The cultural strategy has been elaborated starting from the need of alignment with the European procedures used for defining a coherent and common cultural policy. Considering the results obtained following the sociological diagnose and the statistic analyse realised through the pilot project "Investigation of the demand and offer in the cultural sphere, database for setting up the cultural strategy", elaborated and implemented in 2001 in the frame of the Phare Euroart Programme, benefiting of the opportunity of expression offered by the European Cultural Foundation and the ECUMEST Association, the realisation of the cultural strategy has been supported by the politic and administrative decision-makers of the Timis County and by the interest of the cultural actors. The project team applied a specific methodology in realising the present strategy - the SWOT analyse (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats), used for identifying the potential cultural fields, drawing up the mission, the strategic directions, the objectives and the measures that are called for. The potential analysis of the external environment of the cultural sphere The favourable geographical position, a crossborder one, at confluence of the Central and Eastern Europe, confers to the Timis County a large openness and numerous economic and cultural opportunities. Also, for being a space of interferences, various ethnic and cultural transfers between Timis County and the neighbouring countries took place in the course of time. Major opportunity, the short distance between Timisoara and different powerful cultural centres of Europe has been fructified by the cultural-artistic field that developed intense exchanges, which led to a permanent connection to the values of the European culture. By tradition, the Timis County is a multicultural and multiethnic space, where values of the popular expression and worships belonging to Romanians, Hungarians, Germans, Serbians and other national minorities coexisted and interfered. An important characteristic of the Timis County cultural tradition is the fact that the cultural life has been promoted by the community. Thus, during the second part of the XIXth century, the cultural phenomenon gets a mass character through the creation of numerous societies and associations of different nationalities, in dozens of rural settlements. On the background of a mutual understanding - a veritable way of living of the Banat inhabitants - the sentiment of national affiliation determined the conservation of the specific traditions and spiritual values, the culture becoming, with the time, a prominent element in the development of the spirit of social cohesion of the inhabitants of these lands. The way the population behaves, the spirit of tolerance, the mutual respect and the pacific coexistence of the citizens belonging to the different ethnic and denominational groups, makes from Timis County a model that can be definitely compared with the model of European civilisation. After the Revolution from December 1989 that started in Timisoara, one can observe an ample process of changing in the structure of the Timis County population, which determines the necessity of creating a cultural offer that takes these changes into account. The analysis of the external environment of the cultural sphere highlights the existence of various important opportunities for the development of a harmonious cultural life. The economic potential divers and stable - sustainable economic development which places Timis, according to the indicators used in the comparison system, among the 2-5 counties of the country, the climate, the relief, the hydrographical network, the vegetation, the fauna are factors that directly contribute at defining the Timis space. Besides the major opportunities determined by these factors, one also identified those awarded by the synergetic fields, such as education, tourism, mass-media. In Timis County, and most over in Timisoara, there are several important education institutions - high schools and universities - among which we underline those related to artistic education, namely with a plastic arts and performing arts profile, whose existence favours the increase of the cultural consumption as well as the training of specialists in the field. The interference that composes and overlaps the social effects of the two spheres - the numerous links and exchanges generated by both sides, imposes the constant development of collaborations and partnerships between the two social fields. The development of the internal and international tourism may influence positively the promotion of the cultural product and the economic capitalisation of its potential. On one hand, the existence of a cultural life and of a valuable monumental heritage stimulates the development of the cultural tourism; on the other hand, the general development of the tourism represents an opportunity for attracting the cultural consummators that don't belong to the reference area. The lack of a system that integrates the cultural offer into the tourist one, the insufficiency of the funds needed for the rehabilitation of the historical monuments and monumental assemblies are major factors that determine a poor emphasising of the impressive historical and architectural heritage which belongs to the Timis County. Another important opportunity for disseminating the cultural offer is represented by the existence in Timisoara of many mass-media instruments, very diverse and covering the whole region, such as newsletters and newspapers, radio stations, TV stations, internet, which reflect the whole cultural phenomenon. Unfortunately, not in all the cases the cultural actors know how to build a strong relation with media, due to lack of professional skills and of an image strategy.

