OSCE-supported rock festival helps build cultural bridge over Nistru river
"Music for Peace" was the motto of the "Vadul lui Woodstock" rock festival, in which 22 bands gathered at Vadul lui Voda resort near Chisinau on 11 August. Groups from both banks of the Nistru river performed, including five from the Transnistrian region, in this second annual non-commercial open-air festival sponsored by the OSCE Mission to Moldova.
The festival aims at promoting cultural ties between Moldova and its breakaway Transnistrian region.
"The idea of this initiative was inspired by the famous Woodstock festival which took place in the United States of America in 1969," said Vitalie Mazuru, one of the event's organizers. "We strongly believe that an informal approach such as this can bring people closer together. Music makes people feel freer; it takes them beyond religious, gender and political affiliations."
Music as bridge-builder
Moldovan musicians from the public association Artcord launched the festival in 2006. "Rebuilding bridges" was the motto of the first event, held on 12 August 2006. This year, the event gathered momentum with the Resource Centre for Moldovan Non-Governmental Organizations for Human Rights joining the project. Local authorities, companies and private individuals also offered their help.
"I think it is the time now that musicians in Moldova start playing a more active role in promoting social values," Mazuru said. With this in mind, the organizers invited the musicians to a creative workshop the day after the festival, which focused on the connections throughout history between music and social movements for peace.
The festival's venue on the bank of the Nistru was carefully selected. "We think that this place has symbolic meaning. Today the Nistru is no longer a line of separation, but rather an element of connection," said the festival's organizer.
"I am happy to see so many young people at the festival," added Adam Goodberg, a US citizen playing with the Chisinau-based band Tikhyi Omut (Quiet Whirlpool). "Such events develop creative thinking and free communication."
One of the festival-goers, Tatiana Chirilenco, who attended the event with a friend, said, "You can feel an atmosphere of freedom and youth here. Artists can make people follow them, therefore they should promote social values."
Extending musical ties
"This is the first time so many bands from the Transnistrian region have performed on the right bank at a single event," said Jon BC, the guitarist of the Tiraspol-based rock band Before Christ. "I also noticed a lot of familiar faces, a lot of attendees from Transnistria."
Transnistria, the region east of the Nistru, split from right-bank Moldova in 1992. The OSCE Mission to Moldova, established in 1993, is mandated to facilitate the establishment of a comprehensive political framework for dialogue and negotiations and to assist the parties to the conflict in pursuing negotiations on a lasting political settlement.
"It is great that we can all meet together here," Jon BC said. "However, while we have more concerts on the right bank than in our home city, very few Moldovan bands perform in Transnistria."
Before Christ were performing for the second time at the Vadul lui Voda festival, while for some of the other bands, it was their first opportunity to play before a large crowd. Moldova has only a few concert stages and opportunities for musicians to perform on both banks are rare.
A compact disc featuring some of the best songs from the festival is to be issued soon by Artcord.
Connecting through culture
"The OSCE Mission is particularly sensitive to initiatives that use cultural tools to establish connections between Moldova's citizens - that's why we've supported this festival for the last two years," said Ambassador Louis O'Neill, Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova.
"Another of these tools is a joint exhibition of three painters from Transnistria, which we are currently hosting on the Mission premises, as part of our ongoing exhibitions that feature Moldovan artists."