TALK TO A LOCAL

meet a local
Those who want an authentic experience will be able to talk to the locals through 30 minutes coffee sessions, at a partner location. The ambassador and tourists can discuss various topics – from curiosities and recommendations to personal experiences and memories that help guests taste the personality of the place through the lens of a local. Coffee (which can be any drink) will, of course, be from on the guests.

ask a local
ask.eoradea.com will be the chat platform specially created to connect locals (local ambassadors) with those who want to get to know our city as well as possible, through the lens of local people. Thus, tourists will be able to discuss various topics with the ambassadors connected to the platform - from questions, curiosities and recommendations to experiences and personal memories related to Oradea.

become a local ambassador
We are looking for 'locals', or local ambassadors as we will call them. Who can be a local ambassador? Anybody. We do not have an age limit as long as the person is fluent in Romanian and feels connected to this place. And of course, be willing to share his experience and vision of the place with those who visit.
If you want to become a local ambassador, read on about the application and training process and join the team!
The deadline for the first group of ambassadors is Friday, 24th of March 2023.
application and training process
The application process is very simple. Simply fill out the form on this page, and by 24th of March (deadline) we will get back to you with an answer that will 90% be positive, because as we said, almost anyone can be a local ambassador.
After the selection process, we will roll out first training session for the newly selected ambassadors. Attendance at this session is extremely important. However, we understand that personal schedules are highly variable, so we will try our best to accommodate all individuals through the entire training process. What does the training session consist of? A combination of online and physical workshops and discussions. For some of the in person ones, there is the option to participate online, but apart from the first meet on March 26, which will be exclusively online, we recommend in person participation at all of them.
The schedule (currently) of the training session is as it follows:
- Sunday, March 26 – 18:00 – 19:00 / Online – We get to know each other and talk generally about the purpose of this project and of you as local ambassadors.
- Tuesday, March 28 – 19:00 – 20:30 / In person (with online option) - We meet in the first workshop about Oradea. We will discuss the multiple identities and valences of Oradea – city, location, home, destination, memory, emotion, etc. We will discuss in particular the tourist valence of the city and the various types of tourism that we find in Oradea. The discussions will follow various categories of people – social class, age, occupation, etc.
- Wednesday, March 29 – 17:30 – 19:00 / In person (with the possibility of online) – The second workshop will be about us and our functions as people. We will discuss our multiple identities, our values, passions and skills, as well as our relationship with Oradea. Each person has a unique and authentic experience with a particular place. We will discuss how we can use these personal experiences to help other people form their own local identity and why it is important not to essentialize the identity of a place, but rather to promote its hybridity.
- Thursday, March 30 – 18:30 – 20:00 / In person – The penultimate training workshop in this session will be a bit more technical. In the first part we will discuss aspects of the ambassadors' online activity, and in the second part about the aspects of physical activity. Each ambassador will have access to the local ambassador's guide, which we will go through together. It will provide operational knowledge to the ambassadors – how the online conversations will take place, where we can get resources on various topics related to Oradea, how the 30-minute coffee sessions will go, etc. The guide will also contain practical tips and information.
- Monday, April 3 – 17:30 – 19:00 / In person – The last training workshop will be completely practical and technical. We will simulate online conversations and have guests to roleplay with.
The locations will be announced later, but they will be in Oradea.