The potential analyse of the internal environment has been realised according to the cultural spheres. The definition of the fields, the framing and the classification of the artistic-cultural phenomenon determined the elaboration of the potential analyses according to the following directions: written culture, performing arts, visual arts, movable cultural heritage, immovable cultural heritage, popular culture and tradition, education and cultural research.

The demographic structure of the Timis County determined the existence of a very divers book offer in the public libraries of the county. The analysed data proved the fact that the public reading benefits of a constant development in Timis, related to a book offer increase of 2%, as well as regarding a book demand increase of 6%. The high frequency is mostly due to the growth of the books' prices and to the fall in the buying power of the population. One also observes the existence, especially at the level of the rural and urban libraries, of an old, damaged books fund, which becomes less attractive for the readers. One can affirm that the spaces allocated to the public libraries are insufficient, unattractive and characterised by a lack of comfort. The endowment of the libraries is modest and generally old and damaged. The specialised personnel is generally qualified; in the rural area the personnel has supplementary functions, which determines a reduced number of hours consecrated to the access of the readers. Nowadays, there are 17 cultural publications; the spectrum of their offer is extremely large and well reflected by the cultural newspapers and magazines, whose major problem is the lack of financial resources, which determines reduced number of copies and circulation. The strengths of the field are: the existence of a Branch of the Writers' Union, nationally and internationally known for its remarkable personalities; several literary circles in Timisoara, Lugoj, Fãget, Jimbolia etc.; a large scale of publishing houses consecrated to fiction (Amarcord, Hestia, Excelsior etc.) or science books (Orizonturi universitare, Sedona etc.), the organisation of regular meetings with the readers and book launchings.

It is undoubtedly the largest and most representative cultural field of the Timis County, whether one refers to the number of cultural actors that promote it or to the existing offer, but which is concentrated in Timisoara. From a cultural point of view, Timisoara is a particular space. The cultural history of the city, of more than 250 years old, has been marked by different events of major significance for defining the spiritual space of the city, events that contributed to the development of a strong civilisation of good quality, of its inhabitants. The musical life of the county has a three centuries tradition; nowadays, it is promoted by prestigious cultural institutions such as: the Romanian Opera from Timisoara, the "Banat" Philharmonics and the famous choir "Ion Vidu" from Lugoj. Unfortunately, the activity of the Union of Composers and Musicians Branch in Timisoara is on the wane due to a lack of adequate space and financial means. The theatre life of Timisoara is characterised by an element of uniqueness in the south-east of Europe, defined by the existence of an ethnically diverse population and which has the possibility of expressing its cultural identity. Thus, in Timisoara were set up and are functioning three dramatic institutions: the National Theatre "Mihai Eminescu", the Hungarian State Theatre "Csiky Gergely" and the German State Theatre. The "Merlin" Theatre for Children and Young People, the fourth institution, through the addressability of its offer, comes to satisfy the cultural needs of the youngest segment of the population. The Artmedia Foundation is the only cultural foundation which, through its prestigious offer, brings to the public of Timisoara and not only the most representatives shows of the country, by offering to the spectators the greatest names of the Romanian dramatic scene. The potential analyse of the field permitted to identify a common set of strengths: the diversity of the cultural actors and of the offer; numerous tours in the country and abroad, with concerts and shows based on the current repertoire, as well as participations to national and international festivals; the existence of a constant, traditional public; relative stable funding. It has to be mentioned that this relative stability of the theatres with ethnic profile is to due to the external funding from Hungary, Germany or Austria and to the additional one received for organising punctual cultural events from the Ministry of Culture and Religion and from the Ministry of Public Information, by their specific directions. The weaknesses that were identified are determined by the lack of space, with repercussions on the quantity and the quality of the concerts and shows and on the possibility of getting incomes; the lack of offers coming from dramatic styles with larger impact, of innovative shows based on arts syncretism; the lack of a coherent communication among institutions, with the media, with the university environment and of a harmonisation of the offer; the migration of the talented artists towards Bucharest or other countries; the lack of a professional personnel specialised in marketing and fund-raising; the impossibility of the companies to cover all the dramatic typologies as well as the small number of artists, regarding the German and Hungarian.

