots, her search taking her to former staff of the orphanage who recalled a malnourished child, with no papers nor medical history being brought in by the police.

Ioana discovered she had been born in a mountain hide-out in the Carpathian Mountains where she had spent the first two years of her life, and that she was the daughter of anti-communist partisans, that her father had been executed and her mother had died in prison. She then began a methodical search through the archives: first at the Ministry of Justice, later at the authority holding the Securitate files (CNSAS), meeting some of the survivors, and going to court to have her father’s paternity officially recognized. Her father, incredibly, had in fact been Toma Arnautoiu. She published in a comprehensive volume the main documents concerning the interrogation records and trial of the Nucsoara partisans led by her father and selected from the archives the photographs in the accompanying exhibition.

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Photography Exhibition: Toma Arnautoiu and the anti-communist armed resistance in Romania
6 July to 6 August 2010, at The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre. Free admission. Opening times: Mon - Fri 12.00 - 18.00 (booking essential, by phone or e-mail).

The public will have the chance to see for the first time in Britain images and documents coming straight from the archives of the feared Securitate, the Romanian secret police, about the anti-communist resistance group led by Toma Arnautoiu. After the fall of the communist regime in December 1989, these archives have been kept shut away for a long time, with limited access, until the establishment in 1999 of a special commission to oversee them.
Armed resistance to communism in Romania is little known, even in Romania, and this exhibition gives the lie to the propaganda myth that communism was embraced with joy by all in Eastern Europe.

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Organised by The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre in London
www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com; www.romanianculturalcentre.org.uk

Culture Power is a programme initiated by the Ratiu Foundation, consisting of a number of presentations and constructive dialogue with an invited audience.

With the support of ProFusion International Creative Consultancy.
Image courtesy of Alina Mungiu-Pippidi.

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Culture Power Monday 15 November 2010 19.00-21.00 The Space is the Message. A View of Romanian Theatre Today by Octavian Saiu Followed by Q&A session and the launch of the book ‘In Search of Lost Space’ by Octavian Saiu (UNATC Press, Bucharest 2010) Hosted by Dr Mike Phillips OBE, British novelist, historian and curator. Followed by Q&A session

The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre,
Manchester Square, 18 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1H 6EQ; Tel. 020 7486 0295, ext 108;
e-mail: bookings@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk
Entry is free but booking is essential.


“As an art always in search of its own identity, theatre reflects itself in the space in which it comes into being. At the point of major re-evaluations – of traditions, of innovations, and, equally important, of failures of the world’s stage – the problematic of space becomes a fundamental criterion. The new space of the global age has radical consequences for the visual culture of contemporary spectacle or for the selection of the repertoire. In the Romanian context, through stage directors such as Silviu Purcarete, Victor Ioan Frunza, or the younger and more rebellious Radu Afrim, and, in a broader international context, through directors like Robert Wilson or Robert Lepage, the mutations in the theatrical mentality become – in an organic and apparently irreversible manner – challenges of the theatrical space. For these director-creators, the necessity to renew the space has become a leading aesthetic principle.

Focusing on some of the major works of Purcarete, Frunza and Afrim, this presentation will explore the paradigm of space in contemporary Romanian theatre. It will show that, through their respective spatial universes, these artists project a sense of universality that transcends all the boundaries of the local. Indeed, in their productions, the space is the message.” (Octavian Saiu)

Octavian Saiu has taught theatre and dramatic literature as Associate Professor at the National University of Theatre and Cinematography (NUTC) in Bucharest and as Guest Lecturer at the University of Otago in New Zealand. In 2008-2009, he was Visiting Fellow at the University of London. He holds a PhD in Theatre Studies (NUTC) and one in Comparative Literature (Otago). He has been actively involved in several worldwide theatre events and academic conferences in Romania, Israel, Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, Sweden, Ireland, etc. For three years, he was a presenter for Romanian National Television, coordinating TV shows about theatre, cinema and visual arts. A former co-editor of ‘Theatre Nowadays’ magazine, he is a founding editor of ‘Romanian Studies in Theatre Theory’. He is currently the Vice-President of the Romanian Section of the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC). He has published three theatre books, one of which received the Critics’ Award in 2010.

Photo: Silviu Purcarete working on the stage setting for ‘Waiting for Godot’, Liverpool 2008 © Laurentiu Garofeanu

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Culture Power is a programme initiated by the Ratiu Foundation, consisting of a number of presentations and constructive dialogue with an invited audience.

Organised by The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre in London


With the support of ProFusion International Creative Consultancy.

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Culture Power Monday 8 November 2010 19.00-21.00 From Urban Hovels to Earth Luxury Architecture. An Emerging Controversy? a presentation by Catalin Berescu and Florin Botonogu Followed by Q&A session with Ioana Voicu-Arnautoiu, Christian Mititelu, and Mike Phillips. plus Private View of the photography exhibition ‘Toma Arnautoiu and the anti-communist armed resistance in Romania’ (see show details below). Hosted by Dr Mike Phillips OBE, British novelist, historian and curator. Followed by Q&A session

The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre,
Manchester Square, 18 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1H 6EQ; Tel. 020 7486 0295, ext 108;
e-mail: bookings@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk
Entry is free but booking is essential.


“Rural Romania used to be the paradise of earth architecture. But mud bricks, rammed earth or reed roofs are now quickly disappearing in order to give place to strong concrete blocks, omnipresent gypsum boards, bituminous roofs and plastic windows. Our presentation will introduce the work of a group with an urban intellectual background and no fear of the rural life, which since 2006 has produced a series of buildings and experiments as an attempt to re-appropriate traditional construction techniques.

Our first exercise started under the strong impression of that year’s floods, and after the completion of a study at national level on the poor neighbourhoods inhabited by the Roma in Romania. Since then, we’ve had the opportunity to visit legal and illegal camps in France, Italy, Greece, Serbia, India and the UK and our attempt is to connect all this knowledge with the problems raised by the evictions of Roma camps in France, and also to the new housing policies proposed by EU. The two speakers will present their contributions to the recently released volume Mapping the Invisible (Blackdog, 2010), a study on Roma housing conditions in Europe.” (Catalin Berescu and Florin Botonogu)

Catalin Berescu studied architecture and urbanism at Ion Mincu University in Bucharest. He worked as an editor for several architectural journals, did artistic interventions in public space and teaches about new media & architecture, as well as other theoretical issues. His main research and intervention field is extreme poverty housing and housing discrimination. He is also an adobe buildings enthusiast.

