About the conference | The Power of Storytelling

The Power of Storytelling (PoS) is a gathering built on the idea that well-crafted stories can bridge divides, inspire action and create change.

This is a one of a kind event in Eastern Europe. Since 2011 it has brought to Romania more than 100 thought leaders & storytellers in all fields – from media, to arts, to activism, to business – for inspirational talks meant to foster belonging, empathy, and revive hope in a better society.

HOPE – Our 2026 theme invites us to continue to look honestly at the world – with all its pain, chaos, and uncertainty – and still decide to act. We’ll talk about hope not as comfort or denial, but as a deliberate intervention: to imagine, to create, to repair, to keep showing up. It’s the kind of hope that exists because we don’t know what will happen, and in that uncertainty is room for action.

In a culture that rewards detachment, hope becomes a form of resistance – a quiet, stubborn insistence that things can be otherwise. Storytelling can fuel that resistance. It can remind us to practice hope not as a feeling, but as a choice.

The Power of Storytelling is a project of Asociația Media DoR, an ecosystem and a catalyst for journalistic and cultural projects, devoted to promoting the art and craft of storytelling, as an essential tool for transforming our lives, organizations, and society, and for bringing us closer together.

Past Speakers

Over the years, our speakers have included multiple winners of Pulitzer Prizes, National Magazine Awards, Emmys, and many other accolades. They were writers, editors, producers, digital innovators, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, and musicians, all among the best in their respective fields.

Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl Strayed is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir Wild, the New York Times bestsellers Tiny Beautiful Things and Brave Enough, and the novel Torch.

Wendy MacNaughton

Her work appears in places like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Print Magazine. She lives in San Francisco with two cats, one dog and her partner, writer Caroline Paul.

Colin Meloy

Colin Meloy is the singer/guitarist and songwriter for the Portland, OR band The Decemberists. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling Wildwood Chronicles, a trilogy of novels for middle-grade readers.

Jacqui Banaszynski

Jacqui is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, editor, and globetrotting coach.

Chris Jones

Chris is an award winning writer-at-large for Esquire and a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine.

Lisa Pollak

Lisa is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and radio producer who specializes in narrative stories about ordinary people.

Jonah Sachs

Jonah is the Co-Founder and CEO of Free Range Studios and an internationally recognized storyteller, author, marketer, designer and entrepreneur.

Tom Junod

Tom has been a writer-at-large for Esquire for 16 years. He got his start writing for Atlanta Magazine.

Monica Nicoara

Documentary film director, producer and writer, Mona was born in Communist Romania and, until 1989, dedicated her early years to becoming a poet.

Tudor Giurgiu

Tudor is a director, as well as the founder and President of the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF).

Alex Tizon

Alex is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and faculty member at the University of Oregon.

Evan Ratliff

Evan is founder and editor of The Atavist, a storytelling platform for the digital age.

Pat Walters

Pat is editor of Pop-Up Magazine. Before that he was a producer at the public radio show Radiolab.

Michael Paterniti

Michael Paterniti is a longtime GQ contributor, winner of a National Magazine Award and author of two New York Times bestselling books.

Leslie Jamison

Leslie Jamison is the author of The Empathy Exams, an essay collection, and of Gin Closet, a novel.

Robert Krulwich

Robert Krulwich is co-host of Radiolab, WNYC’s Peabody Award-winning program about “big ideas”, now one of public radio’s most popular shows.

Nikole Hannah-Jones

Nikole Hannah-Jones is an award-winning investigative reporter at The New York Times Magazine covering racial injustice and segregation.

Thomas French

Tom French is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, writer and teacher, who has taught at the Poynter Institute for more than 25 years.

Diana Markosian

A Magnum photographer, and artist whose work explores the relationship between memory and place.

Elspeth Reeve

A Peabody-winning correspondent for Vice News Tonight on HBO, covering national issues and political movements.

Mila Turajlic

Award-winning documentary filmmaker, an archive junkie, and a scholar of cinematic storytelling and memory.

Andy Mills

Audio wizard, producer of The New York Times podcast hits: The Daily, and Caliphate.

Anna Rosling Rönnlund

Swedish designer, and founder of Dollar Street, who uses visuals to help explain the world and its inequalities.

Brian Reed

Host and co-creator of the international sensation, S-Town, a podcast narrative with over 70 million downloads.

Team

Cristian Lupșa

Cristian is the host of The Power of Storytelling, a conference he started alongside his colleagues. He is also a writer and editor, and believes stories can make the world better.

Carla Lunguți

Carla is a journalist and fundraiser. At PoS she runs the commercial partnerships, making sure that partners and participants have memorable experiences. She's watched Grey's Anatomy four times.

Alina Cristea

Alina handles comms work, writing the newsletter, liaising with participants and spreading conference buzz far and wide. That is, unless her feline overlords are calling.

Vanesa Panait

Vanesa is our Social Media Specialist — she’s turning every post into a story worth scrolling for. When she’s offline, she’s out chasing inspiration in unexpected corners of the world or just playing with her dog.

Denisa Răduță

Denisa keeps things running smoothly for speakers and participants alike. Surrounded by lists, boxes and contracts in her work life, she escapes the ordinary by writing poetry, caring for plants and singing her heart out in the car.

Andreea Vîlcu

Andreea is our speakers’ coordinator, making sure everyone feels at home and has an unforgettable experience. She's obsessed with the Friends series and has a matchbook with the name of her hometown tattooed on her arm.

Sorana Stănescu

Sorana Stănescu is the conference technical producer. That means she will know all the speakers’ technical preferences, at least, and she will probably carry batteries in her pockets at all times.

Ruxandra Neagu

Ruxandra is our Venue Manager — passionate about creating meaningful experiences, with a background in organizing corporate and private events, she will do the magic ‘behind the scenes’, so you can enjoy a seamless experience next to the conference stage. Outside of work, Ruxandra loves to travel, explore new places and flavors, or just relax with her cat.

Mihai Ciobanu

At PoS as well as in his real life, Mihai is a photographer and web developer. He’s also passionately into all things bikes.