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Norwegian is considered an exotic language in Romania. However, starting with the 1990s it has been a constant interest in studying this Scandinavian language, be it for a future career, for further studies in Norway, for finding a better paid job or simply as a hobby. At the "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iaşi, the first Norwegian courses started in the academic year 2005-2006 when a language course was included in the Master's program "German Culture in a European Context" and when Norwegian also started to be taught at the Centre of Foreign Languages of the university for anyone interested. Afterwards, the first elective courses of Norwegian were introduced for all the students of the university in 2011. Therefore, the present article is meant to show the development of Norwegian studies at the "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iaşi starting with the academic year 2011-2012 and up to 2017.

In the last decade, several transformations have occurred at the level of governance systems within the six states included in the Eastern Partnership (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine), in order to respond to multiple challenges, either endogenous, or exogenous. Against this background, the question that arises is whether this reconfiguration of the systems meant positive effects or, on the contrary, on certain directions, an involution can be highlighted. Thus, our methodological approach takes into account a multidimensional perspective related to democracy, governance and socio-economic aspects, which emphasize whether progress has been made in 2020, compared to 2010, in terms of the mentioned components. The research results underline if the measures implemented by these countries were in accordance with the pro-market and pro-democracy principles, based on good governance. In addition, the identification of some vulnerabilities might allow the outlining of policy recommendations, for an increased adaptability of these economies to future crises.

The study proposes a set of analyses on the evolution of the migration balance of Romania's population over a wide time interval, fully covering the period dominated by the communist regime (1948-1989) and the last three decades marked by the transition to a market economy. The aim is to differentiate the typology of the time and space distribution of the mentioned indicator and to test a set of explanatory factors, for each of the two distinct periods. The typological and factor analyses applied led to results that largely confirm the hypothesis of a continuity between the massive internal migration during the communist regime and the more complex migration in recent decades. At the same time, the profound changes in the incidence of certain explanatory factors certify a complete restructuring of the migration system in Romania after 1990. The massive migration from rural to urban areas, brought about by positional or socio-economic factors, was gradually replaced after the fall of the communist regime by a strong labour emigration, an effect of deindustrialization. The stimulation of the periurbanization process, by changing the way of life, introduced new variables in the functioning of the migration system, in keeping with the specific evolutions of the contemporary era.

The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi in collaboration with the Norwegian Film Institute in Oslo and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Bucharest organized the event entitled Norwegian Film Days in Iaşi, between May 27-29, 2012. This cultural event was coordinated by Dr. Crina Leon.The guest speaker was Mr. Jan Erik Holst, executive editor at the Norwegian Film Institute and responsible for major cultural projects abroad. He had previously been invited to Romania for similar projects in Cluj-Napoca and Bucharest.