20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

772 Adina Berciu-DrăghicescuRomanians in the South Danube, immediately thought of the educationaland the religious aspect of the matter.The first official intervention, alongside the Ottoman government,on the founding of a Romanian school for the Romanians subjugated toOttoman Empire, was made by Costache Negri, during the period 1860-1861, in his position of Romanian diplomatic agent at Constantinople. Heinsisted on the sultan to take action, "to escape from death as nation of theRomanians from Macedonia, Thessaly, Epirus, and Albania".The Aromanian Committee was founded in 1860 at Bucharest, withthe aim of preparing the base for founding schools and churches amongthe Romanians in the Ottoman Empire, "the Aromanian Committee ofBucharest was in charge of managing the introduction of the nationallanguage in all Romanian towns and fairs". The seed had been thrown withcourage and its fruits will not delay to appear.During the reign of Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859-1866) the firstsuccesses appeared in "the battle" for the Romanian education in the BalkanPeninsula. In 1863, Mihail Kogălniceanu, Prime Minister of Romania,decided to create a fund of the state budget to help Romanian churches andschools in the Balkan Peninsula.On the 29 th of April 1864, The Minister of Religions and PublicEducation, Dimitrie Bolintineanu proposed that from the fund of 10,000 leiprovided for the support of schools in the Ottoman Empire be sent there asum of money as soon as possible, since these are "threatened to be closedfor lack of required money".In the same year, Prime Minister Mihail Kogălniceanu, Minister ofReligions and Public Education, Dimitrie Bolintineanu and the secretaryV.A. Urechia decided that the Ministry of Public Education provide abudget of 14,000 lei to help schools and Romanians in the Balkans 14 .In the following year 20,000 lei was granted from the budget forfounding a boarding school in Bucharest, for the Romanian children in theBalkans.Dimitrie Atanasescu, owner of a tailoring shop in Constantinople,found out about the Manifesto of the Aromanian Committee in Bucharestthat urged the Romanian youngsters to come to Bucharest to prepare inorder to become teachers in Macedonia. He arrived in the country and, aftergraduating "Matei Basarab" high school courses, in Bucharest, he returnedto Macedonia where, on the 2 nd of July 1864, he opened at Târnova, the firstRomanian school in the South of the Danube 15 .14M.V. Cordescu, op. cit., 13.15Sterie Diamandi 1940, People and aspects in the history of the Aromanians,