Florin Botonogu works for the Policy Centre for Roma and Minorities in Bucharest and has a wide experience in issues concerning disadvantaged groups and minorities. He holds a Master Degree in European Social Policies and worked for UNDP in the areas of poverty and vulnerable groups, contributing to studies and projects on housing and Roma related issues.

Details on www.romanianculturalcentre.org.uk

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Organised by The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre in London
www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com; www.romanianculturalcentre.org.uk

Culture Power is a programme initiated by the Ratiu Foundation, consisting of a number of presentations and constructive dialogue with an invited audience.

With the support of ProFusion International Creative Consultancy.

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Inaugural Lecture at The Ion Ratiu Chair of Romanian Studies, Washington DC

The Ratiu Foundation invites you at The Ion Ratiu Chair of Romanian Studies, Georgetown University, Washington DC for the

The Inaugural Lecture at The Ion Ratiu Chair of Romanian Studies CULTURE, MODERNITY AND EXTREMISM: The Criterion Association of Interwar Bucharest (1932 – 35)
by Dr Cristina Adriana Bejan, Ion Ratiu Post-Doctoral Fellow in Romanian Studies
Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service

Tuesday 30 November 2010 at 6 pm, Riggs Library, Healy Building, 3rd Floor, Georgetown University, 37th and O Streets, NW, Washington DC (click here for campus map).
Free entry, RSVP mandatory at ceres@georgetown.edu or using the online form here. Followed by a reception for confirmed guests.

“We considered ourselves adults; we were unwilling to have people shout at us, ‘don’t play with fire!’ – because we knew very well that we were not playing.” – Mircea Eliade, Autobiography Vol I.

“I am overwhelmed by an immense longing for the admirable times of Criterion, which we were cursing [at the time], – and to which we will never return.” – Eugene Ionesco, 1940 letter to Petru Comarnescu

To many the interwar period is Romania’s “Golden Era”. Culture flourished in Bucharest during Romania’s experiment with democracy before the rise of extremism (first fascism, then communism). The 1920s and 30s are easily romanticized given their contrast to the inhumanity Romania suffered for the next half a century. But there were in fact genuine cultural triumphs that deserve to be celebrated not just in Romania but as remarkable contributions to European thought and civilization in the 20th Century. The foremost example of this is The Criterion Association, arguably the pinnacle of interwar Romanian Modernity.

The Criterion Association was an intellectual and cultural society that featured the greatest minds of Romania’s “Young” Generation of 1927 (Mircea Eliade, Petru Comarnescu, Emil Cioran, Eugene Ionesco, Mihail Sebastian, among others). Criterion successfully organized a number of provocative and progressive events: lectures, performances and art exhibitions, as well as a corresponding publication. Eliade considered Criterion to be an existentialist philosophical movement in its own right: the predecessor to Paris’ Left Bank. The way that Criterion functioned itself illustrated the liberal ethos of the time: it operated according to democratic vote by its members.

Criterion dissolved abruptly in 1935 due to the ascension of extremist politics within and outside the intellectual circle, King Carol II’s fear of the organization and a tragic public scandal. This lecture focuses on the activity of Criterion from 1932 – 1935; its successes and the reasons for its untimely demise. From Lenin to Gandhi to American jazz to modernist sculpture, the topics explored in Criterion were as diverse as its membership. Criterion’s activity aptly illustrates that Bucharest’s intellectual elite was grappling with the pressing questions of the time, and was in fact on the forefront of global philosophical, political and cultural trends.

Cristina Adriana Bejan recently completed her DPhil (PhD) at the University of Oxford with a dissertation entitled “The Criterion Association: Friendship, Culture and Fascism in Interwar Bucharest” under the joint-supervision of Regius Professor Robert Evans and Professor Dennis Deletant. She completed her Masters in Modern History and started her doctorate at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and conducted much of her research as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Bucharest. In 2009 Bejan was the Yetta and Jacob Gelman Fellow at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. In addition to her passion for Romanian culture and history, Bejan is a theatre artist and has contributed to productions as director, playwright or actress in the USA, UK, Romania and Vanuatu. As a playwright, Bejan has written twelve plays and is inspired greatly by the figures she has been so fortunate to study.

The Ion Ratiu Chair of Romanian Studies (IRCRS) at Georgetown University was established by Ion Ratiu in the late 1980s, as a center for research and academic excellence focussing on his native Romania in the city he saw as the capital of the free and democratic world. The Chair’s purpose is to expand knowledge of modern Romanian history, politics, and culture, and to provide the United States’ administration with specialists and resources on Romanian history and current realities. It is the first chair of Romania studies in the world. The endowment of the Ion Ratiu Chair of Romanian Studies was made through a Ratiu Foundation Grant.

Ion Ratiu (1917–2000) was the most outspoken and consistent voice of opposition to Nicolae Ceausescu, whose regime he opposed for years from London as the democratically elected leader of the World Union of Free Romanians. Journalist, broadcaster and author, he was also a successful businessman in shipping and property, while simultaneously operating as a kind of Scarlet Pimpernel, assisting in the rescue of many who fled from Ceausescu’s dictatorship. After fifty years in exile he returned to his homeland in 1990 to contest the presidency. Although he won a seat in Parliament, and was to serve his country for his last ten years, his failure to win the presidency was a disappointment to many. Even nowadays, on Romanian streets, Ion Ratiu is remembered fondly, often referred to as “the best president Romania never had”.

The Ratiu Foundation is a charitable organisation established in 1979 by the leading Romanian dissident and democracy campaigner, Ion Ratiu, and his wife Elisabeth Ratiu. The goals of the Foundation are to further education and research in the culture and history of Romania in particular, and also to stimulate and support civil society in its understanding and application of democracy and democratic principles the world over. Details at www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com

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Earth Architecture, Roma Issues, Theatre Making, Cultural Managers this November at the Ratiu Foundation/Romanian Cultural Centre in London

This November, The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre in London presents a series of events meant to stimulate discussion and foster a better understanding of the “Romanian phenomenon”, taking place on 8, 15, and 25 November 2010.

Culture Power is a programme initiated by the Ratiu Foundation, consisting of a number of presentations and constructive dialogue with an invited audience.

Our guests include an architect and a social activist concerned with Roma issues, a theatre critic who will reveal the world of some of the best Romanian theatre makers, and five young cultural managers on a formative trip to London.

Author and historian Dr Mike Phillips OBE will act throughout as the moderator of the events.

