Category: Inside Romania

The winter holidays involve various preparations. For some people, however, it also means bringing joy to others. Organizations or individuals mobilize during the holidays to give gifts to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Internet abounds with mobilizing messages such as: ‘We expect you to give warmth to children this year as well, by donating a jacket or a pair of boots for the little ones and the big ones. Jackets and shoes should be clean, new or carefully worn’, or ‘The greatest joy for little ones are toys. No matter how hard it is for them, play is essential for their mental development, keeping them upbeat and happy.’ Supplies and hygiene products are also collected, but especially those that can be associated with a visit from Santa Claus.

However, the exhortation At Christmas Time Be Better should be extended throughout the year. And this was the discussion I had with Florentina Baloş, the president of the Keg of Smiles Association, who was running to complete her plans for this Christmas:

We are better for Christmas, I hope we are not better only at Christmas, let’s follow our own example that we set in December and continue to be better throughout the year, from January to December! This Christmas, we would have liked to gather as many as possible in one place, so that Santa Claus would come and give them gifts, but we also have many at home, so this December we focused on the delivered gifts part. We want the packages to have something to help them go to school in January, because usually in January it’s cold, and then they have to have a thick coat, boots, so this December we’re focusing on the gift side, so that no child should be left wanting.

And because I know that Florentina’s association already has a long tradition of collecting and handing out Christmas gifts, we asked our interlocutor where this year’s gifts end up:

We go into repeat mode, and we like the repeat mode. We are proud of the fact that from year to year we improve what we offer and we do our best in this sense. This year I am Mrs. Santa Claus, and together with the elves we help Santa reach as many special needs children as possible. Santa reaches children from the special school in sector 6 (Bucharest) and many children from villages. We will also award 200 children from the Children’s Palace, because we love them so much! We are very fond of those who work to achieve their goals, and the children who will be awarded go to school, go to rehearsals, go to competitions, and we are glad that we can be partners with them and their teachers.

Florentina Baloş, the president of the Keg of Smiles Association, told us that if, a few years ago, they were looking for the areas to reach or the cases to oversee, now the requests come directly to the association:

Now we don’t seek them out anymore, they come to us. Indeed, all cases are verified, because it is a matter of mutual trust. There are plenty of cases, they are coming to us, we are at the limit at this moment! We go for quality, we don’t take more children than we can support, we take children that Santa can reach for sure.

The holidays pass, their joy fades over time, the need for help remains, however. The joy of offering support can also be maintained, as shared, full of hope, by Florentina Baloş, the president of the Keg of Smiles Association:

I would like as many people as possible to understand that it doesn’t matter how much you give, and it doesn’t matter what you give. You can give money, but you can give time, or you can give ideas. Or, the easiest thing, you can give smiles! And it’ll return to you a thousand fold most of the time!

We also send a message to all those who want to make the world a better place, to always aim to contribute, at least with smiles to those in need, and not only during the holidays!

The aromas of traditionally cooked holiday dishes can be felt these days at traditional fairs or in the homes of Romanians. Delicious recipes abound, as well as offers of ready-made products, for those who have too little free time, or less inclination towards cooking.

And where better to taste traditional dishes or stock up on seasonal products than at a farmers market? Corina Berariu, organizer of the Urban Events Association, spoke to us about the dishes from the fairs and not only.

“Now in its 10th edition, the Peasant Christmas Fair at the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant is already a tradition. Over the last weekend before Christmas, every year, dozens of traditional craftsmen, young artists and artisans, as well as Romanian producers, gathered to present everything they have done more beautifully over the year, everything they have prepared better, for the Christmas table, for the Christmas tree, and of course for presents, its Christmas gift season. Traditional craftsmen from all areas of the country are present, who bring icons painted on glass, on handmade glass, but also painted on wood, they are present with sacred art, with Christmas decorations, made in the Art Tiffany technique. There are decorations made of felted wool, Christmas cards, but also Christmas decorations from handmade paper, with seeds, which after the Christmas tree is taken down, can be planted, and seedlings will come out of those decorations. There are also crocheted toys or handmade dolls, with necklaces, with beads, with traditional garb. We are, after all, at the Peasant Museum, where visitors found both new ones, made in the workshops of Breaza and other ethnographic areas, but also old ones, always in great demand for collectors of authentic old folk clothing, a segment beloved by our visitors.”

