Press Releases

Belgium: Roma Travellers to be evicted in EU capital, fire reported at their halting site

26.6.2018 13:47 The European Roma Grassroots Organizations network reports that Roma Travellers living in the Anderlecht neighborhood of Brussels, Belgium are scheduled to be evicted on 28 June and that part of their camp has been set on fire. All are reportedly Belgian Roma whose ancestors have lived in the country for centuries.  full story

Albania: Romani people left without citizenship anywhere

20.6.2018 8:18 A new report by the European Network on Statelessness (ENS), the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI), and the Tirana Legal Aid Society (TLAS) finds that discrimination is subjecting Romani people to the danger of statelessness in Albania. The report was launched on 8 June in the Albanian capital at an event attended by Government ministers, Romani people who are stateless, and UN officials.  full story

Jarmila Balážová now a member of the Barvalipe Academy of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture

15.6.2018 12:26 On 8 June, to mark the first anniversary of the establishment of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC), the Berlin-based organization has announced the first seven Barvalipe Academy members nominated by ERIAC's “Pakiv” Board. These outstanding Romani personalities of the contemporary arts and culture scene are expected to guide ERIAC in defining its strategy and future activities.  full story

Czech children's home turns Prague streets into summer camp, complete with parcour, this Thursday

4.6.2018 15:33 On Thursday, 7 June the playground near the Vinohradská vodárna tram stop in Prague will be transformed during the afternoon into a place of amusement and motivation, called "Stav Beztíže" ("The Weightless State") where parcours masters from the In Motion Academy, rappers Rest & DJ Herby, singer Jan Bendig and other performers will encourage children to pursue their dreams, to minimize the risks of spending time outdoors on the local streets, and to spend their free time meaningfully during the summer. How far one can go doing what one enjoys will be demonstrated by the performing artists and athletes.  full story

U.S. diplomats discuss situation of Romani people in Europe during Czech visit

8.5.2018 9:19 Representatives of nine U.S. embassies from the Central and East European region, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Helsinki Commission met in Prague and Brno in April to discuss the current situation of Roma in the region. The representatives shared best practices, policies and projects that help to successfully integrate Roma people into majority societies and to empower them.  full story

OPEN CALL for 5th CoE Dialogue with Roma and Traveller Civil Society next month - DEADLINE 27 MAY to apply

6.5.2018 9:30 The Roma and Travellers Team at the Council of Europe (CoE)has announced there is an open call for participation in the Council of Europe's 5th Dialogue with civil society from Roma and Traveller communities around Europe, which will be held this year from 20-21 June in Strasbourg, France. This meeting will focus on the issue of political participation by Roma and Travellers.   full story

Alliance against Antigypsyism: EU Roma Week is an opportunity to focus on tackling antigypsyism in Europe

21.4.2018 7:24 The third annual EU Roma Week at the European Parliament was launched on International Roma Day (8 April) this year. The annual advocacy event is an important opportunity to put the fight against antigypsyism – the specific form of racism faced by Roma, Sinti and Travellers – at the forefront of the European Union agenda, and to highlight the need to uphold the fundamental rights of Roma in Europe.  full story

European Roma and Travellers Forum: Roma Rights at a Crossroads

8.4.2018 14:49 Roma Day is the occasion for all Roma from all over the world to remember the troubled history of our people. It is also the opportunity to reflect on what needs to be done to preserve our identity, our culture and, most of all, our language.  full story

Czech Justice Minister visits Moravian-Silesian Region's excluded localities, housing is the most essential issue

2.4.2018 8:12 Life in excluded localities, trafficking in "social housing", unemployment, indebtedness, educational problems, and crime. All of these subjects were encountered by Justice and Human Rights Minister Robert Pelikán and Deputy Justice and Human Rights Minister Martina Štěpánková, who runs the Human Rights Section, during their third trip together with the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion.  full story

Slovak appeals court confirms that town discriminated against Romani woman and must compensate her

31.3.2018 14:04 The Slovak town of Spišská Nová Ves discriminated against a Romani woman during a selection procedure for a job as a field social worker and must now compensate her. The Regional Court in Košice fully identified with and upheld the first-instance judgment of the District Court in Spišská Nová Ves, which ruled to that effect in March 2017.  full story

