Press Releases

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

Slovakia: Nominations begin for Roma Spirit 2017 under auspices of President Kiska

28.7.2017 17:23 Nominations have begun for the prestigious ninth annual Roma Spirit awards in Slovakia, which highlight extraordinary deeds and efforts by specific individuals and organizations to improve the life and position of Romani people there. The award is administered by the Association for Culture, Education and Communications (ACEC), Slovak Radio and Television, and the Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for the Roma Community.  full story

Scholarship for female Romani students at Czech pedagogical secondary schools open until 31 August

22.7.2017 13:08 The Roma Education Fund is still accepting applications for the scholarship program designed for female students accepted to Czech pedagogical secondary schools for the
2017/2018 school year. The program activities are focused on supporting female Romani students at pedagocial secondary schools studying in the field of "Preschool and
extracurricular pedagogy" or the "Pedagogical Lyceum".  full story

Ninety years ago the Czechoslovak authorities issued law on "wandering gypsies", took fingerprints for "gypsy identification cards"

15.7.2017 14:13 Ninety years ago, the Chamber of Deputies of the National Assembly of the Republic of Czechoslovakia approved a law "on wandering gypsies" on 14 July 1927 that took effect as Act 117/1927 Coll. and remained on the books until the year 1950. According to its first paragraph, the law was meant to apply to "wandering gypsies", defined as "gypsies wandering from place to place and other vagabonds avoiding work who live the gypsy way of life."  full story

Czech Govt Agency for Social Inclusion says "training" apartments and jobs will help second-largest city

29.6.2017 10:57 The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion is reporting that an estimated 2 000 households in Brno, Czech Republic are living on the edge of social distress. Almost 11 % of the population is being subjected to collections proceedings, with the average debtor involved in seven proceedings and a total debt burden of CZK 980 000 [EUR 37 000].  full story

Czech Republic's 2017 Ghettofest to feature Amaro Records music stage, an Anne Frank corner, and readings in a former prison

8.6.2017 9:46 The multi-genre street fair known as the Ghettofest annually opens up the locality around Brno's Bratislavská and Cejl streets - this year it is changing its usual backdrop, thanks to the closure of Francouzská Street, and is offering its program at the Hvězdička Park, in the spaces of a former prison, and at the Museum of Romani Culture. The sixth annual Ghettofest will take place in those locations on Saturday, 10 June.  full story

Czech initiative says those in need of housing will not receive it unless law requires it

17.1.2017 8:59 The "Have a Home" (Mít svůj domov) initiative, which brings together more than 90 organizations working in the social sphere, resolutely rejects the Czech Government's proposal not to legally require municipalities to provide social housing in the Law on Social Housing now being drafted. The initiative says that if the law does not require municipalities to provide social housing for needy groups or create some other guarantee that aid will be provided by the state to those in need of housing, most of the 200 000 people now in need of housing will not be housed.  full story

How you can aid the people trapped in Aleppo, Syria

18.12.2016 22:58 The horrifying photographs and video footage of what is currently happening in Aleppo are probably being seen right now by all of us. Many of us are asking ourselves: What can I do?  full story

US Embassy to the Czech Republic gives Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award to the "We Aid Refugees" organization

18.12.2016 19:38 On the occasion of International Human Rights Day (10 December), US Ambassador to the Czech Republic Andrew H. Schapiro gave the Alice Garrigue Masaryk Award on 8 December to the organization "We Aid Refugees" (Pomáháme lidem na útěku - PLNU) for its work in the human rights area coordinating and supporting the aid provided by Czech volunteers to refugees on the so-called "Balkan route". "We are giving this award for the enthusiasm with which this organization aids people fleeing war-torn countries," Ambassador Schapiro said during the ceremony at his residence in Prague 6.  full story

Czech NGO offers course on including Romani children in education

25.11.2016 17:36 From 6-7 December the final opportunity will happen this year to attend a course for educators and other educational staff members who want to better understand Romani children. The accredited course, offered by the R-Mosty NGO, is free of charge thanks to support from the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport.  full story

Council of Europe's Commission against Racism and Intolerance holds round table in Prague on Thursday

1.11.2016 17:46 On Thursday, 3 November, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), in collaboration with Czech Minister for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation Jiří Dienstbier and Public Defender of Rights Anna Šabatová, will convene a round table to discuss the measures that have been undertaken in response to the recommendations made by ECRI during its most recent monitoring report about the Czech Republic in 2015. The round table will take place in the building of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic from 9:00 to 17:00.  full story

Civil society members of Czech Govt Roma Council demand thorough investigation of Romani man's death as soon as possible

23.10.2016 17:03 Several members of the Czech Government Council on Romani Minority Affairs are demanding that the criminal justice authorities thoroughly investigate the death of a young Romani in Žatec as soon as possible. News server Romea.cz publishes their declaration here in full translation.  full story

Czech Republic: Roma Spirit 2016 announces final candidates

20.10.2016 15:48 Two expert juries, one in Brno and one in Prague, have chosen the candidates for the Roma Spirit award in the Czech Republic this year. Of a total of 216 nominations submitted by the public, 15 finalists have been chosen.  full story

Slovakia: Czech Human Rights Minister speaks at EU conference on Romani youth

11.10.2016 11:13 On 10 October the Czech Minister for Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Legislation attended the High Level Event on Roma Youth Empowerment in his role as chair of the Czech Government Council on Romani Minority Affairs. The topic of the conference was "Promoting the key role of Roma youth as a driving force in the process of Roma integration" and it was held in Bratislava from 9-11 October as part of the Slovak Presidency of the European Union.  full story

Czech Human Rights Ministry: Database of Roma victims of the Holocaust project discussed with Working Group

10.10.2016 13:46 On Friday, 7 October 2016, the Working Group for the Redress of Romani people, which advises the Czech Government Council on Romani Minority Affairs, convened for the second time this year. Representatives of the Terezín Initiative Institute were invited and presented the Working Group members with their project on developing a database of Romani victims of the Holocaust.
 full story

Civil society members of Czech Government's Roma advisory body outraged by Vice PM's remarks about Roma Holocaust site

7.9.2016 7:49 The Romani civil society members of the Czech Government Council on Romani Minority Affairs are outraged by the Czech Vice Prime Minister's recent remarks about the former so-called "Gypsy camp" at Lety u Písku. Members of the council have called on Andrej Babiš, who is also Finance Minister, to keep his publicly-declared promise and arrange financing for the purchase of the pig farm now located on the site.  full story

Amnesty International: How are the Czech schools educating Romani children?

3.9.2016 8:20 Amnesty International Czech Republic issued the following press release on 1 September to mark the start of the new school year:  full story

Roma at Prague Pride festival say sexual minorities are still taboo in their community

11.8.2016 13:17 Part of the ongoing Prague Pride week traditionally is a segment of the program produced by the Romani association ARA ART. This association has long been involved not just in art with an educational and social scope, but also in specializing on the issue of multiple discrimination and working with the Romani LGBT community.  full story

EU Commissioners on Roma Holocaust Memorial Day: Too many Roma are victims of hate crime in Europe

2.8.2016 14:44 News server NewEurope.eu reports that First Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, and Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Commissioner Věra Jourová have issued a joint statement on the occasion of Roma Holocaust Memorial Day. The statement recalls that on the night of 2 to 3 August 1944, around 3 000 Roma men, women and children from the "Gypsy family camp" of Auschwitz-Birkenau were murdered in the gas chambers.  full story