Winners of the “Radio Romania 90 and RadiRo 2018” Contest

Radio Romania International invited you to participate in a prize winning contest entitled Radio Romania 90 and RadiRo 2018

România Internațional, 22.12.2018, 11:55

Radio Romania International invited you to participate in a prize winning contest entitled “Radio Romania 90 and RadiRo 2018”, a quiz devoted to 90 years of radio broadcasting in Romania as well as to the 2018 edition of the International Radio Orchestras festival RadiRo, staged by our radio station in November.

The contest sparked your interest and we have received no less than 285 complete and correct answers. We thank you all and invite you to participate in other future contests. The contest was organized jointly with the Casa Radio publishing house and Bucharest City Hall.

The correct answers to the quiz were available in RRI shows, on its profiles on Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn.

The quiz ended on November 30th. Before announcing the winners, lets have a look at the questions again:

– How many years ago was the first radio transmission broadcast in Romania? Correct answer: 90 years.

-Name three channels under the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation! You could choose from Radio Romanias national, international, regional, local or online stations.

-What is the current edition of the International Festival of Radio Orchestras? Correct answer: the 4th edition.

-Who is the organizer of the RadiRo Festival? Correct answer: Radio Romania.

And now the prizes. We granted 30 honorable mentions of which some went to the following listeners of the English Section: Obaid Alam of Pakistan, David Head and Philip Springer of Great Britain, Hans Verner Lollike of Denmark, Naved Raiyan and Muhhamad Najimuddin, both of India, Abdulkarim Ahmed Ali Almabrouk Alhouseini of Libya, Rowshan Ara Labone of Bangladesh and Kristopher Arens of the USA.

Here is what David Head wrote:”I have been listening to RRI for many years ever since I had the pleasure of meeting a family from your country who were so enthusiastic about it that they convinced me to use my shortwave radio to listen regularly to gain more snippets of interesting facts and knowledge about your beautiful countryside.thus prompting me to make a visit sometime in the future. I am not a big user of the internet so do not follow RRI online content. I also read about the contest in the British DX Club bulletin.”

Of the 20 third prizes some went to the following Internet users and listeners of the English Section broadcasts: Masahiro Kobayashi of Japan, Mogire Machuki of Kenya, Mahesh Jain of India, Michael Cunningham of Australia, Arne Hyldahl of Denmark, Alan Gale of Great Britain and Iaroslaw Jedrejczak (citeste ieundjeichak) of Poland.

Michael Cunningham of Australia wrote the following: “I am participating in the concert from Australia as a long time listener to shortwave radio broadcasts of RRI who was lucky to visit Romania for a week earlier this year. My first trip to your beautiful country.

Alongside my wife, I took my two boys to the Telekom Arena for an Ice Hockey training camp with coaches from Montreal, Canada. From Brisbane to Bucharest! We met many polite and well mannered children and teenagers and their parents who were able to speak English with a fluency that surprised us. Many of the families had come from all parts of Romania to attend the training. I drove a hire car around Bucharest, a much more exciting (and challenging!) experience that driving on sedate Australian roads. Apart from Ice Hockey we spent time shopping in supermarkets for locally produced food, and drinking Visinata and watching TV Etno. Not everyone in the family was a fan of that TV station but I loved it! All in all a great trip, we had the option to attend the training camp elsewhere, as it was staged in other European countries but my preference was for Bucharest as I feel I know something of your country as a shortwave listener! Keep up the good work.”

Alan Gale wrote the following: “I like to participate in RRIs contests whenever I can, and apart from them being enjoyable and encouraging participants to learn more about the country and station to find out the answers, it also allows us to receive interesting prizes and souvenirs from Romania, which wouldnt otherwise be possible for most of us. I listen to RRIs english service almost everyday when possible, and enjoy hearing about what is going on in a part of Europe that is normally ignored by the media in my own country, and I would never even have known that a member of our own Royal Family owns properties there and is a keen supporter of Romanian heritage, had it just been left to the UK media. International broadcasting is very important in making us see the world through different eyes and ears, and long may it continue.”

We granted 10 second prizes which went to the following listeners: Miodrag Ristic of Serbia, Valeri Luhovski of Belarus who wrote to the Ukrainian section, Anand Mohan of India, who wrote to the Romanian section, Dilmi Taher of Algeria, Iurii Gavrilov of Russia, Wei Wei of China, Andreas Hanslok of Germany, Cataldo Laddomada, Colette Beaulieux of France and Glauber Gleidson Peres of Brazil.

10 first prizes went to the following Internet users and listeners of RRIs broadcasts: Mikola Vasiliniuk of Ukraine, Simona Popa of Romania, Ouni Amor Horbit of Tunisia, Victor Varzin of Russia, Su Shuxiang of China, Werner Schubert of Germany, Nicolantonio Frammolini of Italy, Roger Roussel of Canada, Carlos Emilio Ruiz Llaven of Mexico and Nafisa Najim of India who wrote to the English Section of RRI:

Here is what Nafisa Najim wrote: “I am short wave listener, I listen to RRI via internet amongst many others radio stations. I have become so much inquisitive about Romania after following RRIs content through online. I have a strong desire to visit this great country and meet its people. I am convinced that there is so much to see and learn in Romania which cultural history is very remarkable. In this regards the 90 years of Romanian radio broadcasting and to this years edition of the International Festival of Radio Orchestras, RadiRo, which this contest is dedicated as well. Whenever I come across a quiz about Romania I immediately take part in it irrespective of winning or not. I just like competing, especially when it gives me an opportunity to explore new ideas, new lands and their history, culture and events. Radio Romania organises every two years, alternatively with the famous “George Enescu” International Festival, its own International Festival of Radio Orchestras, RadiRo, which reaches its fourth edition in 2018. Famous orchestras as well as prominent soloists and conductors will step onto the stage of the festival, just as every year. The main novelty of the 2018 edition is the series of jazz concerts. I particularly like to follow Romania on all the various media because of the beauty and diversity of its cultural landscape and the uniqueness of its people.”