Czech capital to see European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture presentation on support for Romani culture

9.2.2018 11:07 On Tuesday, 13 February a presentation will be made by the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC), "SAR DIČOHA ROMAŇI KULTURA DUREDER? – BUDOUCNOST
ROMSKÉ KULTURY" (THE FUTURE OF ROMANI CULTURE) as part of an international conference to be followed by a cultural program that evening. The conference, entitled "Support for the Development of Roma Culture: Contemporary Challenges and Future Opportunities", will begin at 10 AM in the Gallery of the Czech Centres on Rytířská Street in Prague.  full story

Illegally sterilized Romani women from Slovakia and the Czech Republic launch online petition as part of their fight for justice

24.1.2018 18:49 The Center for Civil and Human Rights, an NGO in Slovakia, has published a press release announcing an online petition that has been launched by illegally sterilized Romani women from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The initiative is attempting to achieve justice from the government institutions in both countries that are responsible for delivering redress.  full story

European Grassroots Antiracist Movement calls for creation of a European Foundation for the Memory of the Roma Holocaust

25.1.2018 8:35 The European Grassroots Antiracist Movement has published a call for the creation of a European Foundation for the Memory of the Roma Holocaust. Currently the idea is supported by both non-Roma and Romani figures as well as by 249 MPs from 28 countries.  full story

Czech Greens call on Prague Vice-Mayor to stop sharing racist video

24.11.2017 12:33 Green Party members from the Žižkov neighborhood of Prague have published an open letter to Vice-Mayor Alexander Bellu (Civic Democratic Party - ODS) asking that he stop sharing a racist video on his Facebook page promoting his project for parking sensors for the Prague 3 Municipal Department. In the stylized video, a comedian tells a joke about "millions" of Romani people waiting near parking spaces for the opportunity to steal a car.  full story

Epidemic of hepatitis in Czech town: Local Romani organization offers aid

24.11.2017 8:08 The Czech town of Ústí nad Labem is undergoing an epidemic of hepatitis A, with almost 300 people ill and the disease spreading to other towns in the region. The first outbreak of the epidemic was recorded in the Mojžíř socially excluded locality and other cases have been recorded in Předlice, with the disease later spreading to the "non-Romani" part of town.  full story

Czech Republic must change its approach to homelessness, international experts advise

22.11.2017 17:12 On 20 November, international experts on how to address homelessness and housing shortages from Finland, France and the United States of America visited Prague to recommend the Czech Republic transform the way it addresses these issues. According to the experts, the only actually functional solution in the world, including for the Czech Republic, is to systematically house homeless persons with support and to prevent their being made homeless in time - this is the only way to reduce their numbers and saves the state the most financially as well.  full story

Czech Republic: Museum of Romani Culture says contract to buy pig farm on genocide site will be signed after elections

18.10.2017 14:00 The Museum of Romani Culture in Brno, Czech Republic, has issued a press release today about the deadline for signing the contract to buy the pig farm in Lety u Písku that currently occupies the site of a former concentration camp for Romani people. News server Romea.cz is publishing the press release in full translation here.
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ROMACT press release: Roma partnership is crucial to successful inclusion

29.9.2017 7:45 The ROMACT program in the Czech Republic has issued the following press release:  full story

Open Society Foundations funding Czech branch of European network focused on Romani preschoolers, deadline in mid-August

29.7.2017 9:31 A call has been newly announced in the Czech Republic and is being repeated in Romania for nonprofit organizations to join the Romani Early Years Network (REYN) 2017. This is a preschool education initiative that aims to develop the professional knowledge of Romani staffers and others working with Romani communities across Europe in the area of preschool education.  full story

Czech Government "takes note" of Agency for Social Inclusion report on 2016

28.7.2017 18:30 On 26 July the Czech Government "took note" of a report from its Agency for Social Inclusion about that department's work during 2016. The expansion of the Agency for Social Inclusion to include three regional branches, the launch of a system of support for school establishers in the area of inclusive education, and a proposal to address trafficking in poverty through a Government material on housing in socially excluded localities were crucial moments in 2016.  full story