Ciprian Stefan

Ciprian Stefan is the president of the National Network of Romanian Museums and the manager of ASTRA Museum, the largest open air museum in Europe. By the power of example, he consolidated a team that sets new standards in Romanian museology. He is also very active and involved in safeguarding the cultural landscape in the rural areas, supporting local communities in the attempt to preserve and promote built and intangible cultural heritage and local craftsmanship, the principles of sustainable development with a deep respect of traditions. 

At NEMO’s European Museum Conference 2023, Ciprian Stefan will be part of the panel "Panel Part of the solution" on Monday, 20 November. 

 

Cultural heritage as an instrument for a sustainable future 

Presentation abstract

Since 2014 ASTRA MUSEUM has developed cultural programmes for the urban and rural communities helping them understand, first of all, the meaning of cultural heritage as their legacy. They want them to embrace the museum, their own legacy, and to take part in it. ASTRA also promotes the cultural values of each place as an important point for local development through cultural tourism. The most important element of these programmes is sustainability and how we can learn from the past, how we can adapt current solutions to climate change, how we can use resources efficiently and how we can exemplify the SDGs. How we can better understand the green transition, how we can deal with waste etc. 

An essential component is also the investment in infrastructure and cultural heritage. The political and decision-making lobby must be conducted in order to obtain funding for a green infrastructure that will enable the development of numerous new cultural initiatives and goods. Undoubtedly, reducing energy consumption through investments is a task faced by Romanian and European museums.