The Association of Romanians in New England (AR-NE) organized on the 19th of June, 2012, and informational seminar on Romania’s New Business Realities. Hosted at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in South Boston, the seminar included two presentations: “Against the Tide: Romania’s New Business Dynamics” by Dan Dimancescu, President of BEH llc and Honorary Consul of Romania in Boston and “RomaniaIT – The New Reality: A shift from labor-based offers to added-value services, R&D and innovation” by Sorin Gavanescu, VP Outsourcing at ANIS Romania and CEO at IT SIX Global Services and Dan Tusaliu, VP Business Development IT SIX Global Services.
Mr. Dimancescu’s presentation focused mostly on the business opportunities available in Romania, given the current geopolitical and geostrategic conditions in Eastern Europe. Special mention was made of the great potential in the automotive, petroleum and gas industries. Mr. Dimancescu also shared his views on the tourism industry, as well as the improvement in the general trends in society despite the limiting factors of infrastructure, education and judicial system.
The presentation of Mr. Gavanescu and Mr. Tusaliu offered an overall summary of the current state of the IT industry in Romania and detailed the scope of ANIS (Romanian association of software and services providers), which is to promote Romania as a country with tremendous capacity and potential for IT business. The last part of the presentation focused on the mission and experience of IT Six: to create business solutions in the IT field and to promote value added service in the IT industry of Romania.
Both presentations resulted in lively exchanges of ideas between the presenters and the audience; hopefully they will bear fruit in some future collaboration. AR-NE will continue to organize these kinds of events in the future based on the favorable comments received from audience members.
The “Book of the Month” literary circle invites you to join us in reading and discussing two novels by Gabriela Adamesteanu, a well-known contemporary author. In May, we will focus on Drumul egal al fiecarei zile (1975), her debut novel.
Where: Auburndale Community Library, 375 Auburn Street, Auburndale, MA 02466
When: Thursday, May 10th, 2012, 6PM to 8PM
Details: AR-NE members free. Visitors 10$/family suggested donation.
Please RSVP, as room is limited.
Contact: raluca.cimpean@gmail.com
ON DEPARTING…
We are happy to invite you to join us for a discussion with Prof. Sanda Golopentia Eretescu and Prof. Constantin Eretescu on the Romanian exile and Romanian expatriates in the US. Our guests will read from the following books: “Cartea plecarii,” “Emigrantii Carter,” “Cu ochii in zare: exilati, emigranti, pribegi” and “Draga Maria,” epistolary novel, respectively.
What: The Book of the Month” literary circle
Where: MIT campus, 4-231 (building 4).
When: Saturday, April 7th, 2012, 1PM to 4PM
Details: AR-NE members free. Visitors 10$/family suggested donation.
Please RSVP, as room is limited.
Contact: raluca.cimpean@gmail.com
AR-NE is pleased to announce the launching of “The Book of the Month” literary circle on March the 7th, 2012. We will meet every month and discuss classic and contemporary Romanian literary works. The main goal of our literary circle is to bring together professional and amateur readers and to promote both established and emergent figures of the Romanian world of letters.
In March we will read Mihail Sadoveanu’s novel “Baltagul/The Hatchet,” a re-writing of the folk ballad “Mioriţa”. We hope to make this first reading the starting point for a fruitful dialogue about the national and cultural identity of the Romanian people.
In broad terms, the national identity of a people is expressed by its founding narrative. As far as we are concerned, it is the folk ballad “Mioriţa” that captures who we are. Its various interpretations fall into two categories which underline either its aesthetic or its ethic value. In other words, if we were to sum up the Romanians’ attitude toward life and death, we could say that “A Romanian is a poet by birth” or that “No sword cuts off a bowed head.”
“Baltagul/The Hatchet” offers a nuanced reply to our national myth. It is up to us to decide which of the two interpretive paths is favored by Sadoveanu and to reflect on our collective and personal response to the challenges history has (had) in store for us.