And because a peasant blouse can always be a nice gift, Corina Berariu, organizer of the Urban Events Association, told us:

“A hand-sewn peasant blouse is completely different from those that are made by machine, often manufactured in China or India, and which are at very affordable prices. But a handmade one that goes through many processes until it is presented to the buyer, cannot be very cheap. Many times they go through three, four hands. And then, the prices are, depending on the size and the complexity of the stitching, from 300 lei – 500 lei, 800 lei, 1000 lei, we are talking about the new shirts. The old ones have prices from, maybe, 150 lei to 2000 lei, maybe even more. This is where the state of preservation comes into play, how well they are preserved, often refurbished.”

Corina Berariu also told us about what products the chefs who cooked at this years fair tempted us with:

“At this edition, traditionally certified cheese producers were present, from Brasov county, but also meat dishes specific to the holidays: pork rind, cracklings, meatloaf, smoked sausages, as well as honey, from Romanian producers in the Prahova area. We have sweets made in shops, such as pies, but also on the spot: Kurtos Kolak, or specific traditional preparations: stuffed cabbage, polenta, bulz, everything in our traditional cuisine. At each edition of the event, which takes place during the Christmas fast, there are also fasting products, which can be consumed on the spot. Our housewives from Dâmboviţa prepare a bean paste with exceptional caramelized onion, vegetarian stuffed cabbage, or vegetable soup, pickles, vegetable paste, preserves, sweets, and the Szekely cake is also proper for people who fast. So there are products for everyone, whether you fast or not. ”

There was no lack of Christmas pork stew, aspic, and Russian salad, sauteed cabbage, trout with polenta and garlic sauce, ready for tasting, as tradition requires! And the visitors can also get supplies for themselves from the fair, tying some friendships along the way. Here is Corina Berariu:

“Especially since the producers are present throughout the year at each edition of the peasant market, always, before Christmas they bring in orders made for loyal customers, or, when possible, even make deliveries. We have a fruit and vegetable producer from Voineşti who always brings personalized orders, with very good apples, Romanian apples, directly from the producer. ”

And I only have to wish you happy preparations and holidays!

His first contact with the mountain took place only five years ago, with a friend from Cluj. Then he continued with his university colleagues from Cluj. Last year he was awarded by the Romanian Alpine Club, receiving the Zsolt Torok Trophy for conquering the peaks of Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, and Mont Blanc. We are talking about Alexandru Benchea, a blind young man, who aims to climb the Seven Summits, of which he has already climbed three. He still has four peaks left to climb, Everest, McKinley, Mount Vinson, and Carstenzs peaks.

Alexandru Benchea told us how his story began on the mountain:

My first contact with the mountain was five years ago. That’s when I started. It happened thanks to a friend, a mentor from Cluj, with whom I climbed the mountain for the first time. He encouraged me, he showed me what the mountain meant back then. And it was precisely for this fact, that he had faith in me, that I would succeed, that propelled me. I still remember a more adventurous tour: we got caught in the rain, we slept at a shelter, we went down, it was a very deep experience for me. He triggered the passion, the love for the mountain in me. After that, I continued to go to the mountains, with my colleagues from university, with the teachers, as I taught geography in Cluj, and later I discovered the Climb Again Sports Club Association, with which I managed to complete these climbs. I succeeded together with them, and thanks to them. They gave me all the support I needed, both financially, logistically, and in terms of equipment.

Alexandru Benchea started cautiously, before he tackled the challenges that the two alpine four-thousanders presented him. We are talking about Mont Blanc (4805 meters) and Matterhorn (4478 meters), peaks that require mature technique, high-performance mixed equipment, and resilience:

I learned trekking on the mountain gradually. I would like to say that it was not easy right from the start. When I began the first laps, I didn’t know how to use the tracking sticks. I learned to use them before Mont Blanc and it helped me a lot. And many people ask me how I manage on the mountain, how I orient myself. If the path is wider, I go next to the guide, hold on to his arm, and with the other hand probe the terrain, using the tracking stick. It’s already automatic, first you put down the stick, you feel that it’s a path, that it’s something stable, and then you put your foot down. If the path is narrow, I walk behind the guide, hold on to his backpack, and, in the same way, with the other hand I use the stick to balance myself. And on glaciers, the guide walks in front of me, about 2-3 meters away, we are tied by a rope, and in this case I use both sticks, to delimit the path, to walk on the path.