The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Culture Centre also supports the Romanian Cultural Managers’ Trip to London (21-28 November), as well as the presence of the Romanian documentary film ‘The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu’ within the Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival (on 4 November), and the Romanian presence in the exhibition ‘No New Thing Under the Sun’, at the Royal Academy of Arts (21 October 2010-9 January 2011).

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Organised by The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre in London
www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com; www.romanianculturalcentre.org.uk

Culture Power is a programme initiated by the Ratiu Foundation, consisting of a number of presentations and constructive dialogue with an invited audience.

With the support of ProFusion International Creative Consultancy.

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THE RATIU FOUNDATION ANNUAL MEETING & BOW-TIE PARTY 3rd edition Saturday 16 October 2010 Presentations from 11.00. Reception from 18.30. Manchester Square, 18 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1H 6EQ

Dear Friends,

Some of you, our older acquaintances, might know that we like to organise each year in London a celebration for the Ratiu Foundation scholars, partners and friends – the Ratiu Foundation Annual Meeting.

This year’s edition will take place on Saturday 16 October 2010, starting with a session of presentations at 11.00 and a reception at 18.30. We would be delighted if you could attend this event at our building in Manchester Square, 18 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1H 6EQ.

Confirmation is necessary. RSVP at mail@ratiufamilyfoundation.com by Friday 15 October 2010 at the latest.

Through this event we would like to remember and celebrate the legacy of the great Romanian patriot and humanitarian Ion Ratiu, who established the Ratiu Foundation back in 1979, together with his wife, Elisabeth Ratiu.

The programme of presentations starts at 11.00, lasting until 16.00, with two breaks. The presentations will be delivered in a round-table system, in sessions of 15 minutes followed by 15 minute discussions. These round table discussions with fellow Ratiu Scholars and Alumni are hosted and moderated by Dr Mike Phillips OBE. Subjects range from cultural policies to funeral rituals in Romanian villages, and the image of Nicolae Ceausescu in Romanian art. The programme of presentations will be followed at 18.30 by a reception.

Starting with 2009, we began calling the reception following the Annual Meeting by the surname of ‘Bow-Tie Party’. Some time ago, we came up with the idea of all participants at the reception wearing bow-ties. The late Ion Ratiu (6 June 1917 – 17 January 2000), the well known democracy campaigner, lawyer, journalist, writer, politician, businessman and philanthropist, was a devotee of this particular piece of apparel, so much so that he was affectionately known and recognised in Romania as ‘Mr Bow-Tie’. Wearing a bow-tie for this occasion would be a very appropriate way to help us remember and celebrate this great man, whose generosity made your studies and projects and our activity and partnerships possible.

Dress as informally as you like, casual yet smart, BUT it would be wonderful if you could wear a bow-tie (this is valid for girls and boys as well). Just to make sure there will be no misunderstandings, we will repeat last years’ advice:

THIS IS NOT A BLACK TIE EVENT! Although, if you have a full dinner suit, you are most welcome to wear it. The bow-tie could be a clip-on, a butterfly-broach, a toy one, drawn on paper, a hand-made one or even an imaginary one. It’s the state of mind that matters, not the dress. Dress casual and comfortable.

It will be a fine occasion for us all to meet in a relaxed and informal atmosphere in our building in Manchester Square. Attendees will be scholars, students and researchers of all sorts, project managers, and cultural promoters. We promise you all this will be an excellent occasion for us to meet and update each other on the progress of our work and an opportunity to develop new ideas. We also guarantee a good party atmosphere.

Our Trustees will be present at the festivities and are looking forward to meeting you all and talking to you about your work and plans for the future.

We are looking forward to welcoming you on 16 October,

Nicolae Ratiu, Chairman
Ramona Mitrica, Director


The Ratiu Foundation in London was established in 1979, by Ion and Elisabeth Ratiu.
The main objective of the Foundation is to promote and support projects which promote further education and research in the culture and history of Romania and its people.

At the moment, the Foundation maintains offices in London, Washington, Turda and Bucharest and is one of the main independent supporters of educational, cultural, civil society projects in Romania.

The Ratiu Foundation offers 100 annual grants, principally for postgraduate courses. The Ratiu grants are awarded to Romanian students to study a wide range of subjects in the UK. The Ratiu Foundation also offers annual seed funding for innovative projects, which foster Romanian arts and civilisation, heritage, civil society, democracy, and environmental protection.

More details on www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com

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The Ion Ratiu Democracy Award 2010 to be presented in Washington DC Russian Democracy Activist OLEG KOZLOVSKY to receive 2010 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award

The Ratiu Foundation is pleased to announce that Oleg Kozlovsky, a political activist and co-founder of Solidarnost, United Democratic Movement in Russia, will receive the 2010 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award on Thursday, 2 December, as part of the Ion Ratiu Democracy Workshop “Democracy: New Tools for the Struggle” at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC.

Oleg Kozlovsky is the Co-Founder of the Solidarnost United Democratic Movement and a Co-Founder of Oborona, a democratic youth movement in Russia. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Other Russia Coalition from 2007-2009 and Co-Chairman of the youth union of the Union of Right Forces (SPS) political party between 2006 and 2007. Currently, Kozlovsky is the Executive Director of Vision of Tomorrow Foundation and an analyst with the Anti-Corruption Policy Lab at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

Oleg was the organiser of many nonviolent actions and rallies in defence of democracy and human rights in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. He has been arrested and detained multiple times for this, and even conscripted illegally into the army, released only after an international civic campaign of support. During his latest detention in May 2008, Oleg was recognized as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International and was fully acquitted after serving the sentence.

The purpose of the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award is to bring visibility and international recognition to the ideas and accomplishments of individuals around the world who are working on behalf of democracy. The event expresses the deep commitment to democracy of the late Ion Ratiu through his contributions as a Romanian politician as well as his interest in democratic change worldwide.

Ion Ratiu (1917–2000) was the most outspoken and consistent voice of opposition to Nicolae Ceausescu, whose regime he opposed for years from London as the democratically elected leader of the World Union of Free Romanians. Journalist, broadcaster and author, he was also a successful businessman in shipping and property, while simultaneously operating as a kind of Scarlet Pimpernel, assisting in the rescue of many who fled from Ceausescu’s dictatorship. After fifty years in exile he returned to his homeland in 1990 to contest the presidency. Although he won a seat in Parliament, and was to serve his country for his last ten years, his failure to win the presidency was a disappointment to many. Even nowadays, on Romanian streets, Ion Ratiu is remembered fondly, often referred to as “the best president Romania never had”.

