2023
Generations of Romania – The demographic, political and economic power of each generation
Entry type: Single project
Country/area: Romania
Publishing organisation: Panorama.ro
Organisation size: Small
Publication date: 2022-08-17
Language: English, Romanian
Authors: Edit Gyenge

Biography:
Edit is an Information designer and entrepreneur based in Bucharest. She worked as a journalist and as a communication consultant for over 10 years. Her passion for information design drove her to found her own company (Egas Studio). She is actively developing static and interactive data visualization projects for business clients, NGOs, and media outlets. Some of her biggest media projects are published in Panorama.ro, where she is the author of the Infographics section.
Las year, her portfolio was shortlisted at the Sigma Data Journalism Awards and the Information is Beautiful Awards.
Project description:
A visual representation of the demographic, economic and political power of each generation in Romania, along with the opportunities and challenges they encountered in their lifetimes regarding human rights protection, urbanization, and economic development. This visual story traces back the factors that impacted the country’s demographics and the reason why Generation X currently represents the largest age group in Romania. A large number of Generation Xers were born out of “patriotic duty”. Decree 770 was enacted in 1966 to restrict abortion and contraception and was intended to create a new and large Romanian population.
Impact reached:
After the publication of story about generations in Romania, a large number of people immediately shared the content and tried to identify themselves within a specific generational category. The articles struck a chord with many readers, as they reflected on their own experiences and recognized similarities with others in their age group. The topic quickly became a hot topic of conversation, with many people sharing their own perspectives and anecdotes. Overall, the publication of the story about generations in Romania sparked a lot of interest and engagement among readers, who were eager to understand more about the generational dynamics within their country. The project was shorlisted at the Information is Beautiful Awards, in the people language and identity category.
Techniques/technologies used:
Microsoft Excel, Flourish.studio, Datawrapper, Affinity Designer
Context about the project:
This project is an innovation on the Romanian media landscape because it consists mainly of data visualization. The use of data visualization is not a common practice in the Romanian media, and this project represents a significant departure from traditional forms of journalism.
What can other journalists learn from this project?
Abstract concepts that have no physical or spatial constraints because they have no direct representation in the physical world can be broken down and explained through the use of data visualization. Generations are such an abstract topic, but by analyzing major economic, social and political indicators in relation to generations we can gain a greater understanding of the dynamics in our society and make predictions.
Project links:
https://panorama.ro/the-demographic-political-and-economic-power-of-each-generation-of-romanians/