10 Special prizes went to the following listeners and Internet users of RRI: Mouad Belgrid of Morocco, Dmitrii Balykin of Russia, Tong Xin of China, Hans Martin Friedrich of Switzerland, Paolo Morandotti of Italy, Jean Michel Aubier of France, Omar Alfredo Ortiz of Columbia, Bill Patalon of the USA, Keith Simmonds of France who wrote to the English section and Alan Holder of Great Britain.

Bill Patalon, our longtime listener and friend of the USA wrote us a very long and interesting letter from which we quote next: “Greetings, RRI friends, and thank you for hosting this contest – and for permitting me to participate. My name is Bill Patalon, and Im a writer/journalist/columnist who lives just north of Baltimore, Maryland, on the U.S. East Coast. Im also the father of a just-turned-12-year-old son named Joey. And Ive been an avid SW and AM-radio listener and DXer since I was Joeys age back in the early 1970s. As part of your contest, you asked why I chose to participate – and asked why I listen to RRIs broadcasts and follow RRI online. I think those are terrific questions. And I hope I can provide a semi-terrific answer. I started listening to shortwave broadcasts in late 1974, after reading about the hobby in some of my Dads old radio magazines. There was something intriguing – even magical – about being able to listen to the radio broadcasts from another country. Remember, this was long before the Internet was invented – and back before that invention made the world a much smaller place.

Hearing friendly voices from other countries – from Ecuador, Australia, Britain, Germany, Japan, Romania, Canada, China – really was almost magical. As someone who aspired to become a journalist – even as a sixth-grader – it was wondrous to learn about the customs of other cultures. It was great to hear “other” viewpoints – especially when those viewpoints differed from those I could hear on the local AM radio stations. I could learn about news, developments and current affairs that never made headlines here in America. I could hear music that wasnt on the “Top 40” FM radio stations. And for someone like me who also has a lifelong love of history, I could hear the stories of countries whose histories reached back much further than mine (which was approaching its much-celebrated “bicentennial” birthday … meaning it was only 200 years old). The allure didnt end with what I could hear, either. Im an inveterate letter writer – always have been, and remain so today, even with the advent of e-mail. I could take notes on what I heard, and then write to these folks Id been listening to – and they would write back. I could collect “QSL” cards – colorful and educational acknowledgements of my achievement … kind of like a reward for my efforts. I still have all my QSLs, carefully arranged in binders. I often go through them – a review of the earliest ones is like a return trip to my happy childhood. In fact, thats yet another reason I have such a warm feeling for radio – and shortwave radio in particular.

Why do I tune into RRI broadcasts and follow its Website? The answer is clear … and powerful.Ive been tuning into RRI for decades. And because of all the broadcasts of yours that Ive logged, all the letters Ive written, all the times Ive heard my name on your broadcasts, and because of all the QSL cards Ive received and collected, I dont feel just like an RRI “listener.” I feel like an “RRI friend.” I feel like I have a personal relationship with your station and with your announcers. And, because of that, I also feel like I have a personal relationship with your country … with Romania. You see, thats the power of a truly well run international shortwave broadcaster like RRI. Because of your work, I have a very positive view of your country. I have a very high interest in its news. I have a very strong allure to its history. I have a very high desire to see Romania do well. And I have a truly intense desire to visit. None of these feelings would be as strong without RRI … without its truly superb programs … without the gracious manner in which RRIs staffers interact with me … and with the many other listeners you have. RRI is one of Romanias greatest assets – a kind of “bargain at any price” and a competitive advantage that other countries, especially in Eastern Europe, no longer have. Its an investment with a return – not an “expense” to be fretted over.

Because of RRI, I scour the Web for news on Romania. I read about your customs. I scour the RRI website. I do outside research on the cultural customs, foods, news stories, historical events and destinations that you talk about on the broadcasts. (Two examples: I did more than an hours worth of outside reading on the Turda Salt Mine after you featured it on a recent broadcast, and have put it on my list of places to visit when I make my hoped-for trip to Romania; and, as an aviation “nut,” I have done endless reading on Aurel Vlaicu, Traian Vuia and other Romanian aviators and flying aces after a program on flight many years ago … Ive even gone on eBay and purchased photos and other mementos of these pilots … all because of RRI). In short, RRI is a “crown jewel” of Romania … and Romanian leaders in Bucharest are geniuses for recognizing that and continuing its operation, while leaders in other countries are unfortunately not enlightened. RRI is a well-run, engaging, alluring operation. I dont just “listen” to your broadcasts – they are so good that I “experience” them … Keep them going …”

Now, in the end of todays program we would like to thank all the listeners who have participated in the aforementioned quiz. The prizes and mentions will be mailed to you in the following months and wed like you to confirm by e-mail that you have received them. And we hope you will continue to participate in RRIs future contests!