Now in their 5th edition, the Constantin Brâncoveanu Awards were presented in a sober and elegant atmosphere at the Royal Palace in Bucharest – the National Museum of Art. More than 200 guests attended the ceremony. Among them were representatives of the Royal House of Romania, diplomats, former and current ministers, including the Minister of Culture and National Identity, George Vladimir Ivașcu, who presented the award for History. Former laureates, presidents of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the director of the Romanian Patriarchate Publishing House, Father Mihai Hău, who presented the award for Literature, were also present.
“I am very glad and proud that, in the year of the Centenary in Romania, the Constantin Brâncoveanu Awards are celebrating their 5th edition. We have managed to take these distinctions to the next stage, the one dedicated to the diaspora. This opening towards the world has taken us to Cyprus, the United Kingdom and Germany. The end of the year will also bring my tribute to those who gave their lives for the achievement of the Great Union. We will cross the Ocean, and on 27 November we will organise, at the New York Public Library in the USA, a major event entitled the ‘Constantin Brâncoveanu International Awards Gala’. The distinctions will be offered to cultural and scientific personalities from all over the world. We will continue the tradition of the Constantin Brâncoveanu galas in Romania and in the diaspora as before. In addition, we will make these international awards, which we will organise year after year, become a tradition at global level too, just as the national galas already are in Romania,” said Nawaf Salameh, founder and chairman of the Alexandrion Foundation, at the opening of the event.
In 2018 the Constantin Brâncoveanu Awards kept the same open selection procedure as in previous years, and the jury was structured similarly to earlier editions. The jury president this year was again the renowned Academician Dan Berindei, and the vice-president was Prof. Dr. Andrei Marga, one of the vice-presidents of the Alexandrion Foundation. The jury was completed by: Prof. Dr. Ioan Scurtu, Liviu Ioan Stoiciu, Prof. Arch. Marian Moiceanu, Dr. Dana Safta, Ștefan Râmniceanu – visual artist and laureate of the Brâncoveanu Awards, Magda Mihăilescu – film critic, Ileana Lucaciu – theatre critic, Sorina Goia – editor-in-chief at Actualitatea Muzicală, Radio România Cultural, and Dumitru Constantin – secretary of the jury.
This year came with a new trophy for the laureates. The new symbol of the Constantin Brâncoveanu Awards, chosen following a public competition, was created by the renowned sculptor Marian Zidaru. In addition to the award itself, the Alexandrion Foundation will support a subsequent project of the laureate, on the basis of a decision of the Foundation’s Steering Committee.
The Foundation reserves the right to present up to two special distinctions – this year the Honorary Distinction was presented to Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Crown, and the Foundation’s Special Award went to Prof. Dr. Dumitru Preda.
The laureates of the Constantin Brâncoveanu Awards 2018 are:
- Visual Arts: Mircea Roman – awarded for the exhibitions at the Bathala Monastery (Portugal) and in Bucharest, respectively – in 2018.
“Mircea Roman’s figures descend from the great archetypes of Egyptian, Etruscan and Assyrian antiquity. The synthetism and spirituality of the reused wood give his sculptures an iconic, archaic and, at the same time, modern appearance, and lend them an openness to universality.” (Ștefan Râmniceanu)
- History: Dr. Narcis Dorin Ion – awarded for the volume “Ferdinand I, the King Who Reunited the Country”, published by the Peleș National Museum, an exceptional publication in the context of the celebration of the Centenary of the Great Union.
“He is one of the most valuable young researchers and museographers in Romania. He has made his name through his research on the castles and palaces of Romania.” (Ioan Scurtu)
- Medicine: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cătălin Copăescu – awarded for the treatise “Laparoscopic Treatment of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease”.
“What I heard here, in the laudatio, is the story of a restless doctor who always wanted more and more. And that is indeed so. (…) I dedicate this award, with the emotion of its significance, to all doctors at home and abroad, to the patients who push us every day to be better, to the team that made the fulfilment of a dream possible, and to my family,” said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cătălin Copăescu.
- Theatre: Ion Caramitru – awarded for the recital “Words, Words, Words”, in which he included gems by Eminescu and, at the same time, highlighted previously unpublished poems by Nichita Stănescu.
“Eminescu is a great producer of ideas; it is a pity that many have forgotten to read him,” said Ion Caramitru.
- Literature: Academician Eugen Simion – honoured for his lifetime achievement.
“This award honours me, of course, but I think there is something deeper here. It is linked to the attitude towards culture. Culture needs more signs like this. You are doing something absolutely remarkable by turning towards culture,” said Academician Eugen Simion.
Film: Mircea Mureșan – honoured for his lifetime achievement.
“By coincidence, in these days when I am receiving this lifetime achievement award, my films mentioned by the jury, ‘Răscoala’ and ‘Toate pânzele sus’, have been rebroadcast. This award is a great joy for me.”
- Music: Cristian Mandeal – awarded for the series of concerts of the National Youth Orchestra that he conducted in 2018.
“With more than 1,000 concerts conducted in 35 countries on 4 continents, Cristian Mandeal is today one of the most important Romanian conductors. His name is linked to the development of the “George Enescu” Philharmonic in Bucharest, and also of the present Romanian Youth Orchestra, at whose podium he has stood since its foundation.” (Sorina Goia)
- Architecture: Arch. Radu Teacă – awarded for designing the Stejarii II residential complex in the capital
“The vast experience accumulated in his prodigious activity is generously given, as a professor, to generations of students of the “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urban Planning in Bucharest.” (Prof. Dr. Arch. Marian Moiceanu)
- The “Nawaf Salameh” Scholarship was awarded to the pupil Neagu Gheorghe Mihai.
It has already become a tradition for the scholarship to be awarded to a pupil of the school in the commune of Brâncoveni, in recognition of outstanding academic results. This is the gift that the employees of the Foundation and of the Group give, year after year, to the founder and chairman, Nawaf Salameh.
