Delegation from Württemberg visiting Galati

At the end of November, 2014, two of the representatives of our German steering committee, Rev. em. Prof. h. c. Manfred Wagner and Mr. Rolf Ackermann from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports from Baden-Württemberg were invited to Galati by his Eminence Dr. Casian Craciun, Archbishop of the Lower Danube.

The reason for this invitation was the opening event of the restored Museum of History, Culture and Christian Spirituality of the Lower Danube. The restoration was done by the Archdiocese of the Lower Danube and financed by EU funding. The opening was organised during the celebrations of the life and work of St. Apostle Andrew, christianizer of the Romanian people and spiritual protector of Galati and the Orthodox Church. Among the attendants were representatives of the Regional Development Agency for Braila and Galati and His Eminence Daniel Ciobotea, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

Outcome of visit

This stay was the opportunity for us to develop our initiative in the fields of lifelong learning, social work and philantropy. For this reason meetings with different stakeholders from the Chamber of Commerce, the County Council, the University of the Lower Danube and the Museum of Natural Sciences took place.

Due to this visit we now have a better understanding for the needs of the social sector in Galati. We will support a local initiative for the construction of a clinic for children diagnosed with different types of cancer, by providing them with contacts in Germany and develop an intervention concerned with training of the social welfare workers of the Archdiocese . In terms of lifelong learning, we will give support to our local stakeholders for preparing project prosposals for disadvantaged people.

We would like to thank Rev. em. Prof. h. c. Manfred Wagner and Mr. Rolf Ackermann for the voluntary work and all the attendees of the meetings for for taking the time to meet us. A very special thanks is due to the His Eminence Dr. Casian Craciun for giving us such a warm welcome.

We will keep you informed about the next steps towards reaching our goals.