European Parliament holds fourth annual Roma Week, news server Romea.cz to broadcast live from Brussels

From 18-21 March 2019 the fourth annual Roma Week will be held at the European Parliament in Brussels. Information about the entire event can be found at: http://ergonetwork.org/2019/03/eu-roma-week-2019/.

Representatives of civil society and Romani organizations from all over Europe will meet together with MEPs to discuss subjects such as the outcomes of the Roma Civil Monitor project, how the human rights of Romani people are being upheld, and the fight against antigypsyism. On Tuesday, 19 March, the European Civil Rights Prize of Sinti and Roma will be awarded to Slovak President Andrej Kiska.

News server Romea.cz will broadcast the award ceremony live from Brussels. Many discussions and seminars will be part of the program.

The main subject of Roma Week will be streamlining and supporting policies that combat antigypsyism, raise awareness and support democratic processes. A training of 30 Romani students will also take place under the leadership of the international network for Romani youth, ternYpe, the European Roma Grassroots Organizations Network (ERGO), Phiren Amenca, the Documentation and Culture Center of German Sinti and Roma and the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma.

One of the highlights of the program will be the awarding of the European Civil Rights Prize of Sinti and Roma. The award will be given on 19 March under the patronage of the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjörn Jagland.

In addition to Tajani, the chair of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, Romani Rose, and the Swedish MEP of Romani origin who co-chairs the European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ARDI), Soraya Post, will also speak during the gala evening. The invitation to that event says that: "Extreme-right and nationalist movements and parties pose an ever-increasing danger to the situation of Sinti and Roma in Europe. While they superficially target minorities, in actuality they want to destroy our democratic societies and values in Europe. With our history in mind, with regard to the Holocaust of more than 500 000 Sinti and Roma and 6 million Jewish people, and at a time of growing antigypsyism and antisemitism, political leaders and institutions bear responsibility for building societies supporting inclusion and for protecting our democracies. The European Civil Rights Prize of Sinti and Roma represents a signal to political leaders, the media, and social groups that they must adopt measures against this centuries-long, deeply-rooted antigypsyism with the aim of overcoming the everyday marginalization of the Romani minority."

At the close of the program, a public pledge by MEPs to continue to combat antigypsyism will be presented in the Anna Politkovskaya Press Centre. The final day of Roma Week, 21 March, is symbolically timed to fall on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.