Known as the white-eyed climber, Alexandru Benchea told Radio Romania how he trains:

It depends on the proposed objective. If we are planning to climb a high mountain, being a mountaineer, the main training is structured on cardio sessions, running, several mountain climbs, or test-climbing, a device that simulates climbing stairs. I also did swimming for a while and it helps a lot with the cardio. On the other hand, if there are more technical requirements, I train a lot at the climbing hall, on the artificial wall. Climbing puts my entire body to work. And so does the cardio part, because the mountains have mixed terrain, you have a portion of climbing, but also a bit of hiking.

We asked Alexandru Benchea what feeling he experiences when he reaches the peaks he has dreamed of so much.

Mostly the feeling of joy, of fulfillment! It’s too deep a feeling, something human! It’s not like you won the lottery or something else. It’s something that stays there all the time, and in my case it’s usually the common success, the achievement that I managed to reach a large part of my goal, because there’s also the descent, but I’m very happy about this fact, that I’ve reached up there. I also I think about the time when I will go back to my country or among people, and have the opportunity to share my experience with them.

With extraordinary power of will, Alexandru Benchea dedicated his life to this goal: to climb, to overcome physical and mental limits, to climb the highest peaks of the planet. Deprived from birth of the sense of sight, he compensated by developing his other senses so that he could do as well as any of us who have full senses. He is a man for whom the word impossible has no meaning.

The Tăndărică Puppet and Marionette Theater was founded in 1945, and its first section, the marionette section, was led by actress Lucia Calomeri, assisted by stage designers Elena Pătrăşcanu, Alexandru Brătăşanu, Lena Constante and Ileana Popescu. In 1949, Margareta Niculescu, the new director of the institution, laid the foundations of the theaters puppet section.

Many big name directors, known from the stages of ordinary theaters or from cinematography, have staged here, among them: Radu Penciulescu, Silviu Purcărete, Cătălina Buzoianu, Cristian Pepino, Victor Ioan Frunză, Ildiko Kovacs, Irina Niculescu, Felix Alexa, Ion Caramitru, etc.

Having reached 78 years in age, the Ţăndărică Animation Theater celebrated with the “ImPuls Ţăndărică Anniversary Gala”, held in the first part of November. Miruna Simian, artistic consultant for the Ţăndărică Theatre, told us:

“After a four-year break, we have the “ImPuls Ţăndărică Anniversary Gala”, a festival-type contest event, with guests from the country and abroad, with a theater section for teenagers and dedicated to teenagers, book launches, we will also play in hospitals, (n.r. where there will be) some animated theater moments. There are many events during this anniversary Gala.”

In order to reach as many age groups as possible, performances with and about teenagers were also held during the Gala. Here is Miruna Simian:

“There are three troupes of teenagers: one troupe, the Contrapunct Theater Academy, which presents a show with an anti-drug theme, we also have the students from the Spiru Haret National College, with “The Bald Singer”, which was the winning project in the Bucharest High School Theater Voice Festival, a theater competition festival for teenagers, and students from the Spiru Haret National College were coordinated by the Ţăndărică Theatre team. There will also be the Victory of Art Theater Company, with which we have a permanent collaboration, hosting, with the show “The Lesson”. It is theater performed by teenagers, dedicated to teenagers.”

And because we found out that book launches were also scheduled, we asked our interlocutor with whom they had a partnership:

“With the Corinth publishing house and with Curtea Veche Publishing. We will have book presentations for children, teenagers and parenting, because they sum up the categories of public that we address. Every day we have book presentations or workshops in this sense, starting from certain titles of the publishing houses that I mentioned.”

