Conference on Romany minority problems to be held in Prague

A conference on the situation of the Romany minority will be held in Prague on Thursday at the end of a four-year programme in support of Czech Romanies that was subsidised by the USA, the U.S. embassy told CTK today.

The conference will be attended by Czech minister in charge of human rights Dzamila Stehlikova (Greens), U.S. charge d’affaires Cameron Munter as well as the media and NGO’s representatives.

The conference will, among others, discuss the media impact on Romanies’ integration into society. The delegates will try to assess whether the media present a stereotypical image of minorities or not.

The four-year programme has focused on projects in Bruntal, north Moravia, Chomutov, north Bohemia, and Pardubice, east Bohemia, to satisfy the needs and solve the problems of the local Romany communities.

The USA has earmarked 13.9 million crowns for the programme. It has also sponsored similar projects in Hungary and Slovakia, the U.S. embassy said.