The Ion Ratiu Democracy Award aims to replicate for campaigning democrats today, whether in exile from repressive regimes or representative of today’s emerging democracies, the life-changing experience in Washington DC of the Romanian democrat, Ion Ratiu, in the 1970s and 1980s.

This year, the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award reaches its sixth edition. Past awardees include Sergio Aguayo (Mexico, 2005), Saad El-Din Ibrahim (Egypt, 2006), Anatoli Mikhailov (Belarus, 2007), Eleonora Cercavschi (Moldova, 2008), and Adam Michnik (Poland, 2009).

Starting with 2010, The Ion Ratiu Democracy Award offers a month-long scholarship at the Wilson Center that allows the awardee to take advantage of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s and Washington’s unique resources. Awardees will have an opportunity to immerse themselves in the scholarly, policymaking, and NGO communities in Washington, D.C. The 2010 Awardee will present the results of this experience at a workshop at the Woodrow Wilson Center, to be held on 2 December.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is the national, living memorial honouring President Woodrow Wilson. In providing an essential link between the worlds of ideas and public policy, the Center addresses current and emerging challenges confronting the United States and the world. The Center promotes policy-relevant research and dialogue to increase understanding and enhance the capabilities and knowledge of leaders, citizens, and institutions worldwide. Created by an Act of Congress in 1968, the Center is a non-partisan institution headquartered in Washington DC. and supported by both public and private funds. Details on www.wilsoncenter.org

The Ion Ratiu Democracy Award is funded by the Ratiu Foundation.
The Ratiu Foundation is a charitable organisation established in 1979 by the leading Romanian dissident and democracy campaigner, Ion Ratiu, and his wife Elisabeth Ratiu. The goals of the Foundation are to further education and research in the culture and history of Romania in particular, and also to stimulate and support civil society in its understanding and application of democracy and democratic principles the world over. Details on www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com

Photo: Oleg Kozlovsky arrested during a ‘Dissenter’s March’ in 2007. Source: Oleg Kozlovsky’s English language blog

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The Ratiu Foundation and the Romanian Cultural Centre in London, together with Soda Pictures invite you to the launch of THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD Friday 28 May 2010, NFT 1 (at 18.30) and NFT 3 (at 14.30 and 20.30) BFI Southbank, London SE1 8XT • Box office: 020 7928 3232 • www.bfi.org.uk

"The Happiest Girl in the World" will run at the BFI Southbank from 28 until 31 May and from 1 to 10 June 2010. Please click here to book online . Also released in selected cinemas nationwide.

Hailed by Variety as a film with "terrific dialogue and pitch perfect performances", director Radu Jude"s debut full-length feature "The Happiest Girl in the World" is the latest offering from the so-called Romanian New Wave to be on release in UK cinemas. The film, "an utterly delightful little gem" (Little White Lies) brings again to the British screens that special mix of realism, absurd and dark humour, and acute observational skills witnessed is gems such as Cristi Puiu"s "Death of Mr Lazarescu", Corneliu Porumboiu"s "12:08 East of Bucharest", or Cristian Mungiu"s Palme d"Or winner "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days".

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS FOR THE LAUNCH OF "THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD"
FOR 28 MAY 2010, AT 18.30, NFT 1!
For your chance to win a pair of tickets for the launch of this film at the National Film Theatre, all you have to do is to name director Radu Jude"s short films shown in London as part of the 2007, 2008, and 2009 editions of the Romanian Film Festival (hint: you can always find details of the festivals" programmes on our website).
Send your replies by 14.00 on Tuesday 25 May 2010 at mail@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk . Don"t forget to include in your message your FULL NAME and a TELEPHONE NUMBER where we can contact you. The winners will be selected through a raffle from all the correct answers received by 14.00 on Tuesday 25 May 2010, and will be notified in writing at the e-mail address provided.

THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD (Cea mai fericita fata din lume)
Romania / 2009 / 90 mins / Romanian with English subtitles
Directed by Radu Jude. Cast: Andreea Bosneag, Violeta Popa, Vasile Muraru.
Distributed by Soda Pictures (www.sodapictures.com ).

The latest high profile feature from the Romanian new wave, "The Happiest Girl in the World", an acerbic comedy that tells the story of Delia, a girl who wins a car in a competition and the subsequent arguments with her parents about what to do with it.
Combining rich irony with familial acrimony, the film's simple story magnifies the social tensions of a country embracing capitalism and all its shiny promises. The first feature from Radu Jude, "The Happiest Girl in the World" has attracted awards and acclaim from the festival circuit with its sharp dialogue and superb performances.

Image above courtesy of Soda Pictures.

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A release of	Supported by

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THE UK PREMIERE of the latest film from the creators of the Cannes 2007 Palme d’Or winner ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’ TALES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE followed by an extraordinary Q&A session with directors Ioana Uricaru, Hanno Höfer, and Constantin Popescu. Thursday 29 October 2009, at 18.00 Renoir Cinema, The Brunswick, London WC1N 1AW Tube: Russell Square; Buses: 7, 59, 68, 91, 168, 188 Tickets from www.curzoncinemas.com or Box Office 0871 7033 991

Book the date in your diary for the most important Romanian film event of Autumn 2009!

• Tales from the Golden Age
Romania / 2009 / 131 mins / Romanian with English subtitles
Directed by: Cristian Mungiu (Palme d’Or, Cannes 2007), Ioana Uricaru, Hanno Höfer, Constantin Popescu

The final 15 years of the Ceausescu regime were the worst in Romania’s history. Nonetheless, the propaganda machine of that time referred without fail to that period as “the golden age”...

‘Tales from the Golden Age’ adapts for screen the most popular urban myths of the period. Comic, bizarre, surprising myths abounded, myths that drew on the often surreal events of everyday life under the communist regime.

The film is composed of several stories connected by the mood, narrative pattern and the details of the historical period: The Legend of the Official Visit, The Legend of the Party Photographer, The Legend of the Chicken Driver, The Legend of the Greedy Policeman, The Legend of the Air Sellers.

See the trailer and find more information, including a blog, on www.talesfromthegoldenage.com.

‘Tales from the Golden Age’ is released in UK cinemas by Trinity on 30 October 2009.

We are looking for media partners. If you want to make a contribution towards this major Romanian cultural event in Britain, please contact us on mail@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk

The UK Premiere of ‘Tales from the Golden Age’ is organised by Trinity and the Ratiu Foundation, with the support of the Romanian Cultural Centre in London.
For more information and press images, please contact us on mail@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk

The image above is from ‘The Legend of the Greedy Policeman’, courtesy of Trinity.