Miruna Simian told us how the Ţăndărică Theatre manages to still be young at 78 years old:

” By researching! A lot of research is behind the entire team of the Ţăndărică Theatre. We are always aware of everything new in the field, we try to apply, to adapt ourselves to the needs of todays children, to adapt values to new types of education. We are in a continuous (n.r. search), because we have to be one step ahead of all trends, to be able to express ourselves in a language that can be easily understood by children. Todays children are much more agile, much more hurried, maybe with a little less patience, everything has to happen at a much more alert pace in order not to lose interest. We also try to integrate elements of technology, to a lesser extent, but still to attract them to our shows. We are talking about types of light design, mapping, intermapping, these are future projects. We adapt our language to todays children. We are looking for contemporary values that are important to the children of 2023.”

The theater has consolidated a repertory strategy at the content level, a portfolio of titles from the great classics of Romanian and universal literature: Păcală, The Goat with Three Kids, Puss in Boots, Baron Münchausen, Three Little Pigs, Snow White. Another coordinate of the managerial strategy is supporting the artistic debuts of young creative actors, directors, set designers, composers, choreographers, etc. In a desire to attract the adult audience as well, an experimental studio “AnimArt” was created, where pieces from the classical repertoire, such as Faust, Candide, etc., are played, loosely adapted from the works of the same name. Miruna Simian also told us about the shows that adults are waiting for:

“We also have some puppet shows for adults, “The King Dies”, by Matei Vişniec, and Migraaants!. It is played quite rarely at festivals and at special events, such as galas. “The King Dies”, directed by Eliza Păuna, was a winner in a competition for young creators in the field of animation theater, and won prizes at almost all the major festivals it participated in.”

The theater is constantly rewarded with prestigious prizes at national and international competitions.

The National Museum of Contemporary Art (NMCA) plans, until next year, more precisely until October 29, 2024, to celebrate, through monthly events, the 20th anniversary of the Museum’s existence in its headquarters in the Palace of Parliament. Thus, this autumn, the official opening of the new exhibition season and the launch of the NMCA 20BIS anniversary year were announced.

Călin Dan, NMCA director, detailed:

As usual, we have a large number of new exhibitions, which pivot around a permanent exhibition entitled Leviathan, and which, located on the second floor of the museum, is practically an occasion for the public to visit our collection, in a warehouse situation, but arranged to have an intelligent, transparent contact with what contemporary art means in our museum. On the ground floor, I remember the Alma Redlinger exhibition, that of an artist who was trained in the interwar period, and who until the end of her life researched the great themes of historical modernism in painting. Next to it, in the Marble Hall, the generic space of the museum, the space that defines the curatorial ambitions of our institution, we have Eugen Raportoru’s installation, which is inspired by the title Patrimonio, and which looks at the destruction of cultural, material and immaterial, and historical heritage from the old center of Bucharest, from the Uranus-Bateriilor area, destruction that took place in preparation for the construction of the House of the People, the current seat of the Palace of Parliament, where we operate. It is an installation that looks at the past from the immediate present.

Călin Dan, NMCA director, continued the presentation:

On the 1st floor, the Plus 21 exhibition is a synthesis of the most significant works acquired by the museum in the last three years. The title is a metaphor for what 21st century energy means in contemporary art from Romania, in the visual arts from Romania. The third floor, with the Chronicles of Future Superheroes, offers a very interesting, very special exhibition, created with a group of young or middle-aged artists from several countries in Europe and Asia, an exhibition curated by the very talented Anca Mihuleţ, who lives in Seoul, and brings from there, from South Korea, a certain type of very particular aesthetic, very different from what we usually see in Romania, and which is also very popular with the young generations, this Korean Pop.

Maria Pop Timaru, is one of the exhibitors, and shared her experience in creating the exhibited objects:

The Chronicles of Future Superheroes is the name of the exhibition, curated by Anca Verona Mihuleţ. It is the second edition of the exhibition, the first was in Timisoara, at the Kunsthalle Bega, and my works from this exhibition are: The Mother Ship, which is a large-scale work, which I reconditioned through an older work, I recycled it, based on the concept of Lego, of traveling through game. The work can be broken down and recomposed in different ways, and I thought about the anticipation of the Journey and the Metal Construction that you can make with Lego, for example, where you are not afraid that you could make a mistake, and then you have a certain carefree attitude, related to childhood. I also have a series of ceramics, a bestiary, smaller works, some of which I made in collaboration with my children. It’s a game in which we exchange sheets of paper, someone draws the head, receives the sheet from the other, draws the body, and in this way some surprising characters emerge. I used this idea when I made the works.

