ROMEA to hold public debate on "Roma in the Czech Republic - obstacles, opportunities, options" TOMORROW

The ROMEA organization will be holding a public debate, "Roma in the Czech Republic – obstacles, opportunities, options" on Thursday, 28 April at the House of National Minorities (Vocelova 3, Praha 2). The event will have three parts, the first of which will focus on supporting the higher education of Romani people through scholarships.

Debates on this topic will involve ROMEA’s coordinators of scholarship programs for Romani college students (Yveta Kenety), for Romani secondary school and technical school students (Jitka Votavová), and former Romani MP Monika Mihaličková. The next two sections will debate the topics of Romani people and the media and forms of aid to victims of discrimination and hatred in the Czech Republic and in Norway, during which a brief documentary film on this topic will premiere.

A "round table" discussion among those participating in the debate during the second part of the meeting will be held on the topic of Romani people and the media. The discussion will follow the presentation of a media analysis summarizing developments in the depiction of Romani people in the Czech media during the past two years, presented by the director of ROMEA, Ing. Zdeněk Ryšavý.

Program:

9:30 – 9:45:  Section I:  Introductory remarks, presentation of the individual program sections for debate – Ing. Zdeněk Ryšavý, director, ROMEA, o.p.s.

9:45 – 11:00:  Scholarships for Romani students as a path to education? Presentation of new and existing scholarship opportunities for Romani students of colleges, secondary schools and technical schools and the website www.romskastipendia.cz – Yveta Kenety, Jitka Votavová, Monika Mihaličková and Tomáš Gago. Stories of successful scholarship recipients, representatives of whom will participate in the debate. Discussion.

11:20 – 12:20: – Section II: Public debate on the topic of "Romani people and the media". How do the media report about Romani people? Depiction of Romani people in the media during the past two years, developments, examples and scandals – Zdeněk Ryšavý. Discussion.

13:00 – 14:30:  Section III:  Round table:  Forms of aid to victims of discrimination and hate violence. Information about the various forms of aid provided to victims of discrimination and hate violence in the Czech Republic and Norway and the premiere of a brief documentary film by the ROMEA organization on this topic. Presentation by the representatives of our Norwegian partner organization, Balder Hasvoll (head of the Department for Romani Affairs, "Romtiltaket", at Oslo City Hall, Norway) and Alpocino Jansen (Romani assistant with the Romtiltaket Department). Discussion.

If you are interested in this event (which will take place in Czech) please confirm your participation by calling 257 329 667 or writing to jitka.votavova@romea.cz. ROMEA looks forward to seeing you there!