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HORA is a non-profit organization intended to enrich the state’s diverse image through sharing the unique and valuable cultural heritage of the Romanian American community, along with its extensive history in the state. Our mission is to preserve, promote and share the cultural heritage, history and values of the Romanian American community in the Twin Cities and the State of Minnesota.
Romanians started arriving to Minnesota as early as the 1900s, as part of a larger East European wave of immigrants that were driven by poverty and hoping for a better life. Soon, a Romanian community was developing in St. Paul and So. St. Paul.
After the WWII and the spread of Russian communism in Eastern Europe, Romanian immigration dropped significantly and involved mostly political cases. It started picking up however, after the fall of European communism, at the end of the 1980s.
Since the early 1900s, the Romanian community has grown and evolved, even though individual reasons for immigration as well as cultural and social backgrounds are highly diverse.
OUR GOALS
- To be an informational resource to both Minnesotans with Romanian roots and more recent Romanian immigrants
- To serve as a resource for individuals and institutions interested in the history, culture and values of Romania and of Romanian Americans.
- To serve as a tool for parents of Romanian origin or with Romanian heritage who wish to educate their children with respect to ancestral history and values.
- To serve also as an educational tool for parents who adopted children from Romania if they wish to acquaint their children with their heritage.
- Develop quarterly events to promote the history of the Romanian American community in Minnesota and to present aspects of the Romanian cultural heritage. Through the Q&A section of these events, HORA will explore the interests of the public and develop future events accordingly.
- Raise funds for publications and activities that add to the promotion and preservation of the cultural heritage of the Romanian American community in Minnesota.
- Collaborate with like-minded organizations in the Twin Cities, the state of Minnesota and any other entities interested in the exchange of cultural information.
- Develop an archive/library intended for preservation and promotion of historic and cultural heritage of the Romanian Americans in Minnesota. This archive will include taped interviews with older and newer immigrants, showcasing the different experiences and expectations of the multiple waves of immigration.
- Showcase Romanian Americans who have achieved important standings in their Minnesota community or in the United States at large.