Ruxandra Demetrescu, curator of the Victoria Zidaru exhibition, added:

You should see an installation that is called, from a technical perspective, textile-olfactory, because the artist works with a textile element, on home-woven cloth, often embroidered, which is presented in the form of reliefs and cords that are filled with aromatic herbs. Hence the olfactory dimension, which is very important for the artist. Victoria Zidaru is a sculptor by training, she was a student of Paul Vasilescu, a very important name in sculpture from the 60s onwards. In the artistic activity of Victoria Zidaru, a mutation occurred, 7 years ago, in which the three-dimensional object did not disappear, but the three-dimensional object is made of textile and vegetable material. This is what can be seen. It’s an impressive installation, which puts to work the space on the fourth floor, which has a spectacular skylight, very well placed, from a technical perspective, and from a conceptual perspective. The exhibition is called the First Day, so it’s an allusion to Creation, obviously, but seen in an originary meaning. Artistic creation, which is the princeps moment of inspiration. And what I hope the visitors will experience in this exhibition is a kind of assault of the senses: it is the visual dimension, the tactile dimension, the olfactory dimension, and, last but not least, the sound dimension. Victoria Zidaru practices collaborations, so that music is heard in the exhibition.

The auditorium hosts the exhibition of the artist Felix Aftene from Iasi, Dali’s Mustache and Other Colors, a multidisciplinary collaboration.

NMCA remains more than a museum, it is a life experience in itself!

The awareness of climate challenges makes the world of artists, including dancers, think of a gentler relationship with nature, with everything that surrounds us, for many years now. And as the free and organic expression of contemporary dance fits very well with the expression of worries, but also with the joy of life, as it is, it is no wonder that in Romania there is already an ecoperformance collective, a show that intertwines with nature, or is born from the relationship with nature, protecting it, even enhancing it.

According to one of the initiators of this movement on an international scale, choreographer Maura Baiocchi, from Brazil, ecoperformance also aims to respond to the ecopolitical challenges of our century, encourages interdisciplinarity, and focuses on the relationship between body movement, nature (ecology), and ancestral tradition. This autumn, Maura Baiocchi was in Bucharest to share with those interested the secrets of a better relationship with nature through dance.

Maura Baiocchi is the director and founder of Taanteatro in Brazil and creator of the working formula of the “choreographic theatre of tensions”, founder-director of the Ecoperformance Film Festival, author of over 80 choreographies, plays, performances, and co-author of numerous volumes, including the first book on Butoh dance, written in Portuguese.

Maura Baiocchi told us where this concept of ecoperformance comes from:

Eng: “Ecoperformance. If we analyze the word itself, it is made up of eco and performance. Everyone knows what a “performance” show is. And “eco” comes from the Greek root “oekos” and means “home-at home.” Thus, we can understand it as a practice, as a concept through which we try to access or perform “at home”. This home can be at home in your body, because you can look at your own body as a kind of home. So we have a house that we live in, and then we have the environment, actually all kinds of environments, that are our home. A patch of land can be your home. A home can be at home. Theatre can be a home. And so, the place where you are, the place where you perform, can be your home. Ive always been interested in this. I started as a dancer and as an artist, and I was always interested, for many year, over 40 years, in this idea that our body always wants to inhabit or be inhabited by the environment we are in.”

Maura detailed explaining that everything that surrounds us, people in our neighborhood, sounds, images, become one with us, with what our body is. A team of young artists applies typical ecoperformance approaches in their performances. Alina Tofan is one of them, and shared this with us:

“Since 2020, Georgiana Vlahbei and I form together Fine Art Performance Collective, the only group in Romania that uses the working method of ecoperformance. Thats why Maura Baiocchis presence came as a necessity to better position our work practice. During the week, Maura was here, a series of events took place, at the National University of Music, at the National University of Arts in Bucharest, and at the Carturesti library, where the conference took place, the presentation of an ecoperformance from her, and the premiere of a film we made: “Ecomovement”, an eco-video-performance. We have been collaborating with her since 2021, when we applied for the first time to the Ecoperformance Film Festival in Brazil, a video that was selected, we participated this year with a paper, we were present in conferences and events, and we correspond constantly, because we realized that our visions are very similar. And Maura and Wolfgang, the creators of Taanteatro, care very much that those who use their working method are truly in tune with their values and their poetic work. So the meeting was one that made us and them happy, and for the coming year we are preparing together an edition of the festival in Romania.”

