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FIJET Academy for Young Travel Journalists, Romania 2017 successfully ended

This year’s edition of FIJET Academy for Young Travel Journalists ended with the successful graduation of the participants from Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Turkey, Italy, and of course, the hosts from Romania.

The Academy took place over a period of one week, from July 23 to July 30. After their arrival in Bucharest, the participants set off for Alba Iulia, where they received their first lesson in Romanian history. The city is known as the place where the treaty of the unification of Romania was signed on Dec 1, 1918. Each year on this date crowds of people from the whole Alba County and beyond flock to the city to celebrate the national holiday. The FIJET Academy participants were welcomed to the “1 December 1918” University by the city mayor, who held a lecture on the development of tourism in the region, as well as on the upcoming celebrations, which will mark the 100^th anniversary of the Union in 2018. 

On their way to Alba Iulia, as well as in the following few days, the group visited several local sightseeing destinations and key tourist attractions. Among them were the Kozya Monastery , the oldest monastery in Romania, built in the 14^th century on the bank of Olt river; the city of Sibiu, European Capital of Culture 2007; the village of Rimetea, which received the Europa Nostra award in 1999 and is currently at the final stage of admission to UNESCO. The village is also pride with bearing the title “The most beautiful village in Transylvania”. During the visits, the young travel journalists met representatives of the local authorities, who gladly presented the history of their towns, as well as the current trends in the cultural and eco-tourism in their regions.

Besides architectural and cultural heritage, the hosts introduced to the participants wine tourism in Transylvania. The visit to the Jidvei winery and the wine production facility of the company provided the guests with the opportunity not only to taste various kinds of local wines, but also to find out many details about the wine production process.

Among the surprises to natural history lovers was the Hateg Geopark, administered by the University of Bucharest and run with the aid of volunteers. Participants learned a lot about the local species of herbivorous dinosaurs, who populated the area during the Cretaceous period when the fast decline and the eventual extinction of dinosaurs took place. In one of the Geopark’s museums scattered across the city, one can find dinosaur eggs on display and real-size models of the animals that show how they actually looked like. 

The topic of fine art was also extensively covered during the group’s next stop at Targu Jiu. A few kilometers away from the city, young journalists visited Constantine Brancusi’s birthplace in the village of Hobita, where they got to know the biography of the sculptor, who walked by foot from Munich to France in order to continue his education in fine arts in Paris. In the city of Targu Jiu, the vice mayor held a lecture on the symbolism in Brancusi’s monuments, located in the city center.

Back in Bucharest, the guests had a tour of the historical sites of the city. The evening marked the official closing of the Academy. The ceremony, in which the certificates were awarded, was followed by a gala dinner. After the intensive week, filled with traveling and positive emotions, the participants established international friendships and are now looking forward to the next edition of FIJET Academy for Young Travel Journalists.

Karina Toneva, Bulgarian participant in the Academy