Event

Romanian immigration to Catalonia

The third session of the Origins cycleis devoted to Romanian immigration, one of the most numerous in Catalonia. This debate looks at Romania's contribution to world culture in the form of Mircea Eliade, among other foremost figures, and takes a look at the cultural wealth of this new European Union-member country. It will also explore the reasons for high emigration figures among Romanians, the stereotypes associated with them and their everyday life in our society. The debate will be accompanied by documentaries that illustrate the specificities of the Romanian migratory phenomenon.

Round table with Joaquín Garrigós, former director of the Instituto Cervantes in Bucharest; Miguel Pajares, social anthropologist, lecturer at the UB and president of the Comissió Catalana d'Ajuda al Refugiat [Catalan Commission for Refugee Aid], and Lia Opris, a social worker with the Consorci Badalona Sud dealing with the insertion of Romanian immigrants who have recently arrived in Catalonia.

Programme:


7 p.m. Panel discussion

“Romanian Culture in the European Context”

Joaquín Garrigós, former director of the Cervantes Institute in Bucharest and translator of the leading Romanian-language writers.


“Romanian Immigration: Why and How?”

Miguel Pajares, social anthropologist, researcher at the University of Barcelona and president of the Comissió Catalana d’Ajuda al Refugiat (Catalan Commission for Refugee Aid). He is author inter alia of Inmigrantes del Este (Immigrants of the East - Icària, 2007).


“The Challenges of Interculturality”

Lia Opris, social worker with the Consorci Badalona Sud (Badalona South Consortium) which offers help in the settling-in processes of newly-arrived Romanian immigrants to Catalonia.


Moderator: Joan Manuel Oleaque, journalist, lecturer at the International University of Valencia.


9 p.m. Screening

Occident, Romania, 2002, 105 min., Original version with Spanish subtitles

Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival for his film “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”, Cristian Mungiu offers the comedy “Occident” consisting of three interwoven stories of Romanians who want to emigrate.