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---	STEPdoc 2010, a mobility grant of £1,500 for emerging Romanian documentary film-makers

The new funding session for STEPdoc is now open. Applications are accepted until 15 September 2010 (postal mark).

STEPdoc mobility grant is a Ratiu Foundation programme which aims to help reinvigorate Romanian documentary film, stimulating artistic innovation.

STEPdoc consists of a mobility grant per year, worth £1,500, which allows a Romanian film maker at an early stage of his or her career one month of immersion in the UK documentary culture. The STEPdoc mobility grant is to be used for the individual research of a specific project set in the UK and / or for networking with a UK-based company in view of developing of a common film project.

The call for applications for STEPdoc mobility grant is launched in the spring of every year. The process of application for STEPdoc is open to documentary film-makers of Romanian nationality working on creative documentary projects that relate to Romania or involve Romanian subjects – without necessarily being shot in Romania. Preference is generally given to applications submitted by individual film-makers or independent producers. A proven commitment of the applicant to documentary form is desirable but not compulsory.

The selection of the winning project is made by the Ratiu Foundation Board of Advisors. The successful applicant is personally notified in writing, and announced publicly through press releases before the end of the year.

The application for STEPdoc consists of the following documents (in English):

• Letter of intention (see details below)
• Curriculum vitae and filmography of the applicant (max. 1 page each)
• When available, evidence of previous work (DVD)
• Documentation of the proposed project in development:
– synopsis (max. 1 page)
– treatment (max. 2 pages)
– argument / motivation letter (max. 1 page)
– research / networking plan for the duration of the mobility grant (max. 2 pages)
– further funding envisaged for the production of the film (max. 1 page)

Whilst in the UK, the grant recipient make their own accommodation and living arrangements. Advice, directions and suggestions on networking with UK-based film organisations and/or professionals is freely given to the grant recipient by the Board of Advisers. The Ratiu Foundation and STEPdoc are acknowledged by displaying the logo of the Ratiu Foundation in the credits of the films.

The grant recipient will be expected to submit a report upon the completion of the mobility grant.

Please send applications by post to the following address:

Nicolae Ratiu
Chairman
The Ratiu Foundation
Manchester Square
18 Fitzhardinge Street
London W1H 6EQ, England, UK

IMPORTANT
Please specify in your letter of intention the following:
- Name, Surname, Date of birth, Nationality, Address, Telephone, E-mail, Professional status, Work address (if applicable).
Also, please include the answer to the following questions:
- Have you been to the United Kingdom on a professional visit before? If yes, please give details.
- How did you find about STEPdoc?

The grant recipients, from the establishment of the grant in 2007 up to the present, are: Adina Pintilie and Corina Radu (2007), Matei Alexandru Mocanu (2008), and Miruna Boruzescu (2009).

For any further information about the STEPdoc mobility grant, please contact:

Ramona Mitrica
Director, Ratiu Foundation
e-mail: mail@ratiufamilyfoundation.com or go to www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com

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Bursa Gabriela Tudor Grant A UK-based Grant for Romanian Cultural Managers

Gabriela Tudor Foundation from Bucharest, in partnership with the Ratiu Foundation from the United Kingdom, is launching the call for applications for the ‘Gabriela Tudor’ Grant in Cultural Management for the year 2011. The Grant, with the value of GBP 2,500, is presented annually. It consists in a stay of four weeks in the United Kingdom.

The funds ensured by the grant cover the cost of travel Bucharest-London-Bucharest, local transport in the UK, accommodation during the duration of the grant, per diem, as well as a budget for tickets for shows, films, entry fees to museums and galleries.

The aim of the ‘Gabriela Tudor’ Grant is to keep alive the memory of one of the few visionary cultural managers in Romania. Gabriela Tudor – who passed away, alas too soon, in January 2009 – has significantly contributed to the development of the Romanian cultural scene through her initiatives and projects, and her direct support given to artists and cultural organisations.

Launched in 2009, the goals of ‘Gabriela Tudor’ Grant are to offer opportunities for European-level professional development and at the same time to contribute to the development and motivating of emerging Romanian cultural managers.

The winner of the first ‘Gabriela Tudor’ Grant in Cultural Management was Corina Bucea, manager al the Paintbrush Factory (Fabrica de pensule) of Cluj Napoca. Corina’s visit to the UK took place during June-July 2010.

The next ‘Gabriela Tudor’ Grant will take place in the United Kingdom during June-July 2011. The deadline for the applications is 30 October 2010.
In 2011, besides the four-week grant in the UK, with the value of GBP2,500, the Ratiu Foundation will also award five special grants consisting in a one-week professional visit to London.

All grants will be awarded on the basis of the applications received, the selection being made by: Irina Cios (cultural manager and Curator of the International Centre for Contemporary Art, Bucharest), Petra Bischof (cultural manager, The Swiss Cultural Programme), Ghislaine Boddington (CreativeDirector, Body>Data>Space; mentor of the ‘Gabriela Tudor’ Grant winner), Corina Bucea (Gabriela Tudor grantee for 2010), Ramona Mitrica (Director, the Ratiu Foundation), Cosmin Manolescu (Executive Director of the Gabriela Tudor Foundation). The fields of activity which have priority for 2011 are contemporary arts management, the private cultural sector, and cultural policies.

For more details and to obtain the application forms, please contact us at cosmin@gabrielatudor.ro , contact person Cosmin Manolescu, or access the pages www.gabrielatudor.ro and www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com

The ‘Gabriela Tudor’ Grant is offered by the Ratiu Foundation and Gabriela Tudor Foundation / United Experts, with the financial assistance of Swiss Cultural Programme in Romania.

Supported by Green Hours Jazz Cafe and IDILIS

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Joi, 25 noiembrie, la chioscurile de ziare din Romania

Dragi Prieteni, Doresc sa anunt o surpriza placuta, si anume: aparitia unui supliment special al revistei Observator Cultural, dedicat Fundatiei Ratiu si activitatilor sale. Am incercat sa introducem cat mai multe aspecte ale muncii noastre din Marea Britanie, Romania si Statele Unite, prin care dorim sa promovam Romania si cultura nationala. Am incercat, in tot ceea ce am facut, sa fim la inaltimea asteptarilor impuse de numele fondatorului nostru, marele patriot roman Ion Ratiu.

