13th November 2014
Return to Iasi
It was good to return this month to the university city of Iasi, my home over the summer during my Romanian immersion language training.
The focus of the visit was to speak at two very different conferences. At the first, marking the 175th anniversary of the foundation of the Central University Library, I spoke about the advantages for both Romania and Britain of building a stronger digital single market in Europe. I was pleased to be back at the library, which maintains a close relationship with the United Kingdom, including as the host of the impressive British Council office in Iasi.
The second speech, at the nearby Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, was at the second seminar organised by that university dedicated to the life and work of C.S Lewis. The event, which owed much to the enthusiasm of PhD student Daniela Vasiliu, had enticed three distinguished British academics to Iasi.
I also visited the Sfanta Maria Children’s Hospital to see a great example of collaboration between an innovative NGO, Little People, and the hospital authorities. Little People had organised the fitting out of a playroom for children with cancer, where I was greeted by an amazing cast of characters, including the dedicated volunteers of Little People, some superheroes fighting the disease, and the Courageous Lion – a glove puppet which serves as a symbol of the courage of children confronted with cancer.
My visit also included meetings with the local authorities in Iasi, as well as with some of the British companies who have based themselves in the city, in part because of the impressive graduates in IT and related disciplines emerging from the city’s universities. IT service provider Endava is a good example, employing some 280 local people at its modern offices in Iasi. And I was able to put that Romanian language training to the test with a half hour interview with Digi24 Iasi. The director of the language school hadn’t seen the broadcast when I saw her that evening. Just as well: I fear she would have had a few points of grammar to correct.
