NURTURING RESILIENCE THROUGH THE PANDEMIC
THIRD CONFERENCE OF ROMANIAN AMERICAN PROFESSIONALS
June 5th 2021
Arts and Culture Council’s panel on promoting Romanian American artists and writers:
The second day of the conference was organized in five subsequent panels, a six-hour marathon of engaging and informative presentations highlighting initiatives implemented throughout the pandemic year, many inviting stakeholders to join in consolidating identified projects of excellence in the months ahead. The first panel was that of the Arts and Culture council, a highly active group which launched the IRF Romanian American Literary Circle promoting diaspora writers and artists within America’s cultural scene. IRF Board of Directors member, historian, theatre artist, and poet Cristina Bejan, PhD presented on the virtual literary series titled "Romanian Women Voices in North America," a joint venture between the “Bucharest Inside the Beltway” platform of which she is the executive director and the Romanian Cultural Institute of New York. The collaboration which started after the 2020 IRF conference highlighted over the year some 27 diaspora authors on a professionally managed virtual platform of national reach. Ms. Bejan used the opportunity to spotlight several Romanian American artists including award-winning poet Alina Stefanescu who volunteered to serve as chair of the RALC. The presentation also saluted the impressive number of books published this year by Romanian American writers.