Radio România Internațional

Author: Diana Vijeu

  • This week…in your letters

    This week…in your letters

    “It seems only a short while ago that I was looking forward to Romania’s joining the EU. Now we have Brexit talks as, by a narrow majority, the UK electorate decided to leave the EU. Back in the 1970s or 1980s, none of this would have seemed possible. But then, the collapse of Communism in Romania several decades ago would have seemed impossible. Perhaps one of the few certain things about the future is that it will not be as we expect it to be. Occasionally, I look at my grandmother’s atlas. There is Africa with so many colonies: British, French, Italian, Germany, Portuguese and Spanish. Coming to Europe, there is a large Germany stretching right across Eastern Europe with East Prussia and there is an independent Romania (but not the size it is today). The retreating tide of empire and the changes brought about by two world wars mean that political geography now is so different from political geography in the opening years of the last century. And , no doubt, the political geography of 2120 will be unimaginably different again. With every good wish from England



    Brian Kendall of Petts Wood, Kent, in the UK



    “As usual I am enjoying the broadcasts of Radio Romania International along with my family. You have indeed a wide variety of programmes to suit every taste and age-group.



    Jayanta Chakrabarty of New Delhi, India



    “ I am an English to Spanish translator, and I am finishing a BA in modern languages focussing on translation and international organisations. I have tuned in before to your radio station broadcasting in Spanish. And although the transmission I tuned now is not targeted to my area, it has been heard with good reception. As for the Radio Romania programs in English, I found them very well organised and very well produced. I have listened to them in many opportunities and the cultural and informative aspects they all have has been a feature that I appreciate very much about Radio Romania International. Also, I have enjoyed very much your musical programs and the listener’s mailbag. During the mailbag, you read letters from various countries, including the US, UK, France and the past Sunday there were also letters from the Czech Republic and one from a Brazilian listener. So, listening to Radio Romania in English is a very useful choice to know about Romania, but also about the main current events taking place in most countries of Europe. Additionally, the wide cultural perspective of Romanians is very well reflected, not only because you talk about Romania but also because you permit to the audience to know about how Romanians receive the culture of foreign countries when international events such as book fairs, conference and meetings are held in Bucharest. Finally, if my reception report is correct, I would like to receive a QSL card as verification. Also, I would like to receive your program schedule with programs and frequencies, please, and any other souvenir you are pleased to share with this Venezuelan listener.



    Leonardo Santiago, Venezuela



    “ I was surprised to receive a package from you the other day – my prize in the Radio Orchestras contest last year. It was all very much appreciated (…)As you can see I missed the first part of the broadcast due our having had a late lunch (with me doing the cooking and washing up). Programme details: Sunday Studio with the last segment devoted to the Transylvanian Trust Foundation, All That jazz (two renditions of classical music including Chopin), Listeners letterbox, A lot of nice music this time. This weekend has been marked by the TALL SHIPS RACES event here in Halmstad. The port is filled with larger and smaller sailing ships taking part in this contest. Yesterday I visited a huge Brazilian sailing ship which had come all the way from Rio de Janeiro. Later in the evening I had been invited to a cocktail reception onboard a training ship belonging to the French navy. I believe there was also a Romanian ship taking part. It was quite impressive seeing all those ships.



    Christer Brunström of Halmstad, Sweden



    “Hello and greetings from Texas in the United States of America! My name is Robert Runyan and I am sending the following reception report. I would appreciate a QSL. Thank you!! I am near Houston, Texas and using an Icom receiver with a 100 foot long-wire antenna. 12 April 2017 at 12:50 UTC, 7375 kHz. Reception is very strong with some minor interference from local thunderstorms. Very clear signal and enjoyed listening to the other reception reports a few minutes ago. The program then switched to a news piece about a visual artist. The broadcast then started to end by signing off.



    Robert Runyan, Texas, the U.S.