De asemenea, datorita faptului ca aceste evenimente si proiecte nu ar fi fost posibile fara ajutorul vostru, am incercat ca ceea ce am realizat pana acum, precum si lucrurile pe care le planificam, sa fie si pe masura asteptarilor voastre, bunii nostri prieteni si parteneri.

Suplimentul apare joi, 25 noiembrie 2010 si este distribuit impreuna cu revista Observator Cultural. Consideram ca aceasta publicatie este atat un mijloc de a face cunoscute in Romania bursele si programele noastre, cat si o modalitate de a celebra viata, munca si credinta lui Ion Ratiu in potentialul cultural al Romaniei.

In paginile suplimentului veti gasi informatii despre principalele burse oferite de Fundatie, despre cele mai interesante proiecte ale noastre, precum si un fragment inedit din jurnalele lui Ion Ratiu, din perioada 1940-1989.

Cu prietenie,
Ramona Mitrica

Director
Fundatia Ratiu

X | Close The winner of the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award 2009, Adam Michnik (centre) with Ion Ratiu’s sons: Nicolae (left) and Indrei (right) at the Cosmos Club in Washington D.C. earlier today. A PRESS RELEASE OF THE RATIU FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION 2 December 2009 THE ION RATIU DEMOCRACY AWARD 2009 On Thursday 3 December 2009, Adam Michnik, the well-known Polish democracy campaigner, will be presented the 2009 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award and deliver the 2009 Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. He will be introduced by Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Adviser to U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The welcoming remarks are by Woodrow Wilson Center President and Director, Lee Hamilton and by Ratiu Foundation Chairman, Nicolae Ratiu. BREAKING NEWS: With the occasion of the Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture 2009, the Ratiu Foundation produced a short film on this event, its significance, and how it came about five years ago. The film, which will also be screened prior to the lecture at the Woodrow Wilson Center, can be viewed by the public on YouTube. A Facebook page of the event is available here. THE ION RATIU DEMOCRACY LECTURE 2009 “Democracy: Traps and Question Marks” by Adam Michnik Thursday 3 December 2009, 16.00 – 18.00 (US East Coast time) (London time: 21.00 – 23.00; Bucharest time: 23.00 – 01.00) Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Flom Auditorium, 6th Floor One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. The event is fully booked but it can be viewed live over the internet (webcast) through Wilson Center’s On Demand service. A recording will also be available for later viewing on the event’s page. Details on www.wilsoncenter.org/ratiu Adam Michnik is the Editor-in-Chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland’s largest daily newspaper. Historian, essayist and political publicist, Michnik was one of the leading organizers of the illegal, democratic opposition in Poland between 1968-1989. By having Adam Michnik as this year’s awardee, The Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture 2009 can be seen as a celebration of 20 years from the reawakening of democracy in Eastern Europe. A list of selected articles in English by, as well as interviews with, Adam Michnik can be found on www.romanianculturalcentre.org.uk THE ION RATIU DEMOCRACY LECTURE – CONNECTED EVENTS RATIU FAMILY DINNER – Wednesday 2 December 2009 A special Ratiu Family dinner was held at the Cosmos Club in Washington D.C. on the evening of 2 December, in celebration of the Ratiu Foundation’s 30th anniversary. The guest of honour was Adam Michnik, the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award Winner for 2009. Among the dinner guests were: The Hon Zbigniew Brzezinski; HE Robert Kupiecki, Ambassador of Poland in Washington D.C.; representatives of the Embassy of Romania in Washington D.C.; Prof Eliot Sorel, M.D., Senior Adviser IRDL; members of the Board of the Ratiu Foundation USA; Dr Jerzy Eisler, historian; Dr Anatoli Mikhailov (winner of the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award 2007); Dean Carol Lancaster, School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University; Christian Ostermann, Director, European Studies Program, Woodrow Wilson Center; Prof Charles King, Georgetown University; journalist Sheilah Kast; Judge Patricia Wald; Prof Mary King, political scientist; representatives of US charities working in Romania; leaders of the American-Romanian community, and American businessmen of Romanian origin. The evening was hosted by Nicolae Ratiu, Chairman of the Ratiu Foundation, as well as by the Foundation’s Trustees, Elisabeth Ratiu and Indrei Ratiu. MEDIA BREAKFAST BRIEFING – Thursday 3 December 2009 Prior to the Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture (IRDL), the press is invited to a Media Breakfast Briefing on the subject of “NATO, the EU, and the Resurgence of an Assertive Russian Foreign Policy:  Challenges to Europe’s Democratic Governance as seen from Warsaw”. Joining Adam Michnik, recipient of the 2009 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award, are guest speakers Arch Puddington, Director of Research, Freedom House; Stephan Richter, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, the Globalist; Christian Ostermann, Director, European Studies Program, Woodrow Wilson Center. • 9.00-10.00, Woodrow Wilson Center, 6th floor Moynihan Board Room, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. Reservations are required for this event. You are welcome to forward this invitation to other interested members of the press. Please RSVP to Sharon McCarter at (202) 691-4016 or by e-mail at sharon.mccarter@wilsoncenter.org. THE WORLD YOUTH DEMOCRACY FORUM – Friday 4 December 2009 The World Youth Democracy Forum for D.C.-Area Students, convened and moderated by Prof Eliot Sorel, M.D., Senior Adviser IRDL, and Henry Hale, director of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, the George Washington University, will take place on 4 December 2009 at the Elliott School of International Affairs. Young people interested in world affairs will have the chance to meet Adam Michnik, the 2009 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award Winner. • 10.00, Elliott School of International Affairs, room 505, 1957 E St., NW, Washington D.C. For more information, please visit www.wilsoncenter.org/ratiu Participation in this event is by invitation only. This event will be captured on video and made available through the Elliott School website. NOTE: hours above are US East Coast times. // // // // // // // // The purpose of the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award and Lecture is to bring visibility and international recognition to the ideas and accomplishments of individuals around the world who are working on behalf of democracy. This programme expresses the deep commitment to democracy of the late Ion Ratiu through his contributions as a Romanian politician as well as his interest in democratic change worldwide. Ion Ratiu (1917–2000) was the most outspoken and consistent voice of opposition to Nicolae Ceausescu, whose regime he opposed for years from London as the democratically elected leader of the World Union of Free Romanians. Journalist, broadcaster and author, he was also a successful businessman. The 2009 Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture at the Woodrow Wilson Center is the fifth event in a series begun at Georgetown University in 2005 and held at the Woodrow Wilson Center since 2006. Past awardees include Sergio Aguayo (Mexico, 2005), Saad El-Din Ibrahim (Egypt, 2006), Anatoli Mikhailov (Belarus, 2007), and Eleonora Cercavschi (Moldova, 2008). The Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture is organised by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, the Ratiu Family Charitable Foundation in London, and the Ratiu Center for Democracy in Turda, Romania. With the support of the Embassy of Romania in Washington D.C., RH Printing, and DHL. // // // // // // // // For further press information on IRDL: mail@ratiufamilyfoundation.com; Tel. +44 20 7486 0295, ext. 108

