Roma, their History, Culture, Traditions, and News

  • The Roma
    The Roma
    Roma are variously known as Rroma, Gypsies, Tsiganes, Tsigan, Gitanos or Gitans, as well as Sinti, Cale, and many other names. They are Europeans, having arrived...
  • History
    History
    Apart from the non-controversial fact that Roma come from India, the rest of the Roma early history is a subject of controversy. When did Roma...
  • Language
    Language
    Roma have an Indian based language, a discovery of 1753.  Romanes, or Romani Čhib, is the language of the Roma. This fact is little known...
  • Traditions
    Traditions
    The Roma culture is not a written one and has kept its unity and consistency in spite of savage assaults. Traditions were one of the...
  • Music
    Music
    What is Roma music? What is Roma music? This seemingly innocuous question has fed quite an industry. From the 18th century onward, musicians, scientist have...
  • Reports
    Reports
    All reports presented here are strictly copyrighted to the Rroma Foundation Zürich. These reports were compiled by our staff while on surveys in various countries.
  • Questions & Answers
    Questions & Answers
    When hearing about Roma, when reading about them, a wealth of clichés, generally accepted “truths” and statements are always present. This summary presents the most...
  • Galleries
    Galleries
    These galleries are either the work of amateurs, documenting the situation in a specific region at a specific time (for example in Bosnia in 2001,...
  • Literature
    Literature
    Various informations and references on Rroma and on this site.

Who are Roma? Where do they come from? What is the difference between Roma, Sinti, Gypsies, Cale, Tsiganes, Zigeuner, Travellers? Do they have a language? Where do they come from? How many are there in Europe? What are their traditions?

These and many more questions are treated at length in these pages on Roma, history, language, traditions, music, but also in shorter form in the questions and answers page.

The page also has resources on literature, reports and many more items.

Recent News on Roma

  • Commission on Discrimination
    October 6, 2026
    A commission has been established to address historical discrimination and institutional injustices faced by Sinti and Roma in post-war Germany,...
  • Slovak Teachers
    October 6, 2026
     Teachers in Slovakia face complex challenges beyond just delivering lessons, often acting as psychologists, mediators, and advocates for their students,...
  • Council of Europe on Racism
    October 6, 2026
    The Council of Europe reports an alarming rise in racism and hate speech in Europe, particularly against Romani communities, which...
  • Serbian Elections and Roma
    October 6, 2026
    The Roma Party claims that socially vulnerable citizens and Roma were pressured to attend a pre-election rally of the SNS...
  • Dimitar Georgiev
    October 6, 2026
    Dimitar Georgiev is a Roma activist, filmmaker, and producer known for his work on Roma rights and culture. He is a...
  • Manifestation
    October 6, 2026
    Residents of the "Iztok" Roma neighbourhood in Kyustendil—home to 15,000 people—organized a "Say No to Drugs!" protest. Locals report a...
  • City of Pain
    October 6, 2026
    The autobiographical bestseller "City of Pain" is set to be adapted into a television series, with filming already underway in...
  • Recruitment Office
    October 6, 2026
    An incident occurred in Khust, Transcarpathia, Ukraine, where a man opened fire near a military recruitment center and attempted to...
  • “Gypsy Fest”
    October 6, 2026
    The recent International “Gypsy Fest” in Vilnius was a colorful highlight of the Folk Fair, celebrating its 10th anniversary with...
  • Slovak Roma Projects
    October 6, 2026
    A total of €335,845,065 was utilized last year to implement the action plan for the Strategy for Roma Equality, Inclusion,...
  • Reparations
    October 5, 2026
    Historian Joey Rauschenberger presents a nuanced analysis of post-war reparations for the Genocide for Sinti and Roma, revealing surprising findings. A...
  • French Chronicle …
    October 4, 2026
    Four associations have filed a complaint against an "illegal ethnic file" maintained by the gendarmerie regarding Roma and travelers. The...
  • Job Market
    October 4, 2026
    The United School in Čaklov is launching a project aimed at helping disadvantaged students integrate into the job market, with...
  • Corruption?
    October 4, 2026
    Former Hungarian cultural minister Balázs Hankó has been accused of misusing cultural funding to support his political campaign, particularly through...
  • Roma in Serbia
    October 4, 2026
    The president of the Roma Party, Srđan Šajn, criticized a recent rally by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in Belgrade,...
  • Kostadin Kostadinov
    October 4, 2026
    Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of the political party 'Vazrazhdane' and presidential candidate, attended a peaceful protest in the Sofia neighborhood of...
  • Romania – Conference
    October 3, 2026
    The National Agency for Roma, in partnership with the National Center for Roma Culture "Romano Kher", organized a series of...
  • Roma Students and Police …
    October 3, 2026
    In the Maramureș County for the 2026-2027 school year, there are 3,872 Roma students enrolled, including 306 high school students. During...
rroma.org
en_GBEN