[România] How to Choose Your Future: advice for children from ten personalities

In November, the Terre des hommes Romania Foundation organized their annual campaign to promote children's rights among children deciding their own future. Here is a brief overview of what children learned from the mentors-personalities during the ninth (online) edition of the Takeover Day initiative.

Amir Sagron, Deputy Ambassador to Israel in Bucharest

Mr. Amir Sagron talked about the experiences that prepared him, beyond his studies, for life, including a job as a tour guide when he was a teenager and two years of work at Yale University in the USA. He explained the structure of an embassy and the role an embassy plays in a country, as well as the different types of diplomatic activities (both political and "public diplomacy").

Oana Giurgiu, film producer

Oana Giurgiu explained the role of a film producer: “he/she manages the project of a film from the beginning. Once the script is ready, the producer creates a budget by dividing the film into pieces and calculating how much it will cost. Sometimes the story of the film changes to fit the budget, which is why the job requires creativity." Children should learn math, science, literature, etc. as a producer never knows when he /she will need information from a certain area of expertise. Oana recalled how she was inspired to become a producer when her French teacher took her class to see how cartoons were created.

Tudor Roșu, Head of the Eastern Europe Delegation of the Terre des hommes Foundation

Tudor Roșu explained how he gave up his initial career choice, journalism, when he realized that some topics deserved a deeper analysis than the newsroom provides. He began studying Political Sociology, nationalism studies, and got a job with an NGO helping refugees. Eventually he began working for Terre des hommes in Hungary, where he spent 10 years.  He is now the Head of the Eastern Europe Delegation of the Terre des hommes Foundation in Bucharest, Romania. He finds it very difficult when children's problems cannot be solved for the long term, but his advice to young people is: "do what you find useful and motivating, then you will find the right place".

Dan Andrei Savenco, professional handball player

Dan Andrei, who has been playing handball for over 20 years, plays for Dinamo Bucharest, a team with which he has won 5 championship titles. He told children how, in addition to playing sports, he studied Physical Education and Sports, and to be a dental technician. "There are always obstacles, but with ambition, dedication and hard work, you will succeed," he told the children. "I have shown to those who believe that school cannot go hand in hand with professional sports, that all is possible."

Kirsten Theuns, Head of the Southern Europe Delegation, Terre des hommes

Kirsten advised children to be "honest with themselves and listen to your heart, to understand in which field you can be better". She also pointed out that volunteer work is very important. "You should do an internship, and if you show that you have passion and skills, chances are you'll be hired at some point."

Lia Bugnar, actress, director, playwright

"I just knew that this is what I wanted to be — an actress —  and I never compared myself to anyone, but not because I felt too special, but because I have an ability to admire people without making a connection between me and them”, says Lia. "I admire them as triumphs of nature, and that's it." The fact that I managed to enter the Theatre Academy was such a miracle, and every time I went there I thought that someone would come and tell me I'm in the wrong place.”

Lorin Niculae, Associate Professor of Architecture

Lorin showed children that "the responsibility of an architect is no less than that of a doctor". His workday often looks like this: “Sometimes I start in the workshop at 8.30, then I go to the dean's office, then to the office for a project or to the association. If I don't have classes, sometimes I go to construction sites or meet a client, or I can go to conferences or showrooms. There is a very accentuated dynamic in the life of an architect, you can't get bored ".

Rozana Mihalache, artistic director, poet

Rozana had the chance to work on a morning radio show as a broadcast secretary and remained there until she joined the UNATC (Theatre Academy). Ten years ago she began working at Green Hours, the first jazz club and independent theatre in Bucharest.

Indi Catrina, Service Operation Manager

Indi attended the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, but wanted to enter the IT industry and studied on her own for this purpose. Today, Indi works with international clients at Oracle. The meeting with Indi showed children the challenges that programmers face, but also the satisfaction the job brings. Indi learns all the time to keep up with the new developments in technology. The children asked her about game applications, viruses and antiviruses, and about how to protect themselves online.

Ovidiu Vanghele, investigative journalist

Ovidiu started studying law, but abandoned it in favour of journalism. In 2013 he founded the Media Investigation Center, where he still works today. He has published hundreds of investigative reports. Since 2017, Ovidiu coordinates editorially with Vlad Stoicescu (dela0.ro), at a site called "Let There Be Light". During the meeting with children, Ovidiu explained how he documents articles and where he finds resources. He told them about the Romanian Constitution and how important it is to know. The children asked about the dangers of the profession, about professional ethics and about how journalists choose their subjects.