DEAR FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES, AND PARTNERS,
After eight unforgettable years as Director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York, and in my 20th year of cultural diplomacy directorship, it is time for me to say goodbye.
This house, the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York, has been my home, but more importantly, it has been yours, our public. We did our best to make it a very busy place: hundreds of events, encounters, exchanges; a continuous stream of exhibitions, concerts, films, performances, debates, book launching events… A place of excitement, discovery, collaboration, and learning. But above all, a place of friendship.
Eight demanding years, but I have always liked demanding places. If you want to know how you really are professionally, you come to New York. You cannot find a more competitive or tougher place than this one. New York made my team and me think harder, move faster, and become better. I believe that, with a lot of hard work and imagination, we rose to the challenge: we put Romanian culture, values, and artists on the map, while establishing the Institute as an important player in New York’s cultural diplomacy.
Looking back, I am proud of what we created. We reinvented the Institute, expanded its ambitions, forged new partnerships, and brought Romanian artists and ideas into some of America’s most important cultural conversations. Together, we imagined projects that, only a few years earlier, might have seemed impossible.
And, as if New York wasn’t enough, I am especially happy that our work reached far beyond Manhattan—across the United States and indeed North America. I am grateful to our colleagues at the Embassy in Washington, with whom we did wonders together, as well as to our colleagues at the Permanent Mission to the UN and at the General Consulates and honorary consulates in North America. I remember with particular fondness our partners and friends from the Romanian-American cultural associations, who made so many memorable projects possible. Needless to say, I remain grateful for the support given by our colleagues in Bucharest, at the Romanian Cultural Institute and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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One lesson became clearer every year: cultural diplomacy is partnership, mutuality, and working together. Almost all our projects were the result of co-creation and were truly international in nature. At the same time, the Romanian-American creative community was never simply our audience. It became a source of our programming and the protagonists of our events. Sunt mândru că am putut oferi o platformă eficace de expresie și promovare nu numai artiștilor și oamenilor de cultură de acasă, ci și celor din comunitatea creativă româno-americană și româno-canadiană.
Artists, writers, actors, musicians, scholars, filmmakers, architects—Romanian, Romanian-American, and American—you gave our work its energy and its voice. Thank you.
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There is one achievement I cherish above all. The Institute was never an “I.” It was always a “we.” Together, we rebuilt the Institute, imagined the program, created partnerships, and worked every hour, every day, like a family. It was a transformative and enriching experience—and perhaps, who knows, the best time of our lives.
I was extraordinarily fortunate to work with an exceptional team: Luisa, Raluca, Gabriel, Andreea, Dana, Oana, Andreea, Marcela, Ionuț, Lucian. Your talent, generosity, and commitment shaped everything we accomplished. If we could do wonders, it is because you were—and are—wonderful. It has been a privilege to lead you. Thank you.
Inevitably, every diplomat’s tenure comes to an end, and mine is here, after eight wonderful, enriching, transformative, difficult, and busy years. I must confess that this moment leaves me a little melancholic.
But life goes on. The Romanian-American relationship is tremendously important, and our mission has always been to strengthen and expand its people-to-people dimension—the human connection that is ultimately one of the pillars of our shared security and prosperity.
And there is still much to come. The immediate future brings major projects with legendary cultural institutions and important international names. In the years ahead, I hope there will be many more projects building on what we have achieved together. The Institute is an important player in cultural diplomacy, with a permanent Romanian cultural presence in the heart of Manhattan, an ever-expanding network of partners and collaborators, and a growing presence in the main cultural centers of North America.
As I look toward other horizons, hopefully equally rewarding and exciting, I want to thank all of you—friends, colleagues, artists, partners, and collaborators—for these extraordinary eight years.
I hope we will remain connected, and that our paths will continue to cross.
Thank you, vă mulțumesc și să ne revedem cu bine!
DORIAN BRANEA
