About
The Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse was officially recognized in 2015, 2016 and 2017 by the Mayor of Washington D.C., Mrs. Muriel Bowser, and Mr. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada.
In 2020, at the initiative of Mariana Plamadeala, founding member of Romani Uniti Din Anglia, Councillor Mohammed Azim, Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Great Britain Birmingham City Council congratulated the Romanian Community from Birmingham with the occasion of “Ziua Universală a Iei – 24 iunie 2020”.
Since 2013, on June 24th, every year, Romanians all around the globe are wearing the IA, the traditional blouse in Romania.
Initiated and coordinated by the online community La blouse roumaine, the event is a good opportunity to promote “a country brand recognized all over the world”.
Councillor Mohammed Azim
Lord Mayor of Birmingham
“I am pleased to extend my greetings to the members of Romani Uniti din Anglia, R.U.D.A association in Birmingham as you celebrate the Universal day of the Romanian Blouse 2020. Birmingham is a wonderfully diverse and multicultural City, and today is an opportunity to recognise Romanian culture in the celebration of this beautiful traditional garment. I hope you all have a wonderful day.”
The Council House, Birmingham B1 1BB
Telephone: +44(0) 121 303 2040
E-mail: Lord.Mayor@birmingham.gov.uk
RUDA Celebrates the Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse in Birmingham- June 2026
RUDA marked this year’s Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse with a special cultural event hosted at the Consulate General of Romania in Birmingham.
The event brought together members of the Romanian and Moldovan communities, representatives of local organisations, academic institutions and British public bodies from across the West Midlands.
Guests had the opportunity to see authentic Romanian and Moldovan traditional clothing from Basarabia, Teleorman, Neamț, Oltenia, Muntenia and Bistrița-Năsăud. Some of the costumes displayed were around 100 years old. The programme also included traditional music, dance and cultural presentations. Oana and Valeriu Conțolencu welcomed guests with bread and salt, following Romanian tradition. The ceremonial bread and sourdough bread were made by Oana, and the couple later performed a selection of traditional dances from Transylvania to Moldova.
Ion Boghean performed the traditional Căluș dance, which is included on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
A message was also shared by Altitza, who spoke about her connection with the Romanian blouse and congratulated the Romanian community in Birmingham.
The event was organised in partnership with the Consulate General of Romania in Birmingham. RUDA would like to thank Consul General Mihaela Savu for her support, involvement and open collaboration. Special thanks also go to Simona-Corina Rău, Coordinator of the RUDA Șezători IE project, who continues to promote traditional embroidery and support ten women who are currently sewing their first Romanian blouses.
RUDA is grateful to Mariana Plămădeală, Dara Maria Izabella, Camelia and all the women involved in the sewing group who contributed traditional costumes and helped represent the diversity of Romanian and Moldovan heritage.
We also thank the team from Hanul Domnesc in Coventry for providing authentic costumes from Oltenia and for the catering offered during the event. Our thanks go to photographer Marcin Sz for documenting the event, to Barbara from the Polish School for supporting stronger links between our communities, and to the European’s Welfare Association for its involvement in promoting cultural values.We are also grateful to the representatives of academic institutions and British organisations who attended the event and continue to support collaboration with the Romanian community in the West Midlands.
The celebration showed how cultural traditions can create connections between generations and communities. It also offered an opportunity to promote Romanian and Moldovan heritage and recognise the contribution of the Romanian-speaking community in the West Midlands.
About the RUDA Șezători IE Project
RUDA Șezători IE is supported by the Bureau for Diaspora Relations of the Republic of Moldova.
The activities are delivered through the Diaspora Engagement Hub programme, with financial support from the Government of the Republic of Moldova and implementation through the Bureau for Diaspora Relations.
