kaum Akzent. Work in progress

This is a poem I wrote in Vienna in 2018 about our relationship with languages as an immigrant coming from the so-called periphery of geography. At the same time, it is a celebration of the four languages I speak daily (English, French, German, and Romanian).

As part of the Vienna-based literary group kollektiv sprachwechel. literature in the second language, the poem was included in a Zine that gathered individual and collective literary texts (prose, poetry, essays and fragments from a theatre play) that were produced by its members during 2018. The poem was read during several literary events in Vienna, Austria in 2018 and 2019 and took the meaning of a manifesto for our group.

Migrationlab Business in Residence @KLUMP Subtopia, Sweden

Migrationlab Business in Residence @KLUMP Subtopia, Sweden

I spent the last 10 days in Stockholm; Alby – a suburb in Botkyrka Municipality within Stockholm- and Falun, a city 3 hours away from Stockholm, best known for its copper mining. The reason was a Business in Residence programme, enabled by the European Cultural Foundation (ECF) and organized by KLUMP Subtopia, an incubator for cultural and social initiatives.

Here's what I learned.

migrationlab at Idea Camp 2015

migrationlab at Idea Camp 2015

migrationlab's "Welcome to The Living Room" concept was selected one of 50 most daring and innovative ideas, that uses culture in order to build inclusive communities in Europe. And I was invited to further work and develop this idea at the Idea Camp, one of the most inspirational programmes I've been to this year.

Between the travels and the organization of migrationlab's presence in 3 different countries in the next 2 months, I am of course trying to stay up to date on the refugees situation in Europe at the moment and process everything that is g

Our collective challenges nowadays is to learn to live outside our comfort zones. To acknowledge that in order to be able to live together in all our variety in a common space we need to make a change about how we look at and think about each other. We need to be kind with ourselves and each other. We need to learn and think before placing judgements. We need to start learning to see the beauty and benefits in the diversity not only problems and burdens. We need to open our eyes and minds if we want to peacefully coexist in Europe from now on.

8 years abroad

8 years abroad

While you are out of your comfort zone and everything you know, you need to practice understanding, you need to be able to carry your roots with you while the new you is taking over. You need to understand who you are and where you're coming from. Otherwise "you" becomes <me> and "they" become <they> and in between is just hate and anger.

Welcome to Europe! A Romanian Austrian Dutch Story

Welcome to Europe! A Romanian Austrian Dutch Story

I arrived in Austria in the summer of 2007. Not on January 1st like many European countries feared, even 7 years later. No, on January 1st, 2007 I was in Piata Universitatii in Bucharest (University Square) and celebrated what the Romanian newspapers at the time called "The New Year's Eve of Integration". Alongside French friends and other thousands of Romanians, I was taking part in a historic moment for Romania: its accession to the European Union 18 years after the fall of Communism.

Domestic Products

Domestic Products

4 young Romanian professionals teamed up in order to tackle the issues of discrimination and abuse the Filipino domestic workers face in Romania and give them a voice. Produse Domestice (Domestic Products) is a play about domestic work and migration which premiered in Bucharest on October 17th, with a second representation being set for October 25th at WASP-Working Art Space and Production. The leading actress is a Filipino engineer who came to Romania to work as a housekeeper. The play is based on the true story of Ynia and is produced by young Romanian theatre director Ioana Paun, writer Xandra Popescu, journalist Laura Stefanut and artist/composer Catalin Rulea.

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Discrimination at work

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Discrimination at work

Two years ago I was in Paris with an Austrian delegation for an event my company organized in collaboration with Polish partners. I was part of the management in a private company in Vienna and I regularly organized events in Cannes, Paris and Frankfurt. The day before the event, we were invited by our Polish partners to an exquisite dinner in one of the oldest restaurants in Paris. In total, we were people of four nationalities: Austrian, Polish, French and me, the Romanian.

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On Identity

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On Identity

I remember that I have never thought of leaving Romania, but if by any circumstance this was to happen, I knew that the country I would go to would be without any doubt France. Till this day, I keep a deep connection to this land, its people and language. France has always felt familiar to me, a comfortable feeling of being at home every time I was there. And I believe that all of this is rooted in my first visit to a small village near Paris, called Escrennes, while on a school program. My first time ever in Europe, in Western Europe, 4 years after the fall of Communism in Romania. That was in 1993 and I was 12 years old.

I can’t properly start this project without writing about how it even came to life. Earlier this year, I moved to a new country, The Netherlands, after spending the past 6 and a half years of my life in Vienna, Austria. It was a big ste

I can’t properly start this project without writing about how it even came to life.

Earlier this year, I moved to a new country, The Netherlands, after spending the past 6 and a half years of my life in Vienna, Austria. It was a big step to take, as meantime Austria became my home, my other home besides the Romanian one, but as equally important. It felt right to leave though and joining my Austrian partner in The Hague played an essential role in my decision.