X | Close Image above courtesy of Woodrow Wilson Center The Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture 2009 in Washington, D.C. to be delivered by Adam Michnik: “Democracy: Traps and Question Marks” Thursday 3 December 2009, 16.00 – 18.00 Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Flom Auditorium, 6th Floor One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. For RSVP, e-mail IonRatiu-Lecture@wilsoncenter.org “Democracy: Traps and Question Marks” will be broadcast live over the internet (webcast) through Wilson Center’s On Demand service. A recording will also be available for later viewing on the event's page. Details on www.wilsoncenter.org/ratiu On Thursday 3 December 2009, Adam Michnik, the well-known Polish democracy campaigner, will be presented the 2009 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award and deliver the 2009 Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. He will be introduced by Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Adviser to U.S. President Jimmy Carter, 1977-81. The welcoming remarks are by Wilson Center President and Director, Lee Hamilton and by Ratiu Foundation Chairman, Nicolae Ratiu. Adam Michnik is the Editor-in-Chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland’s largest daily newspaper. Historian, essayist and political publicist, Michnik was one of the leading organizers of the illegal, democratic opposition in Poland between 1968-1989. He was a founding member of the Komitet Obrony Robotnikow (Committee for the Defense of Workers) in 1976 and a prominent activist during the Solidarity movement in the 1980s. He participated in the Round Table Talks of 1989, and was later elected to Poland's first non-communist parliament, where he served from 1989-1991. Michnik is the author of several books, including Letters from Prison and Other Essays (1987), The Church and the Left (1993) and Letters from Freedom: Post Cold War Realities and Perspectives (1998). The purpose of the Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture (IRDL) is to bring visibility and international recognition to the ideas and accomplishments of individuals around the world who are working on behalf of democracy. The event expresses the deep commitment to democracy of the late Ion Ratiu through his contributions as a Romanian politician as well as his interest in democratic change worldwide. The Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture aims to replicate for campaigning democrats today, whether in exile from repressive regimes or representative of today's emerging democracies, the life-changing experience in Washington, D.C., of the Romanian democrat, Ion Ratiu, in the 1970s and 1980s. Ion Ratiu (1917–2000) was the most outspoken and consistent voice of opposition to Nicolae Ceausescu, whose regime he opposed for years from London as the democratically elected leader of the World Union of Free Romanians. Journalist, broadcaster and author, he was also a successful businessman in shipping and property, while simultaneously operating as a kind of Scarlet Pimpernel, assisting in the rescue of many who fled from Ceausescu’s dictatorship. After fifty years in exile he returned to his homeland in 1990 to contest the presidency. Although he won a seat in Parliament, and was to serve his country for his last ten years, his failure to win the presidency was a disappointment to many. Even nowadays, on Romanian streets, Ion Ratiu is remembered fondly, often referred to as “the best president Romania never had”. “Had Ion Ratiu been with us for the Democracy Award at the Woodrow Wilson Center this December 2009 he would have literally been overjoyed, challenging all of us to join him in a ‘hora’ in the Freedom Plaza, celebrating twenty years from the fall of the Iron Curtain.” (Professor Eliot Sorel, MD, member of the Wilson Center Council, senior advisor to the Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture) “My father, Ion Ratiu, often used to express his admiration for the Poles’ courage to never stop their fight against oppression. By awarding the Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture to Adam Michnik, we are not only recognising his tireless work for democracy in Poland, but we also recognise the Polish people's merit as 'fire-starters' of the chain of events that put 1989 in the history books!” (Indrei Ratiu, Director Ratiu Center for Democracy) “By offering Adam Michnik the 2009 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award, the Ratiu Foundation wants to pay homage to a great democrat, a most worthy example of all those men and women all over the world who choose to take an active role in making democracy a way of life, often facing persecution. As well as a celebration of democracy’s reawakening in Eastern Europe twenty years ago, the 2009 Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture represents for us the crowning of a year of events marking the thirtieth anniversary of the Ratiu Foundation, which was established in London, in 1979, by my parents, Ion and Elisabeth Ratiu.” (Nicolae Ratiu, Chairman Ratiu Foundation) The 2009 Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture at the Woodrow Wilson Center is the fifth event in a series begun at Georgetown University in 2005 and held at the Woodrow Wilson Center since 2006. Past awardees include Sergio Aguayo (Mexico, 2005), Saad El-Din Ibrahim (Egypt, 2006), Anatoli Mikhailov (Belarus, 2007), and Eleonora Cercavschi (Moldova, 2008). // // // // // // // // The Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture is organised by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, the Ratiu Family Charitable Foundation in London, and the Ratiu Center for Democracy in Turda , Romania. With the support of the Embassy of Romania in Washington D.C. , RH Printing, and DHL. // // // // // // // // The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the living national memorial to President Wilson. The Center establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue. It is a nonpartisan institution, supported by public and private funds and engaged in the study of national and world affairs. Details at www.wilsoncenter.org The Ratiu Family Charitable Foundation is a charitable organisation established in 1979 by the leading Romanian dissident and democracy campaigner, Ion Ratiu, and his wife Elisabeth Ratiu. The goals of the Foundation are to further education and research in the culture and history of Romania in particular, and also to stimulate and support civil society in its understanding and application of democracy and democratic principles the world over. Details at www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com The Ratiu Center for Democracy is an independent, non-governmental Romanian foundation, registered in 2004 in Turda, Transylvania. Based on the life and work of Ion Ratiu, the Center’s vision is to promote the values and behaviours associated with the practice of democracy, encouraging citizens of all ages to reach their fullest potential in the service of their community. Details at www.ratiudemocracycenter.org For further press information on IRDL: mail@ratiufamilyfoundation.com; Tel. +44 20 7486 0295, ext. 108