    “Hello, RRI! Recently I wrote on your FB page and was directed to e-mail address engl@rri.ro to send a reception report. I am from Žilina, Northern Slovakia. I am listening to your broadcast in the evenings on short waves via a R820-T2 USB dongle and a home-made up-converter which made receiving short-wave stations possible (…) I like that you have an English broadcast that I can actually understand since most of the stations talk in French and Chinese (I guess).I would be very glad to receive a QSL card if possible, it would be my first one. “



    Matej Kurpel of Gastanova, Žilina, Slovakia

  • This week…in your letters

    This week…in your letters

    “It seems only a short while ago that I was looking forward to Romania’s joining the EU. Now we have Brexit talks as, by a narrow majority, the UK electorate decided to leave the EU. Back in the 1970s or 1980s, none of this would have seemed possible. But then, the collapse of Communism in Romania several decades ago would have seemed impossible. Perhaps one of the few certain things about the future is that it will not be as we expect it to be. Occasionally, I look at my grandmother’s atlas. There is Africa with so many colonies: British, French, Italian, Germany, Portuguese and Spanish. Coming to Europe, there is a large Germany stretching right across Eastern Europe with East Prussia and there is an independent Romania (but not the size it is today). The retreating tide of empire and the changes brought about by two world wars mean that political geography now is so different from political geography in the opening years of the last century. And , no doubt, the political geography of 2120 will be unimaginably different again. With every good wish from England



    Brian Kendall of Petts Wood, Kent, in the UK



    “As usual I am enjoying the broadcasts of Radio Romania International along with my family. You have indeed a wide variety of programmes to suit every taste and age-group.



    Jayanta Chakrabarty of New Delhi, India



    “ I am an English to Spanish translator, and I am finishing a BA in modern languages focussing on translation and international organisations. I have tuned in before to your radio station broadcasting in Spanish. And although the transmission I tuned now is not targeted to my area, it has been heard with good reception. As for the Radio Romania programs in English, I found them very well organised and very well produced. I have listened to them in many opportunities and the cultural and informative aspects they all have has been a feature that I appreciate very much about Radio Romania International. Also, I have enjoyed very much your musical programs and the listener’s mailbag. During the mailbag, you read letters from various countries, including the US, UK, France and the past Sunday there were also letters from the Czech Republic and one from a Brazilian listener. So, listening to Radio Romania in English is a very useful choice to know about Romania, but also about the main current events taking place in most countries of Europe. Additionally, the wide cultural perspective of Romanians is very well reflected, not only because you talk about Romania but also because you permit to the audience to know about how Romanians receive the culture of foreign countries when international events such as book fairs, conference and meetings are held in Bucharest. Finally, if my reception report is correct, I would like to receive a QSL card as verification. Also, I would like to receive your program schedule with programs and frequencies, please, and any other souvenir you are pleased to share with this Venezuelan listener.



    Leonardo Santiago, Venezuela



    “ I was surprised to receive a package from you the other day – my prize in the Radio Orchestras contest last year. It was all very much appreciated (…)As you can see I missed the first part of the broadcast due our having had a late lunch (with me doing the cooking and washing up). Programme details: Sunday Studio with the last segment devoted to the Transylvanian Trust Foundation, All That jazz (two renditions of classical music including Chopin), Listeners letterbox, A lot of nice music this time. This weekend has been marked by the TALL SHIPS RACES event here in Halmstad. The port is filled with larger and smaller sailing ships taking part in this contest. Yesterday I visited a huge Brazilian sailing ship which had come all the way from Rio de Janeiro. Later in the evening I had been invited to a cocktail reception onboard a training ship belonging to the French navy. I believe there was also a Romanian ship taking part. It was quite impressive seeing all those ships.



    Christer Brunström of Halmstad, Sweden



    “Hello and greetings from Texas in the United States of America! My name is Robert Runyan and I am sending the following reception report. I would appreciate a QSL. Thank you!! I am near Houston, Texas and using an Icom receiver with a 100 foot long-wire antenna. 12 April 2017 at 12:50 UTC, 7375 kHz. Reception is very strong with some minor interference from local thunderstorms. Very clear signal and enjoyed listening to the other reception reports a few minutes ago. The program then switched to a news piece about a visual artist. The broadcast then started to end by signing off.



    Robert Runyan, Texas, the U.S.



