Social Media, Nonprofits, and Romania - Night Before the Conference

If you've been following my blog, I arrived in Romania last night after 32 hours in transit from Miami, including a 8 hour layover in Heathrow.   I am here for a conference hosted by the Soros Foundation as part of their pilot advocacy through blogging program.  On Monday, I will do presentation and facilitate a workshop on strategy which will include the Romanian version of the Social Media Game.

After a good night's sleep,  I got up and walked around Bucharest snapping photos (in part to add to my presentation for the workshop.)  

To view larger chart, click here.

Source: Universal McCann International Social Media Research Wave 3 The PDF Version is available here.

I didn't like my photos, but then I remember that a lot of Internet users in Romania use photo sharing sites that I remembered from my collection of social media snack facts  misc.  So, I started searching Flickr and found amazing photo sharing groups for Romania as well as the fantastic photo below.

Photo by Chodaboy

However, I had no idea what building was in the photo. No problem. A quick question on Twitter and my colleague, Sue Waters, in Australia, asks her colleague @ggrosseck who told me it was a library in the University area via one of her followers in Romania.  Got that?

Tonight all the speakers and some participants all went out for a traditional Romanian meal at a restaurant called Caru' Cu Bere. It featured live music and dancers. I couldn't resist the video clip of the tango. (No I didn't tango ...)

One of the best parts of conferences is the informal peer exchanges that happen over drinks and dinner. The clip above is one of the speakers, Sorin Matei, offering some tips Gabriela Tanasan – Executive Director, Orizonturi Foundation, Campulung Moldovenesc. Her project Blogging the Dream, is one of the six new health-focused citizen media outreach projects that were announced in June by Rising Voices and Open Society Institute’s Health Media Initiative.  

Well better try to get some sleep

Comments

[Jacques]

Ahh, Bucuresti! A city that is discovered one layer at a time. I had the privilege of eating at that same restaurant with quite a group during the Francophonie Summit of '06, that included a Canadian provincial premier and J-F Breau, popular artist in french Canada. The University area is a great place to see, as well as the "little Paris". What was most impressive were the visual traces of 3 periods; Romania before the communist regime, during the regime (especially Ceaucescou's palace) and after the regime (wild wild east). Have a great stay!