AGERPRES presents photos, documentary under 'People and Facts for 100 Years' educational project

A photographic exhibition and the documentary film "The Greater Union - Romania at 100" by the AGERPRES National News Agency were presented at the Henri Coanda National Aeronautics Collegiate High School in Bucharest on Tuesday, under a cultural and educational project called "People and Facts for 100 Years," dedicated to the Greater Union Centennial.

AGERPRES Deputy Director General Cristina Tatu said the documentary is "a lesson of history told differently," a "collection of emotions" from people involved in the events of a century ago.

"A lesson of history told differently - that is how we could briefly describe the documentary 'The Greater Union - Romania at 100,' which was not designed to be just a product that conveys some historical information. Everything is a collection of emotions that are conveyed by people who have become either our mentors or heroes. They are no characters from books or fairytales; they are people who lived or who witnessed those moments that we are talking about. We know that the new times require new techniques, including for the history lessons, school, for how to catch each student's attention, and we have so far enjoyed not only the attention of hundreds of schoolchildren in the schools where we have presented the film, but, more importantly, there have been discussions developed at the end of the screening," said Tatu.

Also in attendance was professor Ion Calafeteanu and art historian and museographer Constantin Raileanu, who told the Henri Coanda students about the importance of the Greater Union.

"I am absolutely convinced that you already know what 100 years since the Greater Union mean. We call it the Greater Union, but it is the normal union. It was for the first time when the Romanians were found, in 1918 and the following period, all in one country (...) Therefore, we celebrate 100 years since the Greater Union, a unique celebration (...) It is obvious to all those who wrote about those events that they thought the people of Basarabia, Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia are all Romanians, and it is normal for all of them to live in a single country," said Calafeteanu.

He gave a brief presentation of the events that took place before and after the Greater Union in 1918, explaining to students the "diplomatic battle" to advance the recognition of Romania's borders.

Raileanu said Romanians celebrate this year "100 years, because we have a story, a story of all of us."

An exhibition of pictures from the AGERPRES photo archive was mounted at the event, featuring personalities from various fields - culture, sports, history.

The "People and Facts for 100 Years" project is conducted by the DAEVAM Association.

The AGERPRES National News Agency is a media partner. AGERPRES (RO - author: Petronius Craiu, editor: Florin Marin; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)