During extremely difficult times for Romanian culture, fewer and fewer theatre, musical or film projects become reality without financial support from private companies. Dedicated people keep the “traditional” festivals alive. Their motivation is the little publicity they get and the thought they will be part of an eventual rebirth of cultural events. However, we rarely see companies involved in events, others than strictly cultural. That is why the educational programme “It’s up to you!” started by Philip Morris at the end of last year captured the attention of the press and teachers in schools across Bucharest, who joined the campaign to help minors make the right decisions in complex, risky situations.
The programme expresses the company’s credo – that minors should not smoke. People who will work to promote the objectives of this unique programme received their diplomas at the end of last week, in Sinaia. Foreign experts made the programme with the help of the Ministry for National Education, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Health Ministry. The idea for this original project belongs to psychologist Andrei Popescu, later joined by Aurelia Liiceanu (also a psychologist), Dakmara Georgescu (councilor for the Ministry for National Education), Mircea Popa (director at the Health Ministry) and Peter Imre (representative of Philip Morris). The success of the “It’s up to you!” campaign that took place in a few schools in Bucharest determined the organisers to continue this year in all schools in Bucharest and Ploiesti.
Philip Morris initiated the programme in line with the global company policy, however adjusted to the local situation. This “philosophy” states that only informed, responsible adults should smoke. “The Health Ministry is rarely on the same side as a tobacco company, but this educational programme drew us closer and we worked well. The success of the campaign would not have been possible without the involvement of teachers in schools and high schools.” Said Peter Imre, representative of Philip Morris Romania. “It was a unique experience. Not being part of the educational system, the intellectual effort to keep from falling prey to the theory or idealism challenged the company,” said Andrei Popescu, the “father” of the “It’s up to you!” campaign.
Daniela Florescu, Manuela Constantinescu, Carmen Theodorescu, Luminita Ungureanu, Elsa Carabus, Mirela Necsu, Doinita Neacsu, Mihaela Lazar, Nicoleta Marinescu, Valentina Parvu, Anda Vasile, Alexandra Anghel, Adriana Pop, Daniela Iancu, Livia Popa are just a few of the teachers to whom we owe the success of this attempt. “One of the justifications of “It’s up to you!” is that it managed to open the schools to the outside world and implicated numerous people in school-related issues,” stated Dakmara Georgescu.
Philip Morris has been present in Romania since the beginning of the ’90s when it opened a subsidiary. In 1993 Kraft Jacobs, part of the Philip Morris concern, bought the sweets factory in Brasov.