Founded on the belief that every individual is part of a community—and at the same time part of a shared world—the association develops projects in which culture becomes a means of connection, dialogue, and participation. Its activities engage children, young people, and adults, fostering connections across generations, between Romanian communities at home and abroad, and between Romanian culture and contemporary European society.
At the heart of Part of World’s vision is education through art. Artistic practice is approached not only as a form of expression, but as a means through which participants can explore identity, memory, belonging, and their relationship with the society in which they live. The association’s projects bring contemporary art into dialogue with cultural heritage, tradition, and spirituality, creating bridges between what we inherit and what we pass on to future generations.
A central focus is its work with Romanian communities abroad, particularly younger generations. In a context in which distance from Romania can weaken connections to language, traditions, and cultural references, Part of World creates spaces where Romanian identity can be discovered and experienced in a contemporary, participatory, and intercultural way.
The association develops workshops, exhibitions, interdisciplinary projects, educational programmes, publications, community encounters, and public discussions, collaborating with artists, educators, cultural institutions, diaspora organisations, Romanian communities, and institutional partners. Through these collaborations, Part of World aims to create not only individual events, but cultural networks and structures capable of generating long-term continuity and impact.
One of the foundations of this approach is the Part of World educational programme, developed by Nicole Jutka and implemented for more than a decade in Germany and Romania. The programme follows the “red thread” of a child’s development: discovering the self, understanding one’s identity, building relationships with others, and becoming aware of the role each individual can play within their community, society, and the wider world.
Through the development of Art Space Köln as a cultural and educational hub, Part of World aims to establish a meeting point for the Romanian community in Cologne and North Rhine-Westphalia, bringing together children, teenagers, parents, Romanian diaspora artists, and community partners through an ongoing programme of education, artistic creation, exhibitions, dialogue, and reflection on cultural and spiritual identity.
Part of World understands culture as a space of belonging and art as a shared language between people, generations, and communities. Its mission is to transform belonging into active participation: preserving what defines us, creating what connects us, and passing forward a Romanian identity that is living, contemporary, and open to the world.
PART OF WORLD
Art · Education · Identity · Community
