Romanians of DC Present at the 10th Annual Moldovan-American Convention

Last week, President Bogdan Banu and Treasurer Gabriela Enache Sandoz, represented Romanians of DC at the 10th Annual Moldovan-American Convention (MAC), an exceptional event which brought together the leaders of the Moldovan community in the U.S., policy makers from both the Republic of Moldova and the U.S., civil society and think tank representatives, entrepreneurs and business leaders, and even artists and fashion designers. For this special anniversary edition, MAC came back to Washington DC where it all started in 2014, and featured an opening gala which took place on the amazing foyer of the Library of Congress and a day-long series of informative panel discussions and presentations at the Army Navy Country Club.

Bogdan Banu, President and Gabriela Sandoz Treasurer of Romanians of DC pictured alongside some of the organizers and sponsors of the Moldovan-American Convention at the Opening Gala hosted at the Library of Congress.

As noted by the Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mihai Popșoi, the event has become a standard for what community gatherings ought to be both in terms of its impact within the community but also in terms of its outreach to policymakers and key decision makers in Washington, DC.

H.E. Mihai Popșoi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova giving the opening remarks at the event.

The event featured a stellar list of speakers including NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană, Congressman Michael Lawler and Congresswoman Deborah Ross, the Co-chairs of the Congressional Moldova Caucus, Samantha Power, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Scott Nathan, CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Ambassadors Viorel Ursu, Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to US and Mexico, Andrei Muraru, Ambassador of Romania to the U.S. and Kent D. Logsdon, Ambassador of the U.S. to the Republic of Moldova, Moldova’s newest Chief Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, Veronica Dragalin, and Anca Dragu, the Governor of the National Bank of Moldova to note just a few.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană speaking on the second day of the Convention on the security situation in and around Moldova, NATO’s role in the region, and on the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Art and fashion were also an important component of the opening gala and of the event in general. Those in attendance could see a fashion show featuring the Kăsăndruța Collection by Oxana Munteanu from Chișinău, a collection of painted dresses by Irina Madan, Fashion Designer from San Diego, CA and the DOR collection of folk blouses by Galina Rotaru also from Chișinău. In display there was a Surrealistl Art Exhibit by Vitalie Burcovschi from Washington DC.

Many of the ladies in attendance were invited to participate in the fashion show and are pictured here wearing the designs and collections of the three participating fashion designers.

We were also thrilled to see members of our local community in attendance at this event which also featured an important business component. They had a chance to learn about investment opportunities in Moldova and also about various projects aimed at engaging the Diaspora in the transformational process taking place in the Republic of Moldova.

Anca Dragu, the newly appointed Governor of the National Bank of Moldova, speaking here about banking reform in Moldova. She was previously the Minister of Public Finance of Romania, as well as President of the Senate of Romania, the first woman to hold this position.

As noted on their website, the Moldovan-American Convention is a public platform for dialogue and communication, advocating for expanding economic, cultural and political connections. The main goal of the Convention is to build a strong and united community that is capable of improving the lives of Moldovans in North America and help people in Moldova at the same time. The Convention is a platform to bring together the brightest minds and most enthusiastic hearts of Moldovan diaspora in North America. The annual Conventions are hosted in different cities of North America and each of them focuses on several themes that are relevant to the ever changing needs of the community and developments in the Republic of Moldova.

You can read more about this year’s event, including watching a recording of the various sessions at www.moldovanconvention.com. Congratulations to the organizers and to many more events!