President of the Romanian Academy Advocates for a "Work-Centric" Education

Love for the country can be expressed through sustained work. Romania should be in our hearts, and we should want to take it further, stated the president of the Romanian Academy, historian Ioan-Aurel Pop, at the end of a conference held at the National Opera in Bucharest. Ioan-Aurel Pop advocated for an education that emphasizes the "cult of work," highlighting that "the country is not built on its own but by people": "I believe that today, sometimes, we get upset with the entire country. You know that Romanians have a saying: "He got mad like... at the whole village.' If things don't go well for us, we say, "Oh, that's because you can't achieve anything in Romania.' You fail an exam, and... I have a former student who is now a university professor in France and who took the competition 16 times in France to become a permanent professor and succeeded in the end, at the cost of almost his health. He wore down his health. In Romania, if you fail once, you say, "So and so succeeded because...'. It's possible, it happens, but you have to persevere. (...) We need an education in the cult of work. We need to persevere because the country is not built on its own; it is built by people."

The President of the Academy added that he feels content if Romanians in the diaspora are doing well and if, from time to time, they remember their country: "I don't despair. People ask me, "Well, but millions of Romanians have left.' May they be healthy and may things go well for them, and may they remember their country from time to time. At least at Christmas when it doesn't smell like sarmale where they are, and at Easter when their cozonac is not like ours at home. May they live well where they are. There are peoples living all over the world, but their nest has not disappeared. I give the example of the Irish. More Irish live in the diaspora than in the Republic of Ireland, and yet Ireland exists. If Romanians in New Zealand convey a message about this land and tell them why we eat mititei with mustard and drink a May 1st beer, I am very satisfied." The Bucharest National Opera concluded the 2023 edition of the "Stage of Thought" lecture series with an event dedicated to the National Day, featuring the President of the Romanian Academy, Ioan-Aurel Pop, who delivered the lecture "How Romania was Built." During the conference, the historian explored the path that led to the realization of Romania's largest national project: the Great Union, discussing the forces that shaped Romania's destiny on the stage of European history and how the political, cultural, and spiritual aspirations of Romanians intertwined at key moments to shape national identity. He also addressed themes related to turning points that changed the course of national history, how these events are reflected in the current context, the importance of looking back at the past and distant episodes such as the 1848 Revolution, the War for Independence, the Small and Great Union, or how connected we should feel to our past. These themes were discussed in a dialogue with philosopher Daniel Nica, lecturer at the University of Bucharest, the moderator, and organizer of the lecture program.