As form of special expression, the visual arts don't have organised forms institutionally sustained by the state in the cultural movement of the Timis County. The actors of this field - plastic artists of indubitable value, are organised in Unions of Creation, independent, with professional or amateur character (the Union of Plastic Artists - Timisoara Branch and the Association of Unprofessional Artists "Romul Ladea"). Several foundations oriented towards visual arts appeared lately (First Foundation, Interart TRIADE Foundation, Format Foundation). Due to the specific organisational forms and to the lack of a concentrated lobbying action, the communication with the decision-makers is not always efficient.

There is a rich movable cultural heritage in the Timis County, which was accumulated with the time and which is due to the historical evolution, the economic development and the geographical position. The Banat Museum, the Museum of the Banat Village, the Museum of History, Ethnography and Plastic Art from Lugoj are traditional institutions, representatives for the western side of Romania. Insufficiently highlighted and on continuous destruction, this heritage tends to remain hidden from the large public, due to the lack of exhibition and storage spaces and to the lack of financial resources allotted for the modernisation of the exhibition and conservation systems. One can observe the lack of a stable partnership with the educational institutions and with the tourism agencies which lead to the increasing the interest of the public for the cultural offer of these institutions. Most of the museums and museum points of the county have a rich and interesting heritage, but which is not integrated in a tourist visits circuit.

Various architectural monuments, plastic arts monuments, architectural assemblies, urban assemblies, archaeological sites preserve the memory and the identity of the Timis space, by thus defining the specific personality of the investigated area. The historic monuments of the Timis County date from the last three centuries and wear the mark of the baroque and neoclassic styles, of the eclectic style characterising the second part of the last century or of the sinuous lines characteristic for the secessionist style. The 25 wood churches from the county, concentrated in the Fãget area prove the talent of the anonymous artists. The archaeological sites, such as the one from Uivar or from Parþa, are unique in this part of Europe, by their great age and richness. The immovable cultural heritage is nowadays in an accelerated process of destruction, menaced by the environmental and human influence, by lack of maintenance and on purpose destruction. The salvation of the immovable cultural heritage tends to become an important priority, not only at the central level but also for the local decision-makers which look for solutions for its restoration and highlighting. The contribution of the Direction for Culture, Religion and National Cultural Heritage of the Timis County regarding the protection and the valorisation of the immovable cultural heritage is more important every day. Looking at the immovable heritage but also at the movable one, one can observe the lack of a strategy for highlighting the local heritage and the poor integration of these real values in the local, national and international tourist circuit.

Being oriented towards the conservation and the promotion of the multicultural profile, developed, based on long traditions, between representative cultural poles, perturbed nowadays by social, economic and demographic transformations, confronted with the weak interest of the rural population side and of some representatives of the local public administration, with the decrease of the quality of the human resources and with the destruction of the heritage, the traditional cultural offer still remains viable and keeps on imposing itself in the circuit of national and international values. Important cultural institutions such as the Centre for Culture and Art of the Timis County, the Houses of Culture from Timisoara, Lugoj, Buzias, Fãget, Jimbolia and Sânnicolau Mare undoubtedly contribute to the research, the preservation and the valorisation of the popular culture from our region. The Timis County can be considered as a model of interethnic cohabitation, based on the respect of the values and traditions specific to every community. In most of the cases, an essential role in preserving, promoting and developing the traditions and the community life is played by the organisations of the national minorities, which function as non-governmental organisations. Through the frame that it offers, the local public administration contributes to the realisation of a favourable climate for the cultural affirmation of each minority community from the county.

A group of prestigious non-governmental organisations from Timisoara, such as the Intercultural Institute of Timisoara, the Third Europe Foundation, the Social Romanian Banat-Crisana Institute, the Diaspora Foundation, the European Club Timisoara and Astra asserted themselves by promoting educational or research activities in the field of culture. These organisations are completing the cultural landscape of the Timis County, especially through organising conferences, symposia, seminars, round tables, training courses and cultural education events, as well as through realising and publishing specific studies and researches.