The Ecoperformance Film Festival in Brazil reached its 3rd edition this year, and doubled its number of participants every year. Maura Baiocchi told us that this concept of ecoperformance is one that can guide us in everyday life, beyond dance or performance:

Eng: “I were talking about inhabiting space, but also the opposite: letting yourself be inhabited by space. This conversation between environment and body has always been very important to me. I think its important for all of us, not just artists. It is the last moment to become more aware of this in everyday life. For me its the most important thing to have a future, or a present.”

And because she stayed in Romania among young artists, and not only for a few days, we asked Maura if she thought that ecoperformance techniques have chances to be embraced in our country:

Eng: “I think its a process, a complex process. And of course, to see that, I would need to spend more time in Romania. Five days is not enough to understand society. Between artists everything is great, and its very important because artists have a voice that is heard, so lets get that message across!”

And as awareness grows of the relationship of continuous interdependence with everything around us, so does the chance that we will all be more attentive to everything we choose to do, so that, perhaps, we can be able to collaborate more effectively with nature.

She wrote books, (published: “On the Edge, “Soul Hospital”, “The Two “, “Your shadow” and “Life as an Onion”), which were also translated into French, Italian and English. She has a publishing house and together with her friends, Oana Călin and Dana Măilă, she created an NGO focused on stocking of libraries in the country. Diana Farca, founder of Eleprint – publishing house and charitable association, told us the story of this project:

“The need for it came in adolescence, when I went through a very troubled period and then I actually had no money for books. Loving reading very much, I borrowed from my colleagues and from the public library. Later, starting to write books, publishing the first volume in 2015, I started to have releases in Romania and the Republic of Moldova and to feel the need for books. Because there is a lot of talk about the fact that Romanians dont read. The idea is that Romanians do read. But there are two realities, two Romanians: those who buy books and dont find the time to read, and those who maybe cant afford to buy those books, but – especially in rural areas – still read. My colleagues and I came up with the idea when we went to events to collect books from my readers. We didnt know that this idea would become something much larger, because we have collected 7 public libraries so far, with more than 22 thousand volumes collected only through readers, and we thought of expanding it nationally, and doing it into a organized way. That is, to establish an NGO, something we did not initially think about when we started this endeavor.”

We found out that Oana Călin is the one who runs the book platform, and Dana Meilă was Dianas classmate in high school and currently lives in Florence, where there is a very large community of Romanians, whom they also want to reach with books.

Diana Farca added:

“Why did I want to emphasize that there are two Romanians? There is this general idea that Romanians do not read, and there is the reality in the villages, where teenagers can borrow books from the libraries that we registered on the platform, the platform called www.usforbooks.com, and through this platform we give the possibility to any Romanian to register at a library, in any locality in the country. The moment that free registration is made on the platform, we take over the data and do everything that goes on logistically from there. I mean, we take the library, we see how many active members they have, what book they need, what real needs they have, if they need anything else, from shelves, to magazines, to everything, and we take demographic data from them. When we collected the first 28 libraries that registered on the platform, we discovered, as a pleasant surprise, that more than half of the teenagers in the village were active members. What does an active member mean in the view of librarians? It means that they borrowed at least one book per month. Which means that in the villages, where there are far fewer distractions than in the big cities, children still read, or still borrow books, at least.”

Since it is based on fundraising, this NGO is based on transparency, as Diana Farca told us:

“The thing we care a lot about is transparency. On the platform we have a map with all registered libraries, and as we collect books or money, that map is populated with the number of volumes registered, the number of money received, converted into how many books. We were very keen on transparency, because it is our mission as an NGO to use all the money and all the books we receive strictly to redirect them to libraries.”

Studying the platform, we noticed that there is also a project aspiring to make the Guinness Book of Records, after another one that proposed the largest public reading in the world was slowed down by the pandemic, the record being meanwhile registered in India. Diana Farca comes with the details:

“We set a second record for the largest charity platform launch in the world. And now we are waiting for the confirmation from the Book of Records, to have the green light to make the actual launch. We wholeheartedly want to unite civil society, from NGOs, commercial companies, Romanian franchises, foreign franchises, individuals, who may have limited material possibilities, but love reading very much, in this effort to use all public libraries from Romania and the Republic of Moldova. Because the need exists, it is real, and in the villages of Romania and the Republic of Moldova they still read!”

