Radio România Internațional

Tag: International Children’s Day

  • Children’s Day, a celebration of both mothers and children

    Children’s Day, a celebration of both mothers and children

    Every year, the month of June reminds us to celebrate children and childhood, June 1 marking the International Childrens Day, first mentioned in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare in August 1925, when representatives of 54 countries adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Following this event, a number of governments around the world started celebrating Childrens Day.



    For the employees of this community center in Bucharest, the welfare of both children and parents is very important. Melania Medeleanu, a founding member of the center, told us more about a series of workshops addressing both children and parents.



    “We work for the Good Days Community center, which was originally opened to address the Ukrainian community, and starting June 1 it also addresses the Romanian community. Today we welcomed a few children and their mothers. In the morning, we had a workout workshop for mothers and their babies. Now we have an African drums workshop, featuring Mihai Axinte. Children are anxious to try them out. It is the first such event. We have been organizing Romanian and English language classes for the Ukrainian community, as well as yoga, art therapy and dance classes for children. They meet four times a week and so far we have enrolled 500 Ukrainian mothers and children, and were happy to be able to welcome them in a friendly environment where they can attend workshops, laugh or cry, if they feel the need to do that”.



    Alexandra Axinte, one of the organizers of the workshops, also gave us more details:


    “Todays workshop is called Good Monday, since its the first day of the week. We want to build a community here, so we started with children and their parents. We had several interactive workshops. First, mothers danced with their babies and worked out, then we had an emotion management workshop with the map of emotions for children aged 5-8, and now we have a drum workshop, designed to teach children and parents a number of rhythms. The aim is to get people connected, to find various ways to bring us together, through words and movement, and music and emotion, to see what people need right now and help in any way we can”.



    Weve asked Alexandra Axinte what kind of feedback she got.


    “In the morning, mothers were very excited to be able to meet other mothers and their children and socialize. Its something they desperately need. Then, in the emotion management workshop, mothers got to relax, away from their children. They sat out on the terrace while the children had fun with us. You can hear everyone having a good time, which means so far so good!”



    Alina Tofan, an actress and eco-performer, also shared her experience with us.


    “My workshop focused on art-therapy. We worked with the map of emotions, an exercise teaching children to focus on the shape of their body. They are only now starting to discover their bodies and we worked a lot at a mental level, trying to stimulate their creativity and spontaneity. The workshop was adapted to the needs of each child. Today, I had four children in my class. There are usually as many as 12 children, but the fewer they are, the better it gets for them, because their focus isnt spread too thin. However, they work better in larger numbers because they learn from each other fast. Another exercise was to build our own gift bags, which we are basically recycling. Children learned to work together and be mindful of the others needs, they got inspired from what they saw around them. Then each kid introduced himself, and we got to work a bit on the language and creativity – how to tell a story, how to describe a character, sharing fears and hobbies. Its interesting to see how many things they get to learn by interacting with each other. Its a very good exercise that boosts their self-confidence, and it gets easier when they work in groups. What I noticed is they are each very open. They know their limits and know exactly what they want. But I think theres still room to guide them, and encourage them to express themselves freely. There have been kids who have trouble unlocking their creative potential. They might have the potential and the intention, but they just cannot tap into it. Its usually the other way round, since kids are very creative but often dont know to manifest their creative side. Each group has its specificity, but I can say children today know a lot of things they can also express, so the future looks good!” (VP)


  • June 1, 2022

    June 1, 2022

    June 1 — On the International Childrens Day, marked on June 1 special activities are organized throughout Romania. Children are expected at concerts and flash mobs, treasure hunting parties, sports and creative activities and theater performances. In Bucharest, the Palace of Parliament opens its doors, and children and their companions will be able to visit the plenum halls of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, and can also participate in outdoor activities in the gardens of the largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon. Superheroes and princesses, a flight simulator, a magic show or a military marching band will make the day for children. In Oradea (west), the State Philharmonic presents a special concert with cartoon music, and in Constanţa (southeast) there will be puppet shows, magic and face painting.



    Vouchers — Wednesday sees the start, in Romania, of the process of issuing, distributing and uploading the social vouchers offered through the government program Support for Romania– the Romanian Ministry of Investments and European Projects announced. The vouchers have a face value of 250 lei (about 50 Euros), are intended for people in situations of material deprivation or risk of poverty and are part of the most important initiative of this kind carried out, so far, from the perspective of the number of beneficiaries. According to the aforementioned source, over 2.5 million Romanians will receive vouchers for the purchase of food products: pensioners from the public pension system, people with a very severe, severe or moderate disability, families with at least 2 dependent children or single parents. A first for this social assistance program is the wide range of funding sources, both from the state budget and from European non-reimbursable funds.



    Embargo — The US has welcomed the embargo on Russian oil imports decided earlier this week by the European Union, which thus cuts off funding for Russias war against Ukraine, France Presse reports. The European leaders have reached an agreement under which Russian oil imports will be reduced by about 90% by the end of the year. U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the US, which is less dependent than Europeans on Moscows energy, has already announced a ban on all Russian oil imports. He also hailed the European efforts meant to diversify energy supply and develop renewable sources to reduce long-term dependence on Moscow.