The mission: The development of the cultural life - miscellaneous and competitive at the European level - like defining element for the affirmation of the identity and social cohesion of the Timis area The strategic direction 1: Stimulating citizens' participation to cultural activities, through ensuring a better quality of the cultural environment A considerable force of the culture and art, from a social point of view, is the ability to connect to the community and the community itself. "Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits" (article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) The creation of the necessary frame for increasing the access to the cultural offer determines the stimulation of new activities related to the attraction of the public as well as the creation of special conditions needed for the manifestation of the cultural artistic life. The insight of the culture into the people's every day life of this geographical region becomes a major desiderata of the present strategy. With a view to increasing the participation of the population to the cultural offer, the following general objectives are to be accomplished:

Education is the most important factor influencing cultural participation. The social status, the level of education of different social categories and their income, their life style and the habits to attend different cultural and artistic events, are all determining the participation to the cultural offer. The specific objectives of the strategy reflect both the initiatives of the cultural institutions to train their future audience through cultural education programs with a wide addressability and the activities in this area of educational institutions, as well as the support for the affirmation of young talents. Projects from urban and rural environment that develop cooperation between the cultural and educational sectors, with a view to cultural education of youth and children will be encouraged. A special role should be reserved to adult education and to the cultural education activities developed for amateurs' arts.

The support for the cultural and artistic life becomes today, more and more, a problem of local communities. For this reason, both the State and the local and county administration need to share responsibilities for providing support for culture. This general objectiv aims at reducing an important social inequality through faciltating access to culture of the population living in rural areas or in the marginal neighbourhoods of cities where the cultural offer is often less present. This important aim will be achieved through the development of cultural life in the villages and cities in all parts of the Timis County, by developing cultural activities in the marginal neighbourhoods and by supporting out-of-Timisoara performances. Another specific objective concerns the development of social cohesion through the inclusion of socially marginalized groups. Reducing the risks of marginalisation and social exclusion for disadvantaged social categories should represent an important objective of the whole society, based on the idea of respect for human dignity. The active participation to cultural life of the community can represent for the persons belonging to disadvantaged categories a resource for their integration in the society and a factor for reinforcing social cohesion. For this reason, it is necessary to ensure the access to cultural offer, as well as to programs of cultural education, of all categories of citizens, including persons with disabilities, with very low income and other disadvantaged persons. It is equally important to support the involvement of such persons into artistic creation activities for amateurs and the promotion of their creation at community level. Particular support should be given to persons with particular artistic ply from these social groups.

The transition of the Romanian society towards a market society determines the adaptation of cultural providers to modern financing and promotion systems. Therefore, the specific objectives should include the creation of appropriate conditions for the professional development in areas like cultural management (training courses, particularly on modern marketing techniques, fundraising, public relations) or on cultural specific issues.

A flourishing cultural and artistic life is strongly connected with the existence of appropriate expression conditions. The cultural infrastructure (spaces, equipment, instruments, furniture) and optimal comfort conditions contribute in a decisive way to the increase of public participation to the cultural offer. Therefore, some of the objectives concern improving the quality of cultural infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, building of new facilities or improving the existing ones, updating the equipment of cultural institutions and reducing the psychological distance between the potential audience and the cultural space through the opening towards the society of cultural institutions.

This objective aims at facilitating the contact between the public and the cultural offer for ensuring the promotion of cultural products. New information and communication technologies should also be used for this purpose. Other specific objectives concern the creation and the development of new information instruments, the application of modern marketing techniques and of media campaigns focused on specific target groups. Additional resources for the development of culture can be obtained through cooperation with business environment and with associative structures, through accessing international financial support and through lobby for the improvement of the relevant legislation. The strategic direction 2: Support for the affirmation of a diverse cultural life Based on proposing a wider definition of the cultural field, of the forms of cultural expression and of the cultural actors, the second strategic direction aims at encouraging the development of a more diverse cultural offer and the participation of different cultural providers. Accepting that a traditional cultural offer is not able any more to attract a new audience, and particularly young audience, we propose to consider creativity and innovation as major evaluation criteria for the quality of cultural-artistic activities. Another way in which the cultural offer can be made more diverse is by producing cultural events in partnership and co-production. The general objectives of this direction are:

The political, economic and social changes after 1989: democracy, freedom of movement and of access to information, urbanization and, not least, globalization, determine a series of challenges that the Timis County cultural offer needs to address. The changes in the structure of the population and, implicitly, the diversification of public preferences, the need to satisfy the cultural needs of all social categories but also the promotion of new cultural habits determine a continuous adaptation and diversification of the cultural offer. Without being restrictive, this general objective aims at contributing to the diversification of the cultural offer in all areas, particularly by providing support for the development of performing arts, of the written culture, of visual arts and of non-professional art.

