Hârșova opened its doors to everyone at the festival of diversity
After three days of activities, the Festival of Diversity through Sport and Art, Play, and Games in Hârșova concluded on September 17, 2023. Organized in collaboration with the Hârșova City Hall, the event gathered hundreds of participants, both children and parents. How did we experience it on the ground?
Hârșova is just over 180 kilometers from Bucharest. We left behind the new neighborhood of Sector 3 and entered the A2 Highway. The summer season officially ended on September 1st, so the route was no longer crowded. People who enjoyed warm days, tans, and waves all summer had returned to their usual lives.
We, however, set off early on Friday, September 15, to reach the inauguration of the school medical offices, the presentation of the inclusion strategy, both events within the Festival of Diversity. After two and a half hours, we arrived in Hârșova. A sign that we were nearing the city was the occasional fishermen on the roadside, signaling if anyone wanted to buy fresh fish.
According to the National Institute of Statistics, as of December 1, 2021, Hârșova had a population of 9,037. Besides the Danube and its history, the community is diverse: it includes Romanians, Roma, Muslim Roma, and Lipovans.
Over the past year, we have come to know it well, especially after organizing Urban Camps for the little ones in August. After three days of the festival (September 15-17, 2023), we can say it is a city of children who raise each other, where the older sibling takes on serious roles of mother and father, and where potential, initiative, and the desire for better are at home
A universal language
A festival – regardless of its nature – relies on volunteers. This festival combined music, games, and sports, so we needed people with various skills and passions.
Andrei Dobre and Iuliana Rada, the festival coordinators, along with Ramona Ion, managed to mobilize a real army of volunteers, including colleagues from RAA. During the activities, besides Romanian, you could hear conversations in Italian, Turkish, Romani, and Spanish, and when Google Translate wasn’t helpful, we relied on the universal language of hugs and smiles.
We are glad we managed to create an open and dynamic space for the diversity of the Hârșova community through creative workshops, children’s games, sports competitions, artistic programs on stage, and parenting workshops. The little ones enjoyed painting workshops, traditional games, face painting, soap making, hula hoops, diversity-promoting games, labyrinth theater, volleyball, and running.
On the sports field, there were friendly football matches for both juniors and seniors, who competed for the cup awarded on Sunday on stage. The colleagues responsible for coordinating the sports activities established some rules for the participants, which they strictly followed, demonstrating fair play. Even the supporters in the stands contributed to the pleasant atmosphere by applauding and chanting encouraging messages. The festival included football, chess, and table tennis competitions.
The residents of Hârșova also enjoyed the artistic program staged by the Hârșova Cultural House, which showcased traditions, costumes, dances, and music.
A passport to the festival of childhood
At the end of the three days, we gave gifts to the children and young people. The first step to receiving a surprise package began long before, on the first day of the festival, with registrations: the little ones came accompanied by an adult to the Info Point tent to register.
Thus, we issued their first “passport.” This “passport” granted them access to over eight activities. Besides the cheerful atmosphere, jokes, and energy, they received a stamp on their “passport” at each activity.
We want to thank the volunteers, Florina (17 years old) and Geilan (24 years old), who also helped with the necessary translations for communicating with the Roma community families.
The people of Hârșova
In the park of the Cultural House, we set up our camp. We divided it into areas of interest and awaited the first curious visitors. Elisa was attracted to the face-painting tent. She came to the festival with her five children because she found what the organizers had prepared in her city beautiful. Thus, she temporarily forgot about the hardships she was going through.
Most of the time, parents registered their children for the festival and then returned to their household chores. Radu (13 years old) came to play accompanied by his sister. We called him “The Little Prince” from the folk and Greek dances. He told us how happy he felt on stage. He has also danced in Bulgaria.
Then, he sat on a chair and exclaimed “Wow!” when he learned how soap is made. A little further ahead, Nazara and her cousin colored a parrot on a sheet of paper as big as they were. They always smiled when photographed. Zian and his mother, Suzanne, were amazed at how Hârșova was coming to life. Suzanne said, “We applaud you for trying to unite the community, no matter how diverse it is, through various activities that will probably bear fruit over the years.”
Gheorghe and Marițica, now retired, made a living in Hârșova and brought their granddaughter, Mihaela, a third-grade student they care for. They compared the entire city to a diverse apartment block.
Andu – The best reward: seeing pure joy in children’s eyes
Those who didn’t know what Andu was doing received a short and simple answer from him: doing good. He, his wife, their daughter, and their cat form a modern and mobile family, frequently traveling between Bucharest and Hârșova.
Defining Andu in just four words is a challenge, but “jack-of-all-trades” is a pretty comprehensive answer and highlights his role at the festival. He liked that, through this event, RAA brought attention to issues that are now better understood.
Andu added: “I saw a lot of pure joy in the children’s eyes, authentic child joy. I no longer saw the lost look caused by worries they aren’t even aware of.”
He says he still feels like a child and would have liked to participate in all the games but didn’t have time: “It was wonderful to see the labyrinth theater and scientific experiments…”
Most volunteers left on Sunday evening but not before evaluating what the festival meant: Over 400 children and young people participated in the activities over the three days, with 50 volunteers involved and 350 gifts distributed.
But above all, we asked ourselves: “What can we do next for the future of the children in Hârșova?”
And we felt at peace when we said: “It will continue in Hârșova.”
Key information
The festival was organized within the Project “Inclusion and Health in PORT (Hârșova) through Education, Arts, and Sports” and benefits from a grant offered through the Norwegian Grants under the Local Development, Poverty Reduction, and Roma Inclusion Program.
For official information about the EEA or Norwegian Grants, visit eeagrants.ro.
For official information about the Local Development Program, visit frds.ro.
