Our Story

In May 2019, Alexandra Roxana Popa moved back to Romania after a few years of living abroad and initiated the first community dinner in order to have meaningful conversations with professionals she considered inspirational. The format of the dinner was very similar to what happens today: a group of 6 to 8 guests answer the same 3 questions that have been communicated in advance on a topic they are interested in. 

After the success of the first dinners, the format of Community Dinners became a well-known trademark and is now used by Alexandra in multiple learning experiences.

Alexandra’s wish is to create a precedent for guests who don’t know each other and experience authentic connections by sharing their learnings and listening to each other. After experiencing the format of a facilitated dinner, one can easily open up to create a safe space for valuable interactions with other professionals.

Community Dinners started as an initiative to bring together mindful professionals with diverse backgrounds (from CEOs and entrepreneurs to journalists and NGOs founders). Participants share their learnings on a topic they have relevant experience on. The space encourages guests to be fully human, with both their strengths and vulnerabilities, with relevant stories from all areas of their life.

The topics range widely from “What makes leadership great”, “How much we work for impact versus profit” to “What makes our work meaningful” or “The solitude of the leader.”

It is a space of curiosity, meaningful sharing, multidimensional growth, generous listening, kindness, joy, and the power of belonging to a group of like-minded people.

This group became a community where we stay connected on relevant topics and meet to share challenges and ideas. We gather to practice the habit of sharing and learning from others.

Today, Community Dinners is more than a community—it is a space of informal education, with an impressive amount of collective wisdom, friendships, and partnerships that started after a facilitated dinner.