Tribute photo exhibition 'Romania: Evolution - 100 Years' inaugurated at UN New York headquarters

The photography exhibition 'Romania: Evolution - 100 Years', the latest in a string of events that celebrate the Great Union Centennial, was inaugurated on Tuesday, February 13 at the UN headquarters in New York by Romania's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Ion Jinga, AGERPRES Director General Alexandru Giboi, and President of the UN General Assembly, Slovakia's Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak.

In his address, the Ambassador of Romania to the United Nations evoked landmark moments in Romania's history, highlighting the importance of the anniversary of the country's Centennial in 2018 at the seat of the UN - a beacon in promoting Romania's foreign policy goals.

"Looking at the photos displayed in this exhibition, we relive a part of Romania's vibrant history of the past 100 years. A founding member of the League of Nations in 1919, Romania has proven, after joining the UN in 1955, a long-term commitment to peace, international justice and development. This is as a matter of fact the motto of Romania's candidacy for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council over the 2020-2021 period," said Ion Jinga, as cited in a release of the Romania's Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

President of the UN General Assembly Miroslav Lajcak said that today's Romania is a modern, successful country that it well integrated in the international arena, a respected regional and global actor. He also underscored that its peace-keeping and humanitarian assistance activity has earned Romania the high appreciation of the international community.

AGERPRES Director General Alexandru Giboi spoke about the value of the photos in the agency's archive that have contributed along the time to visually recording history and to presenting Romania's image outside country borders.

Associated Press President and CEO Gary Pruitt said that AGERPRES and AP share common values as regards the accuracy of public information and appreciated the highly dynamic adjustment of the Romanian national news agency to the latest trends on the media market.

The AGERPRES album ''Romania: Evolution'' - a special edition paying tribute to the Great Union Centennial - was also unveiled at the event; the album features 100 photos from Romania, grouped in three chapters: Archive, Revolution, Evolution.

The event enjoyed a broad attendance: the President of the UN General Assembly, Deputy Secretaries general and assistants to the UN Secretary General, an impressive number of ambassadors accredited to the UN, diplomats, journalists, representatives of the business environment and of the Romanian community in New York.

The photo exhibition 'Romania: Evolution - 100 Years' showcases images from the historical archive of AGERPRES, the past years' best photo shots by AGERPRES photojournalists and images from the Associated Press archive of personalities like Nadia Comaneci, Eugen Ionesco, George Enescu, King Mihai I, King Ferdinand I and Queen Maria.

The AGERPRES archive photos on display reflect the country's cultural and artistic, economic, political and sports life, sweeping transformation and hallmark events; captured for memory are the inter-war Bucharest, artists such as Maria Tanase and Constantin Tanase performing for the Romanian frontline troops, the December 1989 Revolution and recent events.

Throughout this year the exhibition will be publicly presented in Romania and abroad, as a project devoted to the Great Union Centennial produced by AGERPRES with the support of several embassies of Romania. The exhibition is open for visit at the UN headquarters in New York until February 23, 2018.AGERPRES(RO - editor: Mariana Ionescu; EN - author: Simona Klodnischi, editor: Maria Voican)