🇷🇴 Citeste: Versiunea in Limba Romana

In light of recent comments and criticisms in the media regarding the 2025 Romanian Community Summit (RoSummit25), organized by the Romanian-American community through a partnership of multiple diaspora organizations and entities, with RUF serving as the lead organizer, we would like to offer the following clarifications:

Four weeks before the event, as interest and registrations surpassed our initial plan for 250 seats, we made the decision to relocate the Summit from a smaller, single-room venue to a larger, 800-seat hall. Given the limited venue options available within our budget and on short notice, this location was chosen. Importantly, it also provided the technical infrastructure required for professional live streaming and several breakout rooms.

While the hall was considerably larger than our expected in-person audience, the arrangement enabled us to deliver high-quality streaming to the broader online community and to run multiple program sessions at the same time, including the Romanian-American National Heritage Awards and the Youth Summit.

We also wish to emphasize that the widely shared photos used in recent media reports were taken precisely at the opening of the event. At that moment, participants were still being invited into the main hall. These images do not accurately reflect the strong interest demonstrated by the community and public throughout the Summit, but capture only the very beginning, before the room had filled.

The decision about the venue and the summit program was entirely the responsibility of the organizers with no involvement of the General Consulate of Romania in Chicago, Romanian Embassy in Washington, DC or Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania. Ms Toiu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs was invited as keynote speaker at the event. The speakers’ invitations reflect the feedback received from the Romanian American Community about potential speakers aligned with the summit theme - “United for a Brighter Future”.

Audience & Purpose

The goal of the Romanian Community Summit 2025 was to bring together Romanian community leaders, organizations and stakeholders from the diaspora from the U.S. and Canada, bringing together representatives of civic, cultural, business, academic, and faith-based organizations. The event gathered 347* participants in person and over 1,000 Romanians connected live via YouTube, making it one of the largest Romanian diaspora leadership gatherings in North America.

Among the participants, the Summit hosted Romanians from Ontario, British Columbia, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas, Connecticut, Nevada/Las Vegas, Florida, Washington State, California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Colorado, Ohio, Georgia, South Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC, and Great Britain, Romania, as well as honorary consuls from several U.S. states.

In addition to high-ranking public officials who delivered opening remarks—such as Oana Țoiu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania; Daniel David, Minister of Education of Romania; H.E. Andrei Muraru, Ambassador of Romania to the United States—alongside inspirational speakers like Fr. Prof. Univ. Dr. Habil Constantin Valer Necula, and public representatives including Lucian Stănică, Consul General of Romania in Chicago; Oana Gherghe, Consul General of Romania in Toronto; and Dorian Branea, Director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York—the Summit also brought together distinguished business and community leaders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, executives, and members of academia: Fabrice Bonvoisin, President, International Trade Club of Chicago, Chicago, Bogdan Capatina, President, Romanian American Chamber of Commerce-IT, Detroit, Florin Cimpean, Administrative Bishop at Church of God, Anton Lungu, Consul General of Rep. of Moldova to Chicago, Monica Felix, PhD, Executive Director, Chicago Cultural Alliance, George Roth, Serial Entrepreneur, Honorary Consul of Romania, San Francisco, Daniel Catre, Honorary Consul of Romania to Indianapolis, Sofia-Cristina Vișan, Executive Director, French American Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest, Seattle, Radu Craciun, Honorary Consul of Romania, New Jersey, Dan Ozarchevici, Honorary Consul of Romania, Kentucky, Ioan Istrate, NATO DIANA Senior Advisor, Atlantic Council, Stefana Rotaru, Consul of Romania to Vancouver, Adelina Suvagau, Founder and President of Sonia Productions Inc & Rompost TV, Peter Sandica, Romanian Board of Trade, Toronto, Diana Dram, Quinlan Business School Faculty, Loyola University, Simona Vasile, Tax Principal BDO US, FORA & ROMAMPRO Board, Voicu Oprean, Founder and CEO, AROBS Romania, Bogdan Lupas, Foreign Trade Officer, Romanian Embassy, Steven Bonica, Founder and President, Romanian Tribune, Marcel Somfelean, Founder & President, ROMOTANA, Stefan Lozneanu, Assistant Pastor, Betania Church, Adrian Neiconi, Rev. Pastor, Romanian Baptist Church of Chicago, Petru Amarei, Romanian Television Network/Chicago, Ioana Guset, Associate Attorney, Taft Law, RUF Board Member, Bogdan Banu, Founder & President, Romanian of DC, Florin Pricop, President of Chamber for Romanian American Trade & Industry, Adrian Neagu, President, British Columbia Romanian Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Vancouver, Cristina Farmus, Vice President, Purdue University, Dan Nicolae, Chair of the Statistics Department & Founder of the Univ. of Chicago Data Science Institute, Ionel Dragos-Hau, Yale University Professor, Founder Romanul CT, Mihai Lehene, Owner, MDL Investments, Founder and President, Romanian United Foundation, Cezar Daniel Iordan, Entrepreneur & Sponsor, Camelia Bratu, business executive & Founder RUF Las Vegas, Cristian Luput, CEO, Optimus Realty, Cristian Merdariu, Founder & Owner, City Habitat Realty, Calin Moigradan, Founder & CEO, Ladybug & Friends Daycare, Lucian Valea, Entrepreneur Romania & Sponsor, Robert Varlaan, Entrepreneur, Oana Dobreanu, Executive Director, ROCO Chicago, and many more.