    Unemployment — The unemployment rate in the European Union stood at 6.2% in April, a stable figure as compared to the previous month and down from 7.5% in the same period in 2021 – show data released today by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat). With an unemployment rate of 5.5% in April, Romania ranks among the EU member states with a low level of unemployment. The lowest rates were reported in the Czech Republic (2.4%), Germany and Poland (both with 3%) and Malta (3.1%). On the other hand, the highest unemployment rates were recorded in April in Spain (13.3%) and Greece (12.7%).



    PPE — The Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă, as presdient of the National Liberal Party, has had several bilateral meetings with European officials on the sidelines of the European Peoples Party (EPP) Congress in Rotterdam: with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, as well as with the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu. At the same time, Nicolae Ciucă met with the new president of the European Peoples Party, Manfred Weber. During his meeting with Ursula Von der Leyen, the Liberal leader expressed appreciation for the European institutions constant and sustained effort to ensure coordination and unity at EU level. At the same time, the Romanian PM also expressed his support for the rapid implementation of the sixth package of sanctions against the Russian Federation and strongly condemned the war of aggression launched by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine. The future of the EPP, the current EU agenda and the enlargement of the Schengen area were the topics discussed in the meeting with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. Prime Minister Ciucă also reiterated on this occasion that Romanias accession to the Schengen area is a priority for the Romanian authorities. (LS)

  • June 1, 2014 UPDATE

    June 1, 2014 UPDATE

    DIPLOMACY– Romanian foreign minister, Titus Corlatean is currently on a two-day official visit to Portugal, to mark 40 years since the resumption of bilateral diplomatic relations. He will attend a series of events held on this occasion. Corlatean is due to meet deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas, Portuguese foreign minister Rui Machete and the High Commissioner for Immigration and Inter-cultural dialogue, Rosario Farmhouse. The agenda of the talks also covers such issues as bilateral political dialogue, economic cooperation, laying emphasis on the investment component, cultural dialogue and the situation of the Romanian community living in Portugal.



    FINANCIAL MISSION TO BUCHAREST— A joint delegation of the IMF, the European Commission and the World Bank arrives in Bucharest on Monday, to make the third assessment of the current precautionary loan agreement with Romania, worth 4 billion Euros. Until June the 16th, representatives of Romania’s international lenders and members of the Romanian cabinet will discuss, among others, such issues as the elimination of the state-monopoly in two key economic sectors (energy and infrastructure), reducing the public companies’ arrears and restructuring the freight division of the Romanian Railway Company, CFR Marfa. Another issue high on the agenda of the talks is a 5% reduction in employer social securities contributions, as of July the 1st, a measure insistently demanded by the business environment.



    HEALTHCARE– A new basic medical services package was introduced in Romania on Sunday. According to the authorities, it lays emphasis on prevention and brings benefits to patients, who will receive better medical services provided by family and specialist doctors. Other novelties refer to discounts and payments to cover the therapies used to treat autistic children, dental treatments and two series of 10 acupuncture sessions per year. Also, the experts in the field will evaluate risks associated with mental health and reproduction health. Family doctors will monitor patients suffering from some chronic diseases, among which high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and bronchial asthma. Also, B and C hepatitis tests, apart from HIV tests, have been introduced in the minimal and basic package for pregnant women. According to the new norms, patients with 300 diagnoses will no longer be treated in hospital, but in polyclinics.



    THE US PRESIDENT’S EUROPEAN TOUR– US President Barack Obama will meet on Tuesday in Poland, the first leg of his European tour, with 10 leaders of the Central and East European allied countries, Romania included. According to the latest information posted on the site of the White House, President Obama is also due to have talks with Ukraine’s newly elected president, Petro Poroshenko. After Warsaw, the US President will attend the G7 Summit in Brussels, which is being held after Russia has been excluded from the G8 and the cancellation of the Sochi meeting, following the Crimean Peninsula’s annexation by Russia. The last leg of President Obama’s tour will be France, where the US president will meet his French counterpart Francois Hollande, on the same day in which the latter is due to receive Russian President Vladimir Putin. They will attend the D-Day ceremonies, marking the allied debarkation in Normandy, on June 6th1944.



    EU-The European Commission next week will issue recommendations specific to each country, after complex economic analyses have been carried out in all member states. The European Commission will recommend to them to take into consideration starting a series of reforms next year, in such key sectors as the labour market, education, research and budget consolidation. Last year, the EC made eight specific recommendations to Romania regarding, among others, fiscal policies, public healthcare, employment, public administration and the attraction of EU funds.



    ARREST– The French police on Sunday announced it arrested a man suspected of killing four people in an armed attack carried out at the Jewish Museum in Brussels last month. The man, Mehdi Nemmouche, 29, allegedly visited Syria last year, together with Jihad fighters. He was taken into custody in Marseille on Friday, while he was getting off a coach coming from Amsterdam, via Brussels. The suspect was carrying on him a Kalashnikov and a gun similar to those used in the museum attack.



    INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S DAY– Google changed the logo of its search engine on Sunday, to mark the International Children’s Day, celebrated by many countries on June the 1st. The highlights of the day in Romania included shows, draws of lots, masque balls, dance contests, drawings on asphalt, sports competitions and film screenings. In Bucharest, the Romanian Parliament and Government opened their doors for a couple of hours to mark the event. Children were invited to take over the MP seats and to form a “Children’s Government”. The International Children’s Day was first mentioned at the World Conference for the Well-being and Protection of Children, held in Geneva, in 1925. Back then, 54 representatives of various countries adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.



    ROWING- Romania’s eight plus one women rowing team on Sunday won the gold medal at the European Rowing Championship in Belgrade, Serbia. Romania’s crew in the women’s double sculls event grabbed a silver medal. The goal of the Romanian delegation was to win two medals. 252 crews from 36 countries participated in this edition of the European Championships.



    TENNIS-On Sunday, in the men’s doubles, Romanian Florin Mergea and Croat Marin Draganja qualified for the quarter finals of the second Grand Slam of the year, Roland Garros, after defeating the pair made up of Spaniard Feliciano Lopez and Austrian Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 6-3.

  • June 1, 2014

    June 1, 2014

    HEALTHCARE– A new basic medical services package has been introduced in Romania as of today. According to the authorities, it lays emphasis on prevention and patients will benefit from better medical services provided by family and specialist doctors. Other novelties refer to discounts and payments to cover the therapies used to treat autistic children, dental treatments and two series of 10 acupuncture sessions per year. Also, the experts in the field will evaluate risks associated with mental health and reproduction health. Family doctors will monitor patients suffering from some chronic diseases, among which high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and bronchial asthma. Also, B and C hepatitis tests, apart from HIV tests, have been introduced in the minimal and basic package for pregnant women. According to the new norms, patients with 300 diagnoses will no longer be treated in hospital, but in polyclinics.



    DIPLOMACY– Romanian foreign minister, Titus Corlatean is paying a two-day official visit to Portugal, as of today, to mark 40 years since the resumption of bilateral diplomatic relations. He will attend a series of events held on this occasion. Corlatean is due to meet deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas, Portuguese foreign minister Rui Machete and the High Commissioner for Immigration and Inter-cultural dialogue, Rosario Farmhouse. The agenda of the talks also covers such issues as bilateral political dialogue, economic cooperation, laying emphasis on the investment component, cultural dialogue and the situation of the Romanian community living in Portugal.



    FINANCIAL MISSION TO BUCHAREST— A joint delegation of the IMF, the European Commission and the World Bank arrives in Bucharest on Monday, to make the third assessment of the precautionary loan agreement enforce, which is worth 4 billion Euros. Until June the 16th, representatives of Romania’s international lenders and members of the Romanian cabinet will discuss, among others, such issues as the elimination of the state-monopoly in two key economic sectors-energy and infrastructure-reducing the public companies’ arrears and restructuring the freight division of the Romanian Railway Company, CFR Marfa. Another issue high on the agenda of the talks is a 5% reduction in employer social securities contributions, as of July the 1st, a measure insistently demanded by the business environment.



    THE US PRESIDENT’S EUROPEAN TOUR– US President Barack Obama will meet on Tuesday in Poland, the first leg of his European tour with 10 leaders of the central and east European allied countries, Romania included. Accordign to the latest information posted by the site of the White House, President Obama is also due to have talks with Ukraine’s newly elected president, Petro Poroshenko. After Warsaw, the US President will attend the G7 Summit in Brussels, which is being held after Russia has been excluded from the G8 and the cancellation of the Sochi meeting, following the Crimean Peninsula’s annexation by Russia. The last leg of president Obama’s tour will be France, where the US president will meet his French counterpart Francois Hollande, on the same day in which he will also receive Russian President Vladimir Putin. They will attend the D-Day ceremonies, marking the allied debarkation in Normandy, on June 6th1944.



    ARREST– The French police has today announced it has arrested a man suspected of killing four people in an armed attack carried out at the Jewish Museum in Brussels last month. The man, Mehdi Nemmouche, 29, allegedly visited Syria last year, together with Jihad fighters. He was taken into custody in Marseille on Friday, while he was getting off a coach coming from Amsterdam, via Brussels. The suspect was carrying on him a Kalashnikov and a gun similar to those used in the museum attack.



    INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S DAY– Google has today changed the logo of its search engine to mark the International Children’s Day, celebrated by many countries on June the 1st. The highlights of the day in Romania include shows, draw of lots, masque balls, dance contests, drawings on asphalt, sports competitions and film screenings. In Bucharest, the Romanian Parliament and Government opened their doors for a couple of hours to mark the event. Children have been invited to sit in the MPs’ seats and to form a “Children’s government”. The International Children’s Day was first mentioned at the World Conference for the Well-being and Protection of Children, held in Geneva, in 1925. Back then, 54 representatives of various countries adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.