While waiting for the confirmation of the world record, we wish Diana the best of luck, and the readers more and more pleasant readings!

The European Union for Women (EUW) is represented at the United Nations in New York, Vienna, and Geneva, the Council of Europe and UNESCO, and is an organization that formalizes contacts between EUW women and MEPs, protects the exchange of information on common issues and policies, and provide mutual support in the issues where it is needed. The EUW participates in the consultation processes of the European Commission. The joint resolution is forwarded to the European Parliament and national parliaments, as well as European and national party organisations. Romania was accredited as part of this association at the European level starting in October 2022, 70 years after the establishment of the EUW. And, as every two years an EWA International Congress takes place to discuss current political issues, EUW women’s representatives gathered this fall in Bucharest for the proceedings of the Women Creating Change conference, organized on Saturday, September 30, in Bucharest.

Aphrodite Bletas, president of EUW International and representative of Greece, told us:

“In our organization we work through thematic commissions, such as international policies, health and social policies, education. One of our commissions is called Europe comes to life, it is a commission that we could call cultural diplomacy. Every year we organize an event in one of the member countries, another one every time, so that our representatives can reach that country and get to know something more about it, from a political, social, financial point of view. To come and find out who we are. And the purpose of our organization is not to incite to activism or feminism, but to give women tools to empower themselves so that they can play a leading role in today’s society, in their chosen field, whether in politics, business, education or in the family.

Victor Nistor, deputy director of the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of the Romanian Police, had a message to prevent the spread of drug use among young people:

Our message was related to the fact that education, and mainly education about use of drugs, starts at home and among the family, and among friends, and among the authorities afterwards. As for what should be done, we should first of all become aware, and after becoming aware, try to draw some lessons from what we have experienced so far, and accept the fact that we live in a global world, where there are no longer borders , there are no more barriers, and at the same time let’s accept the fact that there are drugs on the market.

Asked if women can bring change, Victor Nistor added:

Yes, women always represent a change, because they are the beautiful part, and the part, let’s say, full of creativity among the police. We rely on them every time and every time they live up to our expectations.

Oana Maria Rotariu is one of the survivors of the tragedy at Colectiv, today an Explorer of Human Potential, a Body Positivity Coach, and she presented us with the message she was going to convey at the conference:

The main thing is that we are not alone. We live in a world where we are surrounded by people and unfortunately we feel alone. And what I want to pass on is that no matter how hard life is, we will always find people who will be by our side and who will support us, regardless of the circumstances. In the Conference I will present what disability means in Romania, what adaptation means in a society that prides itself on the uniqueness and acceptance of people of any gender, of any kind, with any problem, but this is not the truth. The propaganda we do is one thing, what we face is another. And a person with a disability, especially a woman with a disability, faces many more barriers in everyday life than anyone else.

She also assured us that vulnerability does not mean weakness and that women with disabilities are: ‘The voice that we can make a change in this world’.

Sat Dharam Kaur, doctor of naturopathic medicine, facilitator of successful programs worldwide, spoke to us about the care of women, the care they should feel from the first months of pregnancy, about protection in general and about trauma recovery:

“My work in the past has been about supporting women recovering from breast cancer and also about creating programs for people recovering from addictions, and about structuring the program called Compassionate Inquiry, a program developed by Dr. Gabor Mate and myself to teach people how to support those of us who have experienced trauma so that they can recover and feel whole.

According to her, the trauma comes from the feeling of lack of connection, which today is increasingly present, and due to the destruction of the traditional family. The team representing Romania in the various commissions of the EUW such as the Commission for Health, Culture, Education, International Relations, among others, aims to develop various social projects with the support of EUW International and the United Nations. The general principles of EUW RO are based on Social Liberalism, the main axes being Individual Freedom and Social Assistance. They aim to spread Peace, Justice and Prosperity, as well as to preserve Human Dignity and Freedom and the European Cultural Heritage and Tradition, while promoting Social and Economic Progress and Human Rights.