The Romanian government has approved a memorandum to continue Romanian language, culture, and civilization courses for children and youth in Romanian communities across eight European countries for the next school year. 

These optional courses, two hours per week, are tailored for various educational levels, from kindergarten to secondary school. 

The program, overseen by the Institute of the Romanian Language, will be implemented in 542 schools, with 866 groups of children aged 3 to 18. Spain and Italy, home to the largest Romanian communities, will host the majority of these groups, with 453 and 248 groups, respectively. 

In the 2023/2024 school year, approximately 10,500 Romanian-origin children and youth participated in these courses. 

The initiative, which started in 2007, aims to preserve Romanian heritage abroad and is funded by the state budget. The extra budget for this year is RON 7.5 mln (EUR 1.5 mln).

andrei@romania-insider.com

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