Dumitrita Rogojinaru - Why a show about justice | People of Justice 2023 Bucharest
On 8 December 2023, Dumitrita Rogojinaru opened the show People of Justice for the 500 spectators in the hall. In less than 4 minutes, the audience learns a personal story and why we chose to invest energy in a complex format about justice.
The storytelling show MEN OF JUSTICE 2023 was produced by the Leaders for Justice community, made up of alumni of the only professional training program for a future generation of justice professionals of integrity.
Author: Dumitrita Rogojinaru
A few months ago, when we were discussing about how we would like to have the visual identity for the show, the first sketch made me think of the famous saying: “it takes a village to raise a child”. I was privileged to grow up in a "village" that took care of my growth in a very serious way. A small community in a county in the region of Moldova, made up of parents, grandparents, high school classmates, teachers and friends from next door. The misfortune was there weren't many opportunities. But luckly we had each other.
This Summer it's been eight years since I started to volunteer and since I chose to give something back to the communities that raised me. My name is Dumitrita Rogojinaru and welcome to “People of Justice”, a show in which we put on stage stories about justice. In the last year I have worked with “Leaders for Justice”, a community of over 350 members from Romania and the Republic of Moldova. For 14 years now, lawyers, judges, prosecutors, police officers, jurists in NGOs, public administration or companies go through a program leadership meant to to remind them why they chose to do what they do. Why they play a role in improving their working environment, profession and, by default, to regain our trust. A community that believes in things done without braging, with all conviction.
They go in high schools for legal education workshops. They do films about the human face of justice. They make guides in a easy accessible language for citizens or highlight real problems too little discussed in society and in justice. I also believe in something else: in vulnerability and empathy and in the power of community. That's how we got here tonight. We got together our ideas and forces to make a show in which life stories, short films, poetry and live music to give you a unique and unrepeatable experience. On stage you will see lawyers, journalists, anthropologists, filmmakers or artists, to talk about justice and community: how we find our way, what it means to give back to the community and what is justice for everyone of us. Check out the program you received: imagine it's a three-act play. The child inside, the becoming and the community. We have shorter and longer stories, happier or sadder. We will also mark on the screen every story in the program. We will be together for two and a half hours and I hope you will be generous with us, especially since most of the people you'll be seeing tonight are not used to with such a big stage.
Before we start, a few last remarks: The show is recorded and the stories on stage will be uploaded online, one by one, over the next few weeks. We encourage you, though, to get off your phones and rejoice every moment here together. We need conversations about difficult topics. Although they are a must to get things going in the society we live in, sometimes they painful to carry. In this regard, we are announcing beforehand, that in Tudor Giurgiu's moment on stage we will screen a series of though images, that could affect you or the younger ones emotionally It is all right to walk out in the foyer for those couple of minutes. The world is changing if we take care of each other.
This event would not have been possible without the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Rule of Law Programme South East Europe and our partners: BCR, Essensys Software, Aqua Carpatica, Domeniile Sâmburești and KPMG. Thank you for believing in this endeavour. After the show, we'll be waiting for you in the foyer, for a glass of wine from Domeniile Sâmburești. Until then, we have some stories to tell. Although I no longer live in my hometown, I have always said that "it can be done" there too. I look back and see young people like me, a few years younger, who absolutely believe and hope in the power of the community. Let's welcome on stage the People of Justice.
