Consolidating Democratic Education in Romanian Schools: Digital Tools for Enhancing Constitutional Freedoms

26.02.2025 / Publications Authors: Ștefan Cibian   At one of our FRI Media Lab workshops, students did not know what World War II was, who Hitler was, or what happened during the Holocaust. That illustrates a specific difficulty in teaching history, as well as broader challenges faced by post-totalitarian societies...

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Media Lab Workshops on Freedom of Expression Come to an End in Țara Făgărașului: Over 120 Beneficiaries Across 8 Communities

10.03.2025 / News Făgăraș Research Institute (FRI) wraps up the Media Lab 4 Sustainable Democracy project, an initiative that started from the desire to support democratic education in the communities around Țara Făgărașului. In the last 12 months, the project provided over 120 participants from eight communities in Țara Făgărașului...

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Restrictions on Religious Freedom: A Comparison between Italy and Romania

12.02.2025 / Perspectives Although both Italy and Romania formally guarantee religious freedom, the practical challenges faced by religious minorities differ significantly. In Italy, limitations stem mainly from bureaucratic obstacles and the lack of official recognition for some religious communities, such as the Islamic community. […] In Romania, however, the main...

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Freedom of Expression in Italy and in Romania

19.02.2025 / Perspectives lthough Italy and Romania share some issues related to freedom of expression, the roots of these challenges are substantially different, reflecting the different historical and political contexts of the two countries. […] The differences lie in the different directions of development taken by the two countries, the...

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SLAPPed is the New CENSORed: Legal Actions that Threaten Democracy

20.01.2025 / Perspectives Undoubtedly, journalists, human rights organizations, and activists are particularly threatened, especially in countries where governments exhibit authoritarian tendencies. However, SLAPPs also jeopardize everyone else’s rights: they suppress information that should be made public, limiting the right to access information and participate in democratic debates on related facts...

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BuchaREST

12.02.2025 / Perspectives Author: Zoe Alice Deotto, M.A. Candidate Among the luminous trails of traffic on Boulevard Lascar Catargiu and the neon lights of downtown shops, there is a Bucharest that rests. A Bucharest of the past, chained to the present and drawn into it. It rests, broken and silent....

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We are the Earth

12.02.2025 / Perspectives Author: Thomas Melchior The Earth that we fought for, to keep it intact, let us not forget that we live on it and that without it, we die. It is our duty to take care of the Earth, not just for ourselves but for generations to come....

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How free are artists to express themselves? To what extent can a work of art offend the feelings of individuals or even entire communities?

17.02.2025 / Perspectives Author: Margherita Galluccio, M.A. Candidate Modern art emphasizes the importance of communication over mere representation. It is through communication that the artist reaches into the viewer’s consciousness, aiming to capture their attention. Throughout history, art has constantly faced a social system attempting to impose its own rules....

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On Freedom of Speech

12.02.2025 / Perspectives Author: Ioana Alexandra Frîncu What is the most effective way of violating one’s freedom of speech? By silencing them. By making sure they cannot and will not be heard. By censoring their opinions and monitoring their every thought and even their existence, just to ensure that they...

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