Direct and personal: The long Romanian-American friendship in people's own words
2020 marked the anniversary of 140 years of Romanian-American diplomatic relations, which, once raised to the level of a Strategic Partnership, became one of the main anchors of our foreign policy. We chose to celebrate the long-lasting friendship between our two countries by amplifying the voices of those who, with thousands of everyday gestures, are giving it a personal and immediate meaning.
Taking Romanian-American exchanges out of the official circuits and turning our attention to the grassroots, our public diplomacy campaign, entitled "140 Years in 140 Seconds”, gave the floor to present and former diplomats but also to artists, entrepreneurs, educators and activists who were invited to reflect upon the Romanian-American relationship in the most individual, authentic and direct terms.
The “140 Years in 140 Seconds” campaign, consisting of a series of self made video-testimonials, unfolded on our social media between November-December 2020. The program was developed in partnership with the Romanian Embassy in Washington, with the support of Alianța (Washington, DC), American Romanian Cultural Society (Seattle), Authentic Society for Language and Romanian Culture (Chicago), Blue Heron Foundation (Los Angeles), "Hora" (Minneapolis), Immigration Research Forum (Washington, DC), Romanians of DC (Washington, DC), Romanian United Fund (Chicago), “Românul” (Connecticut), and the Honorary Consulates of Romania in the United States. Campaign visuals by Johnny Vacar.
We are grateful to our partners and supporters and, most of all, to those who accepted our invitation, filling the frame that we provided with the colorful diversity of their own experiences, achievements, and dreams. We invite you to watch, or rewatch, the testimonials and to consider your own personal stories against the backdrop of these 140 years of Romanian-American friendship.