Media Images

The photos circulated in Romanian media were taken during the opening session, while many participants were still in the hallways checking in and entering the room. These images do not reflect the reality of attendance of 360 people, or the strong engagement the event generated throughout the day. The entire event was live-streamed on YouTube. The full event recording is available here.

Volunteers & Community Effort

A large number of volunteers contributed to RoSummit25, with some traveling from as far as Las Vegas, Seattle, New York, Connecticut, and Minnesota. These individuals balanced full-time jobs, personal responsibilities, and other commitments while dedicating their talents and free time to the Summit. RUF is not a large corporation with unlimited resources and this event was made possible entirely through the dedication, generosity, and best efforts of volunteers at every level.

Funding

The event was funded through a mix of participation fees, sponsorships contributions (all sponsors are listed at www.rosummit.org) and RON 189,600 - in Romanian public funds provided by the Departamentul Românilor de Pretutindeni (DRP) as part of the RON 250,000 project “RUF Global Resource & Replication Hub – Diaspora pentru Romania.” DRP funding covers travel and accommodation for speakers and community leaders from across the U.S., as well as venue rental, video streaming and marketing materials. This is a preliminary report. For total transparency, a full report of the summit's income and expenses will be published on the RUF website in the coming days, in the "Transparency" section, and a live Zoom session will be hosted for anyone who may have any questions related to this project. Sign up here.

Our Response

We acknowledge the criticisms, we take responsibility, and we are committed to doing better. Our objective remains clear: to provide a platform where the Romanian diaspora can come together, collaborate, and turn ideas into action.

Participation exceeded expectations: 347* participants on site and more than 1,000 connected online.

Youth recognition: 45 Romanian-American high school students awarded the Romanian-American Heritage Award.

Concrete outcomes
Launch of new initiatives such as MentLink mentorship program, RoScholars scholarship program, and the Real Estate & Investments Club.

Sustainability
Formation of the Summit Board and confirmation of volunteers for RoSummit26 on September 19, 2026.

Closing

The Romanian Community Summit 2025 was a milestone: 347* in-person participants, over 1,000 live online viewers, the launch of new initiatives, and the recognition of 45 outstanding youth leaders. More importantly, it demonstrated the appetite for unity, collaboration, and ambition within our global Romanian community.

We are turning this moment into an opportunity. The overwhelming interest, even the criticisms, show that the Romanian diaspora is watching and cares deeply about the success of this platform. RoSummit is here to stay, and it will continue to grow.

We invite everyone: community members, organizations, volunteers, and partners, to join us now in preparing for RoSummit26, on September 19, 2026, where we will raise the bar even higher. Together, we can ensure that next year’s Summit not only meets expectations but becomes a symbol of the strength and unity of Romanians everywhere.

About RUF

The Romanian United Foundation (RUF) is an international charitable foundation based in Chicago, dedicated to uniting the Romanian diaspora, supporting philanthropic projects, and investing in education and youth leadership. Since 2019, over 100,000 donors have contributed through RUF’s platform, generating $4.3 million for 83 projects in Romania and across the diaspora. The foundation has a 100% pass-through model, ensuring every dollar raised goes directly to the projects it supports.

* Errata: A previous version of this document stated that 363 participants attended the Summit. After a careful review, we found some individuals had been double-counted. The corrected total is 347 participants.