For more details about the time and the place of the event, and the way to access the novel “Baltagul/ The Hathchet, please contact Raluca-Lucia Cimpean: raluca.cimpean@gmail.com
To help us organize this event, please fill out the RSVP form. Thank you.
We will select the book for our April meeting by voting on the proposals coming from the participants to the first session of our literary circle.
We hope you will attend the first meeting of our Literary Circle! Since the event is one day away from “8 Martie,” we will make sure that the ladies in the audience will feel even more special than usual.
These events are only possible with your ongoing support. One way to support us is to become an AR-NE member or to make a donation.
The second annual Fair of Romanians in New England, organized by the Association of Romanians in New England, turned out to be very successful this year as it was last year.
Held on December 3rd 2011 within Lower Falls Community Center in Newton, MA, the fair was attended by over 200 participants. The event gave over 30 companies and organizations of Romanians from the area the opportunity to promote their activities, either through individual stands or through presentations in front of the audience. The list of participating companies may be accessed at the address http://www.ar-ne.org/2011/11/targulromanilor2011
Also, several activities were organized for the 30 children present at the fair, including games and educational activities prepared by “Castelul Copiilor.”, a rhythmic gymnastics program and a kid’s movie projection (“A Bug’s Life) in Romanian.
At the end, the participants enjoyed specialty dishes from Romanian cuisine: salads, appetizers, Romanian sausages (“mici”), stuffed grape leaves and polenta.
This event would have not been successful without the efforts and involvement of over 50 sponsors and volunteers or without the financial contributions of the AR-NE members. [ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS]
We would like to thank all of the participants and hope that even more people we’ll join us in 2012 either at this event or at other events posted in our AR-NE calendar.
The first opportunity will be the screening of the Romanian movie “Morometii” on January 28th, at the Cambridge Public Library in Cambridge, MA and a social gathering for making the traditional Romanian “martisoare” (trinkets symbolizing the arrival of spring) on February 18 at “Castelul Copiilor” in Newton, MA.
The Association of Romanians in New England Board of Directors would like to thank our members and everyone who attended the Second Annual Romanian Fair in New England, making it one of the best attended Romanian events in the area to date!
AR-NE Board of Directors
President
Razvan Mirica
Vice-president
Smaranda Maria Albeck
Secretary
Camil Toma
Treasurer
Liliana Onita Lenco
Directors
Dana Bucin, Anca Costea, Alexandru Lefter, Valerica Stanca,
Lorelei Stoica
PARTICIPATING COMPANIES
Our deep appreciation goes to the 40+ companies who attended the Fair and turned it into a big success! Thank you for your support and we hope to see you back next year!
All these companies and organizations are listed on the AR-NE website at: http://www.ar-ne.org/2011/11/targulromanilor2011/
SPONSORS AND PARTNERS
We would like to extend special thanks to our sponsors and partners, who have generously donated products or financially supported the event!
Facility and Equipment Donation
Rhythmic Dreams
Food Donation
Ball Square Fine Wines, D&J Market, Sophia’s Greek Pantry
Cash Donation
ASPERA Foundation
Children’s Programming
Castelul Copiilor, Casuta Alba, Rhythmic Dreams
Event Promotion
Nativity of the Ever-Virgin Mary Orthodox Church, St. Parascheva Orthodox Church, St. Nicholas Orthodox Church,
MIT Romanian Student Association, Romani in Boston Organization
HOST FACILITY
Special thanks go to our hosts for offering a wonderful facility for our event!
Lower Falls Community Center
Bob Jones
Newton Parks and Recreation Dept.
Judy Dore and her staff
VOLUNTEERS
A heartfelt THANK YOU to all of our other volunteers who invested so much time and effort before, during and after the Fair, helping with anything that was needed in order to make this event a success! We are sure the list is much longer and we apologize for leaving anyone out. If you know of any others who contributed, please let us know so we can properly acknowledge them! We could have not done it without you all!
