ROMANIAN HERITAGE AWARDS: THE 2026 WEEKEND IN WASHINGTON, DC
The 2026 Romanian Heritage Awards weekend opened on Saturday at the Ambassador’s Residence, where the Embassy of Romania hosted the RHA Youth Conference and Awards Ceremony under the patronage of Ambassador Dan Andrei Muraru.
Laureates and families arrived from as far as California, Texas, and Florida, exceeding our expectations, and the residence was full from the first hour. The energy was high from the moment people walked in. The students were excited, a little nervous, and thrilled to finally meet each other in person.
The ceremony was the formal part of the day. What happened around it was the point. Students who had only just met, spent the afternoon trading stories, phone numbers and plans. By the time the diplomas were handed out, the room already felt like a community.
Not everyone could be in Washington, but no one was left out. Laureates and families who couldn’t travel joined the ceremony on Zoom, and a group on the West Coast gathered to celebrate together. So many people tuned in that the connection was pushed to its limit.
The stage was theirs
This year we made a deliberate choice: give the students the stage and let them take it from there, not just for a few minutes, but for an entire weekend. They did. They were curious, funny, ambitious and openly enthusiastic about what comes next. More than once we heard some version of the same thing: we want to stay connected.
That is exactly what the Heritage Awards should produce. Real friendships, across states and backgrounds, built around a shared heritage.
Saturday night and Sunday
The evening took us to the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol, and the students kept exploring well past the program. A group made its own unscheduled late-night trip to the Washington Monument. It was not on the itinerary, and it is the kind of story they will be telling for years.
Sunday closed the weekend with a visit to Georgetown University. Students and parents walked the campus together, and the conversation turned to what these young people want to study, build and lead.
In short…
For its tenth year, the Romanian Heritage Awards stepped into a new phase: less about a single ceremony, more about a network of young Romanian Americans who know each other and intend to keep showing up.
With gratitude
None of this happens without the people behind it. To our volunteers, who gave their time and their weekend. To the parents, who trusted us with their kids and traveled to be here. To our partners and supporters, who believed in this program before the room was full. Thank you.
The Heritage Awards runs on that generosity. If this weekend meant something to you, help us build the next chapter: donate to the Romanian Heritage Awards.
Congratulations to every 2026 laureate. We are just getting started!
FORA
© 2026 Romanian Heritage Awards | FORA. All rights reserved.
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