From the analysed data it results that the present day cultural offer in the Timis County is provided, in an overwhelming majority, by the cultural institutions. The specific objective identified, concerning the support for the development of NGOs that are active in the cultural field it is hoped to ensure an equitable access to the available financial resources and an appropriate framework for the functioning of these organisations. The promotion of new and innovative forms of cultural expression will contribute to diversify the cultural offer and to attract new categories of audience. Realising the difficulty of attracting the audience, and particularly new audience, determined us to search "where we could find" and therefore propose a specific measure concerning the promotion of quality cultural events in alternative spaces.

The factors determining the necessity of cooperating for major cultural events are conected with the access to increased financial support and to maximising the impact of the event by attarcting the public. Therefore, the promotion of partnerships and co-productions between different cultural actors abd between cultural decision-makers contribute to the diversification of the cultural offer. The strategic direction 3: Preservation and promotion of cultural heritage and tradition The cultural and artistic values, the cultural tradition within multiethnic area, particularly diverse and rich in mutual influences, are expressed through collections, museums, buildings, structures of urban and rural life. The local communities in our county become, through the structures of the local administration, responsible for these values, having the duty to preserve and promote them, in order to ensure the expression of the specificity of the respective communities. The general objectives that result are:

A general feature of any changing society - as the Romanian society is after 1989 - is represented by the high volume of civil and industrial buildings. There is a danger of loosing values, that can't be recovered, through inappropriate intervention into the urban, and sometimes even rural, architecture and, through the apparition of new styles, preferred by certain categories of newly enriched citizens. Through the elaboration of an architectural code, that would consider the cultural specificity of the region, the necessary framework for preserving and promoting the existing immovable cultural heritage will be ensured. Timis County has valuable collections and museums, covering all areas that require activities of protection and preservation of cultural heritage. Nowadays, the most important problem becomes that of highlighting and using the heritage values. Current democratic practice consists in constituting development poles and in creating effective institutional networks. This requires significant changes in the structure and the management of the institutions concerned. A new approach is needed also from the public administration in order to facilitate, through specific programs, this paradigm change.

Considering the extraordinary richness of the folkloric tradition in our area, due to the existence of several ethnic communities with mutual intercultural influences, it is a duty of all the inhabitant to preserve this heritage. The folkloric tradition is in this period under the influence of two trends: the rediscovery of the authentic traditional values and the promotion and use of existing values in the context of a cultural market. The cultural policy should consider the recent practices that use traditional, folkloric heritage only for making profit, with no concern to quality. The modern digital technology allows the creation of regional and local centres for preservation and promotion of tradition and folklore. The strategic direction 4: Preservation of multiculturality, as a key element for social cohesion in the Timis area The cultural diversity represents a fundamental characteristic of the Timis area. The presence for centuries in the region of several ethnic and religious communities deeply marked the entire social life of our region and has been mirrored during the whole time in the field of culture. Each community arrived to preserve its own cultural life, but also contributed at creating a common cultural life, having various interferences and a large openness towards the cultural space of the Central and Western Europe. The exchanges and the cultural interferences appeared to be a source for mutual enrichment and a basis for the permanent revitalisation of the cultural life of the area. Due to these reasons, it is necessary to promote measures that aim not only at maintaining the cultural diversity, but also at promoting interculturality, both of them representing fundamental reference points of the regional identity and key conditions for the preservation and the development of the social cohesion. In the frame of this direction, two general objectives will be considered:

The right for affirming the cultural identity specific to the national minorities through conservation and development of a cultural life at the level of each community is recognised by the Romanian legislation and sustained by specific structures at the level of the Government. Aside these structures existing at national level, the role of the local and county authorities is an essential one, especially in the localities having an important number of representatives of the minority communities. In the field of culture, the preservation of the traditions and folklore, the promotion of cultural values, the stimulation and promotion of the artistic creation in minorities' languages or the recovery and transmission to the new generations of the specific cultural memory are all important. The main cultural actors which intervene in this context are the main organisations of the national minorities, the structures of different religious denominations, the cultural institutions and those for education in minorities' languages and the cultural personalities belonging to the respective communities.

