About this event
The essentials
- Date: Saturday, June 5, 2027
- Time: A full day, morning to evening. Exact times are still provisional.
- Place: Dream Live at American Dream, 1 American Dream Way, East Rutherford, NJ 07073
- Cost: $180 early bird through January 31, 2027, then $220. NAR members pay $180 at any time, and registering with NAR is free. Tickets are on sale at oda.network/tickets.
- Organizer: National Albanian Registry, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Event site oda.network.
- Size: 250 to 300 people planned.
- Refunds: Full refund through May 6, 2027, minus Stripe's processing fee. After that, tickets can be transferred to someone else for free.
A separate welcome reception is planned for the evening of Friday, June 4. It is not included in the ODA ticket, and its details have not been announced yet.
Getting there
Driving: American Dream sits in the Meadowlands sports complex in East Rutherford, next to MetLife Stadium. Parking is in the American Dream decks. Check the mall's current parking rates before you go, since event days can carry different rates.
Transit from New York: NJ Transit bus 355 runs from the Port Authority Bus Terminal to American Dream.
Transit from New Jersey: NJ Transit bus 356 runs from Secaucus Junction, a hub for NJ Transit trains. Local buses also run from Hoboken, Paterson and Hackensack.
Inside the mall: Dream Live is a performing arts theater inside American Dream. Give yourself a few extra minutes to walk from the parking deck to the venue.
What to expect
ODA is the National Albanian Registry's yearly gathering of Albanian American founders, owners, investors, executives and professionals, along with the companies and investors who work with them. It is a business day, built around finding opportunities, meeting investors and lenders, learning from people who have built companies, and making partnerships, including with people in Albania and Kosova.
The day runs in four parts. The morning opens with registration, breakfast and networking, followed by the main sessions and ODA Talks. Midday is lunch with time set aside for business introductions. The afternoon has industry sessions and the first findings from the ODA Think Tank. The evening is optional networking.
The programs included with a ticket are:
- ODA Talks: keynotes with audience questions.
- Industry sessions: smaller sessions by field, in two rounds.
- Real estate and construction: a track for builders, developers and lenders.
- Capital: a panel on funding and what investors look for.
- ODA Think Tank: first findings from the registry's research on the community.
- Business showcase: tables for Albanian American companies.
A proposed founder grant, ODA 100, would have five finalists pitch live. It is still pending board and legal review. Speakers have not been announced.
You do not need to speak Albanian, be a registry member or run a large company to attend.
The food
Breakfast and lunch are included in the ticket. The menu has not been announced.
Why it's called ODA
The oda was the guest room of a traditional Albanian house, where people spoke freely among those they trusted. In the years when teaching in Albanian was banned, lessons were held there in secret. The name also stands for Opportunity, Direction and Advancement.
ODA is run by volunteers of the National Albanian Registry, which is building the first community-led count of Albanian Americans. The board is unpaid, and any surplus from ODA goes back into the registry's work. If you have not registered yet, it is free and takes about two minutes at albanianregistry.org.
What to bring
- Your ticket confirmation on your phone.
- Business cards or a way to share contact details. Most of the day is built around meeting people.
- A short description of your work and what you are looking for, for the business introductions at lunch.
- A charged phone for navigation and sharing contacts.