X | Close Adam Michnik. Photo: Albert Zawada / AG Well-known Democracy Campaigner Adam Michnik is the 2009 Recipient of the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award The Woodrow Wilson Center, the Ratiu Center for Democracy, and the Ratiu Family Charitable Foundation are pleased to announce that Adam Michnik is the 2009 Recipient of the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award. Historian, essayist, political publicist, Michnik was one of the leading organizers of the illegal, democratic opposition in Poland between 1968-1989. Michnik is a political activist and former member of Poland’s first democratic parliament. The Ion Ratiu Democracy Award will be presented at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC, on 3 December 2009, during the 5th edition of the Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture (IRDL). An introduction by Zbigniew Brzezinski, statesman and former US National Security Adviser, will precede Adam Michnik’s address. Registration details from www.wilsoncenter.org/ratiu/ Announcing the news, Nicolae Ratiu, Chairman of the Ratiu Foundation, said: “2009 is a year full of significance, as we celebrate 20 years from the fall of the Iron Curtain and the beginning of the democracy process in Eastern Europe. The revolutions that led to the fall of the communist dictatorships have been velvet, full of solidarity or, tragically, accompanied by bloodshed. Through his tireless campaigning and ability to withstand the pressures of a strong oppressive apparatus, Adam Michnik ensured – together with his colleagues in the Solidarity movement – the transition from communism to democracy in Poland, and proved that, in the end, the pen has been mightier than the sword. By continuing to campaign for transparency, accountability, and freedom of speech, Adam Michnik chose to serve not only his country, but also the promotion of democratic behaviour all over the world. In order to celebrate his achievements and to salute his efforts that lead to 1989 being the best year for democracy, the Ratiu Foundation, together with its Board of Trustees and Advisors, have decided to honour Adam Michnik and offer him the 2009 Ion Ratiu Democracy Award. We are all looking forward to the Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture in December, an event that will crown the celebrations of the 30-years anniversary of the establishment of the Ratiu Foundation in London, in 1979, by my parents, Ion and Elisabeth Ratiu.” For over 40 years Adam Michnik has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to securing the rights and liberties of the Polish people and to the values of democracy. He was a founding member of the Komitet Obrony Robotników (Committee for the Defense of Workers) in 1976 and a prominent activist during the Solidarity movement of the 1980s. He participated in the Round Table Talks of 1989 and was later elected to Poland’s first non-communist parliament, where he served from 1989-1991. Michnik continues to promote democratic values as the Editor-in-Chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland’s largest daily newspaper. While he retired from active political life in 1991, Michnik remains one of Poland’s most prominent and influential people. The purpose of the Ion Ratiu Democracy Lecture is to bring visibility and international recognition to the ideas and accomplishments of individuals around the world who are working on behalf of democracy. The lecture strives to enrich the intellectual environment in which ideas about democracy and democratic change circulate, both within and beyond Washington. Organised and sponsored by Woodrow Wilson Center (Washington DC), the Ratiu Family Charitable Foundation (London) and the Ratiu Center for Democracy (Turda, Romania), the event expresses the deep commitment to democracy of the late Ion Ratiu through his contributions as a Romanian politician and intellectual as well as his interest in democratic change worldwide. The 2007 Ratiu Democracy Lecture was awarded to Anatoli Mikhailov of Belorussia, who discussed Democracy as a Challenge. The 2008 Ratiu Democracy Lecture was awarded to Eleonora Cercavschi of the Republic of Moldova, who discussed children’s rights and education. Previous winners of the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award include Saad El-Din Ibrahim (Egypt) in 2006 and Sergio Aguayo (Mexico) in 2005. The 2009 Lecture will be held by the winner of the award, Adam Michnik. Ion Ratiu (1917–2000) was the most outspoken and consistent voice of opposition to Nicolae Ceausescu, whose regime he opposed for years from London as the democratically elected leader of the Free Romanian Movement. Journalist, broadcaster and author, he was also a successful businessman in shipping and property, while simultaneously operating as a kind of Scarlet Pimpernel, assisting in the rescue of many democrats from Ceausescu's dictatorship. After 50 years in exile he returned to his homeland in 1990 to contest the presidency. Although he won a seat in Parliament, and was to serve his country for his last ten years, his failure to win the presidency was a disappointment to many. Even nowadays, on Romanian streets, Ion Ratiu is remembered fondly, often referred to as “the best president Romania never had”. For further press information: Mihai Risnoveanu – mail@ratiufamilyfoundation.com ; tel: +44 20 7486 0295, ext. 108 // // // www.ratiufamilyfoundation.com // // // // www.ratiudemocracycenter.org // // //

X | Close Photo Exhibition: ‘Paul Neagu (1938-2004): A Portrait’ by Laurentiu Garofeanu Open until Tuesday 15 September 2009 The Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre, Manchester Square, 18 Fitzhardinge Street, London W1H 6EQ; Tel. 020 7486 0295 ext. 108 Opening times: Mon - Fri 12.00 - 18.00. Admission free (booking essential, by phone or e-mail at bookings@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk). To commemorate Paul Neagu (1938-2004) - sculptor, painter, poet, and larger-than-life character - the Ratiu Foundation / Romanian Cultural Centre in London have opened a special exhibition of portraits of Paul and his work, taken by photographer and film-maker Laurentiu Garofeanu during 2003-2004. Paul Neagu came to London in 1969 at the invitation of Richard Demarco. By that time he had already worked on the construction of dams in the Danube, and studied painting at the Nicolae Grigorescu Institute in Bucharest. In London he started his career by lecturing at Chelsea School of Art and Hornsey College of Art, and many of the young sculptors he taught subsequently achieved international recognition. Since gaining British citizenship in 1977 he has been widely recognised, not only for his input in British sculpture, but also as the author of a series of drawings, paintings and performances. In 1992 he obtained Romanian citizenship, and became a citizen of both Britain and Romania. His inspirations are said to come partly from works of Cubism, Marcel Duchamp, Brancusi, but his major influences can also be said to be the metaphysics of geometry, mythology, and eschatology. Focusing on his interest in the concept of movement, exploiting his background as a technician and engineer in his creations, he also explores themes of modern philosophy, using metaphor rather than logic as a tool. The exhibition was launched with a special Culture Power presentation in memoriam Paul Neagu, on 2 July, where ‘The Heart of the Tornado’, a documentary film by Laurentiu and Agniezska Garofeanu, was screened. The projection was introduced by art critic and writer Mel Gooding and followed by a lively Q&A with the film-maker, and with friends of Paul sharing some of their memories of this great man. This exhibition was made possible through a Ratiu Foundation grant.