PLANNING AND PROMOTION
Public Relations and Promotion
Dana Bucin, Anca Costea, Razvan Mirica, Valentin Neacsu, Valerica Stanca, Lorelei Stoica, Camil Toma
Program Design and Printing
Lorelei Stoica
Guest Registration Table
Mara Onita-Lenco
Senior Club Registration
Cornelia Balan
TECHNICAL CREW
Webmaster
Camil Toma
Web Support
Marcel Filimon, Alexandru Lefter, Valentin Neacsu
Master of Ceremonies
Razvan Mirica
Photography
Doriana Bercea, Anca Costea, Ovidiu Hentea, Mircea Nedelcu
Camera and Video Editing
Dan Banici
Radio Interviews
Sebastian Rus
Video Interviews
Dana Bucin, Anca Costea
Media Coverage
Radio Diaspora, Pro TV International
ENTERTAINMENT
Music and Multimedia
Smaranda Maria Albeck, Marcel Filimon, Aurel Velicanu
Valerica Stanca and the Nativity of the Ever-Virgin Mary Orthodox Church
Photo Display
Liliana Onita Lenco
Set Up and Breakdown Crew
Smaranda Maria Albeck Dana Bucin, Anca Costea, Lucian Fatu,
Marcel Filimon, Emil Lancea, Alexandru Lefter, Rodica Mirica,
Victor Moisescu, Delia Olteanu, Liliana Onita Lenco, Valerica Stanca, Lorelei Stoica, Camil Toma, Aurel Velicanu
Other Volunteers
Doriana Bercea, Andrea Bodnari, Simona Coborzan, Cristina Cosma, Denisa Dobrin, John Francis, Ovidiu Hentea, Radu Ivan,
Greta Lungu, Valentin Maier, Alexandru Mican, Kaslong Nda
Thanks again to all who attended andwe hope to see everyone in even greater numbers in 2012!
15-20 companies, chamber representatives and consular envoys from Central and East European (CEE) countries such as Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Romania and Serbia
5+ companies from Romania
delegation led by the Minister of National Economy of Hungary
We would like to invite you to a new presentation in our series of education seminars that will address The ABC’s of Education Planning. The event will start at 6:30pm on Thursday, November 3rd and will be held at Ameriprise Financial, 2 Constitution Plaza, Charlestown, MA 02129 where parking is free with validation.
When it comes to saving for a child’s education, parents face a complex array of investment options, each with its own advantages and limitations. At the same time, parents need to understand how their investment decisions affect financial aid, taxes and control over savings. If you’re looking for insights into college funding options to help you make informed choices about the best ways to save for – and pay for – your child’s education, then you need to attend our timely and informative seminar: Plan for the Future. Sending Your Child to College. Continue reading Planning for the Future – Sending Your Child to College – Charlestown, MA [ 3 Nov 2011 ]→
On Sunday, October 2nd, 2011 we had the pleasure of hosting His Excellency, Mr. James Rosapepe, former US Ambassador to Romania (between 1998 and 2001). The meeting took place in one of the lecture halls of Harvard University and was attended by 30 people from both within and outside the Romanian community.
On Wednesday February 9th AR-NE successfully organized a seminar entitled “Estate Planning”, a topic suggested by participants at previous seminars. Many thanks to our invited speaker Charles O’Connell Esq. TEP, of Taylor, Ganson & Perrin LLP of Boston MA for taking time out of his busy schedule, to Ameriprise Financial Services in Charlestown, MA for hosting the event, and to those who attended the event. The feedback from participants was very positive with respect to the speaker and the presentation – “Excellent presentation” and “Great choice of presenter” were just some of the comments made. Continue reading The seminar on “Estate Planning” was considered a success by all participants surveyed→
The first informational AR-NE seminar of 2011 took place on Wednesday, the 26th of January. Many thanks to The Mathworks, Inc. who made available to us a conference room at their Natick, MA campus, the invited speakers from IT Six Global Services who took time out of their busy schedule, and the participants who braved the winter storm to attend the seminar.
