Motto: "Creating
an opposition between the future and the past is useless.
The future gives us nothing: we must give it everything.
But in order to give, one must have, and we have nothing
except the treasures of the past." ("The destruction
of the past is perhaps the greatest of all crimes.")
(Simone Weil)
Memoria.ro - created and operated by the Aspera
Foundation - is a digital library of interviews,
memoirs, oral history studies, books and images of Romania's
recent history. It presents political, social and cultural
events as reflected in the consciousness of those who
experienced them directly.
Such a collection can never be exhaustive. However,
being published on the Internet - a medium that is at
once relational, flexible, diverse and democratic -
it can aspire to comprise in time a large number of
documents. This site intends therefore to be an open
book, a work in progress, a collection that integrates
and interconnects the memories of those who have lived
in Romania - or have known it closely - from the 1900's
to the present.
Categories of audience
For the general audience of any age, Memoria.ro is
a resource for learning about historical events as witnessed
and experienced by the people of the time, a way of
discovering different viewpoints or, on the contrary,
hearing the confirmation of history and stories as told
by our parents. For the young, the site can become a
bridge towards the understanding of what was, what should
be continued, and what should be avoided. For students
of history, the database contained here could add valuable
information to a traditional bibliography. Given that
the Internet is used more and more in Romanian schools
and universities, we hope that this site will become
a valuable didactic instrument. For researchers and
specialists, the site can become a medium through which
they can make their work known to other specialists
around the world. For foreigners interested in Romanian
history, the site can become a rich resource of information,
as interviews, abstracts, and studies are being added
in English, German and French.
Initiators and specialists
Memoria.ro has been created at the initiative of a
group of people of various professions, from linguists
to engineers, physicians to businessmen and musicians.
None of the initiators is a historian by profession.
What motivated us was the wish to record and share human
experiences, which are certainly ephemeral, but out
of which the fabric of Romanian life during the past
century can be rewoven in all its diversity; to fight
the deforming effects of ideological propaganda; to
get to know the way in which our grand-parents and our
parents lived their lives -- everyday details as well
as destinies --, through their own voices; to make it
possible for the younger generations to get in touch
with a world in which they are rooted; to offer those
wishing to share their experience and publish their
memoirs or their research a place with an audience larger
than that of any traditional library.
Memoria.ro cannot succeed in becoming a reference site
without attracting professional historians, whom we
invite to share the results of their research with the
public, to contribute to the site by publishing studies
and opinions, to interact with our readers by answering
their questions.
Components
In its 2002 version, Memoria.ro has the following components:
(1) A database
of interviews and memoirs, some of which were published
in books and/or journals in and outside of Romania,
while others have been created at the initiative of
Aspera and its partners. The author, source and/or publisher
of each article or book is mentioned in each case, and
where relevant a link to its original location on the
web is provided. A powerful search engine makes full-text
searches possible across the whole database. Registered
site visitors can comment and read comments on these
documents on our site. As of November 2002 the database
contains ca. 500 articles.
(2) A database
of interviews with senior citizens of Brasov, Transylvania;
these interviews, adhering to strict methodological
and ethical rules adopted during an introductory academic
workshop, were carried out in July 2001 by a group of
students of the Sociology Department of the Transylvania
University of Brasov under the supervision of Prof.
Dr. Stefan Ungurean and Prof. Dr. Maria Bucur, from
the University of Indiana at Bloomington, as well as
Prof. Dr. Smaranda Vultur, from the Western University
of Timisoara. (Details about this project can be read
here.) As of
November 2002 the database contains ca. 50 articles.
(3) Researchers have access to protected areas of the
site where they can exchange ideas and publish works
in progress for peer-review. They can view this space
as a virtual office and forum.
(4) Any author and reader-author can publish
articles and photographs on Memoria.ro, according
to the rules of
the site and with the approval of the site editors.
(5) An index of memoirs,
diaries and books of interviews published during the
20th century in and about Romania, as they are known
at this time to the site editors.
(6) An index of journals
and magazines dedicated to preserving the memory
of 20th century Romania.
(7) An index
of (international and Romanian) oral history Internet
sites.
(8) A list of new
articles published on the site, which will be emailed
to our registered
members periodically.
We rely on our readers' suggestions to complete the
database and the indices. Please write to us with suggestions
at editor@memoria.ro.
Languages
The site will publish documents in any language, provided
the content can be reviewed by at least two reviewers
who speak that language. As of October 2002, Memoria.ro
contains documents in Romanian, English and French.
ASPERA'S HISTORY AND MISSION
The Aspera Romanian Educational and Charitable Foundation,
Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit private foundation. It
was incorporated in June of 2000 according to the laws
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with the mission
to:
- promote greater understanding and awareness of Romanian
traditions, history and culture, and to encourage the
development of excellence in Romanian arts and sciences,
including by means of artistic, scientific and cultural
conferences, student and professional exchanges, exhibits,
concerts, scholarships and other forms of technical
and financial assistance; and
- encourage and support gifted students, artists, scholars
and scientists of Romanian ancestry or interests in
furthering their education and professional development.
A corresponding Romanian foundation, Aspera ProEdu,
was established in Brasov in July 2001 in accordance
with Romanian non-profit regulations, in order to oversee
educational and research projects in Romania, with a
concentration upon educational institutions in Brasov.
ASPERA'S MAIN PROJECTS FOR 2002-2003
Operating the digital library MEMORIA.RO and continuing
the oral history projects in collaboration with U.S.
and Romanian universities and research institutes,
Supporting young gifted students and researchers at
the Universities of Brasov and Bucharest and
Supporting the Romanian high-school students participating
in the American Computer Science League (ACSL) competition.
BOARD MEMBERS
Lidia Gheorghiu Bradley, founding member, Boston
Guy Bradley, founding member, Boston
Dr. Stefan Constantinescu, MD, PhD, Ludwig Institute
for Cancer Research, Brussels
Dan Dimancescu, WMT, Lincoln
Mircea Ivanoiu, Transylvania University, Brasov
Irina Muresan, New England Conservatory, Boston |