    “Hello, RRI! Recently I wrote on your FB page and was directed to e-mail address engl@rri.ro to send a reception report. I am from Žilina, Northern Slovakia. I am listening to your broadcast in the evenings on short waves via a R820-T2 USB dongle and a home-made up-converter which made receiving short-wave stations possible (…) I like that you have an English broadcast that I can actually understand since most of the stations talk in French and Chinese (I guess).I would be very glad to receive a QSL card if possible, it would be my first one. “



    Matej Kurpel of Gastanova, Žilina, Slovakia

  • July 4th in Romania

    July 4th in Romania

    This year, one day ahead of the already-traditional party, the US Embassy in Bucharest invited the Romanian public to the screening of the biopic “42: The Story of Jackie Robinson. The film tells the story of the great player who erased colour barriers in baseball, and the choice was not made randomly, as Ron Hawkins the Counsellor for Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest has said baseball is a metaphor for democracy (…) anybody can play and everybody has to play by the same rules. The film screening in Bucharest enjoyed the participation of Sharon Robinson, the daughter of the legend-making Jackie Robinson, of three professional baseball players and of many high-school students, among others.



    Ron Hawkins: “Its the day that we celebrate the independence of the United States of America. And this year we are incredibly pleased to also celebrate the 70th anniversary of when Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier in baseball. Now, think about that. I said 70 years ago, that is 1947, 8 years before the US got rid of segregation, 8 years before Rosa Parks. So, we are talking about the decade before Martin Luther King came on the scene. This is a major milestone in the civil rights movement, really ahead of the modern civil rights movement. And it was when America was starting to embrace its diversity. And thats what we are celebrating. We are celebrating diversity. We are also celebrating the fact that baseball is a great metaphor for democracy. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership between the United States and Romania, its a great opportunity to use this metaphor: anybody can play and everybody has to play by the same rules. Baseball is democracy



    In his already traditional 4th of July message, the US ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm has also dwelt on the importance of the Strategic Partnership and the US-Romanian relations:



    Hans Klemm: “We are celebrating the 241st anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by the United States of America. This year we are also marking the 20th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United States. This partnership was recently strongly reaffirmed by President Trump and President Iohannis at the White House in Washington. Looking forward, the United States Embassy and I, well now work with our Romanian friends to strengthen the Strategic Partnership across every dimension. Our priorities remain to promote security, to promote democracy and the rule of law and to promote prosperity. Please join us in celebrating Americas Independence Day.



    As the US Ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, has said, earlier this month, on June 9th, Romanias President Klaus Iohannis met with US President Donald Trump at the White House. The main topics of discussion were the Romanian – US Strategic Partnership, the fight against corruption and terrorism, and the budget earmarked for defence.



    The two presidents said the Partnership must grow stronger and define bilateral relations, because it is important to both nations. According to Klaus Iohannis, the Partnership with the US has helped Romania become what it is today: a solid democracy, with a solid an sustainable economic growth, a country who’s been standing together with the US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Iohannis also underlined the fact that the Romanian – American relations and the trans-Atlantic ties are vital.



    Klaus Iohannis: Romania is a member of the European Union. And I think it’s the best interest of you, Mr. President, to have a strong European Union as a partner. This is vital for all of us. Our relationship, the transatlantic link is vital. The transatlantic link is not about diplomacy, about policy, its at the basis of our Western civilization. And together, we will make it stronger. Together, we will make it better, the Romanian President told Donald Trump. NATO and the European Union do not have to compete against each other. They have to work together. They have to work in such a manner as to produce synergetic effects. Make NATO stronger. Make Europe stronger. Make the United States of America stronger, the Romanian president also said.


    In turn, the US President Donald Trump hailed the relationship with Romania and stated that the Strategic Partnership covers many dimensions, including economic, military and cultural ties. The White House leader thanked the Romanian people for their support in combating terrorism.



    The conclusion of the meeting between the two heads of state was drawn by President Trump himself, who wrote on Facebook: Great honour to welcome President Klaus Iohannis to the White House. The future of Romania and Romania’s relationship with the United States is very, very bright.



    Happy 4th of July to all our American friends, wherever you may be!