The Banat region is widely recognised for the existence of a climate based on intercultural communication and respect for diversity. In order to ensure in the future the social cohesion as well as the maintaining and development of harmonious relations among the different cultural communities of the region, it is necessary to support and promote intercultural projects. These projects should be addressed both to majority and to minorities, to cultural creators and to the general public, to young people and to adults. They will be based on the idea that the promotion of mutual respect can only result from a better knowledge of the cultures of the region and from the initiation and development of direct contacts and cooperation between persons and institutions from the whole ethnic, linguistic and religious spectrum. Therefore, special attention should be given to the knowledge of the cultural tradition of Banat, of the contributions of the different communities to the cultural heritage of the region, as well as to supporting the access of the majority population to cultural creations of minorities and the promotion of contacts and partnerships between cultural actors with different ethnic and religious background. The strategic direction 5: Integration of the Timis county culture in the national and international value circuit Situated at the confluence between East and West, influenced by the multiple cultural values of the different ethnic groups living here, the cultural space of Timis County was enriched throuout the time from the development of sustained cultural exchanges, that have determined a continuous contact with European cultural values and the existance of comparation reference points. At present, in a globalised economy, the cultural heritage and the cultural and artistic activities may constitute a powerful tool for highlighing a place, contributing to its image, incraesing its attractivity and its integration in international touristic circuits. The use of cultural investments for increasing the prestige and for improving the international image of a place are methods currently being applied by big cities like Paris, Barcelona, Frankfurt, Bilbao, etc. The general objectives identified for the integration of Timis County culture into the national and international values circuit are:

This general objective aims at creating a juridical and administrative frame for promoting this reagion's culture by including cultural cooperation programs into cooperation agreements with twin cities and regions, by promoting and integrating the cultural offer in economic and commercial international exchanges as well as by integrating cultural providers of the region into European cultural networks.

External affirmation of local cultural values can be achived through the participation to national and international cultural events and through the inclusion of region's cultural heritage into the national and international touristic circuits. Better knowledge at national and international level of the specific values determines also an important image improvement and contributes to improving local quality standards.

The fact that Timis area belongs to the historical Banat region has determined, as pointed out in the analysis of the cultural tradition, the development of a multicultural space resulted from the affirmation of the specific values of the ethnic groups in the region. The existence of a current political frame, inspired by similar European experience, built to facilitate economic and social exchanges of the three neighboring countries gas determined the development of good cooperation not only at economic level but, maybe in the first place, at cultural level. The promotion of cultural cooperation within the DKMT Euroregion has been considered by many cultural actors as a priority, in order to ensure the preservation and the development of this common space. The general objectives and the specific ones, defined in the frame of each direction, determined the identification of more than 150 measures whose realisation might lead to the accomplishment of the mission. The implementation of the strategy The results of the consultative process that took place in the framework of the dialogue initiated among the cultural actors and the political and administrative decision-makers are guaranteeing for the viability of the present cultural strategy. The main implementation instruments will be those regulated by the actual legislation: the management contract, the public call for proposals for projects that contribute to the realisation of the proposed measures, constitution of consultative commissions. The project that will be elaborated will aim at accomplishing the mission and will be evaluated through a transparent process, by taking into account the quality, the impact, the visibility, the uniqueness and singularity of the proposed approach. The realisation of the assumed mission has to lead towards the attenuation of the serious social inequality which exists nowadays regarding the access to culture of the population of the rural area, towards the diversification of the offer and of the cultural providers, towards the development of a characteristic cultural image and cultural space, part of the national and international circuit of values.