Author Archives: Roma Foundation

Bosnia News Eastern Europe

Bosnia and Hercegovina

Published by:

Bosnia and Hercegovina

An interesting article stating that the younger generation in Bosnia and Hercegovina is asking for a change in the country, and for stopping the ethnic divide. This ethnic divide is particularly bad for minorities, Roma, Jews, Turks, who de-facto are not represented and are nowhere at home.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Award

Published by:

Slovenia: Award

This year, the Andragogic Center of Slovenia awarded the Roma Academic Club an award for exceptional achievements in the field of lifelong learning in the Pomurje region.

The Roma Academic Club, which is based in the municipality of Puconci, has been operating since 2008. It was founded by a group of students from the Roma community with the desire to connect individuals who share a common goal, education.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

World Roma Congress

Published by:

World Roma Congress

Scholarships for Roma students and a policy against hate speech will be part of the proposals of the Fifteenth World Roma Congress – Sofia ’26 Scholarships for Roma students and a policy against hate speech will be part of the proposals Congress in Sofia.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma in Slovenia

Published by:

Roma in Slovenia

Slovenia is estimating that there are 7,620 Roma residents in 25 municipalities with 80 Roma settlements. Among the municipalities in Dolenjska and Posavje, according to the above estimates, the largest number of Roma is in the municipality of Novo mesto, where approximately 1,180 live in Roma settlements.

When there are so few Roma, why are there so many articles about them being a “threat”?

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czechia and Minorities

Published by:

Czechia and Minorities

The Czech Constitution rejects calling any group of people “parasites” or considering somebody “inferior”, Senate President Miloš Vystrčil (Civic Democratic Party – ODS) explained at the commemorative ceremony for the Romani and Sinti victims of the Holocaust in Lety u Písku, referring to the recent words of Foreign Minister Petr Macinka and Government Commissioner for Climate Policy and the Green Deal, Filip Turek, both of the Motorists for Themselves party. The gathering honored the memory of the victims of the concentration camp for Roma and Sinti that was established in Lety in 1942.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Michal Mižigár

Published by:

Michal Mižigár

In his speech to the commemorative ceremony in Lety u Písku, Czech Republic, Romani scholar Michal Mižigár pointed out that the memorial on the site of the former WWII-era concentration camp for Roma and Sinti is not just a reminder of the past, but also a call to address current racism against Romani people. He spoke to the long struggle for the dignified memorial, the present-day segregation of Romani children in the schools, the forced sterilization of Romani women, and the need to involve Romani men and women in decision-making on matters which affect them.

Austria News Western Europe

Austria, the Police, and Roma

Published by:

Austria, the Police, and Roma

The Austrian Equal Treatment Commission has intervened following a letter from employees of the Neusiedl am See district police command warning the public about Roma and Sinti. Intended as crime prevention information to combat fraud, the now-deleted text of a Facebook post used “a term perceived as discriminatory regarding the Roma ethnic group,” the ministry stated.

Now the interior Ministry is also investigating.

France News Western Europe Uncategorized

French Chronicle …

Published by:

French Chronicle …

Many articles this week about a very young mayor (23 years old) in Western France who is trying to get rid of a Roma camp on the coimmune, an conflict that boiled over with pro-Roma militiants  and with opposistion politicians.

Other than that, near Paris, a new camp on private grounds, and also near Paris, the police is accused of violence against Roma after on policeman shot a young dog in the head during a perquisition in the camp.

Austria News Western Europe

Austria, the Police, and Roma

Published by:

Austria, the Police, and Roma

Representatives of the Roma community have sharply criticized a letter from the Neusiedl am See district police command. The letter warns of criminal activities by the traveller community. The state police command condemns the wording of the letter and intends to conduct an internal investigation.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Alexander Daško

Published by:

Alexander Daško

Since the beginning of Alexander Daško’s tenure as the Slovak government’s plenipotentiary for Roma communities, we would like to point out that instead of defending the interests of marginalized communities, he has become an obedient implementer of this government’s policy. Now, serious doubts have surfaced about his conflict of interest and possible handing over of subsidies to his family, said Ingrid Kosová, a member of the Slovak National Council.

“The public has not yet received a convincing explanation of the issues surrounding more than 700,000 euros for a civic association associated with Alexander Daško, which is currently led by his wife. Equally serious is the information about his wife’s participation in subsidy committees, while Daško refuses to admit an obvious conflict of interest,” the member of parliament added.

There are now calls for his dismissal or  for him to resign.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Commemoration in Lety

Published by:

Commemoration in Lety

On Sunday, 10 May 2026 at 12:00 CET the commemorative ceremony honoring the memory of the victims of the WWII-era concentration camp for Roma and Sinti will be held on the grounds of the Lety u Písku Memorial to the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in Bohemia. The gathering is held by the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust in the Czech Republic with the support of the Czech Culture Ministry and the Foundation for Holocaust Victims.

Austria Germany News Western Europe

Zentralrat on Austria

Published by:

Zentralrat on Austria

The Chairman of the German Central Council of Sinti and Roma, Romani Rose, pointed out that the National Socialists called on the population in 1933 not to buy from Jews and had police and SS troops march in front of Jewish businesses. He was criticising a letter by the Austrian police of the Burgenland warning the population about Sinti and Roma.

Rose appealed to Interior Minister Karner of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) to initiate disciplinary proceedings against those responsible within the police force. He emphasized that the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities entered into force in Austria in 1998. This obligates the state to counteract all forms of anti-Gypsyism. The Central Council stated that the Europe-wide rise of nationalist forces, which often base their political program on racism and incitement and have now become the strongest political force in Austria, is alarming.

Austria News Western Europe

Austria, the Police, and Roma

Published by:

Austria, the Police, and Roma

The Austrian Equal Treatment Commission criticized a letter issued by the Burgenland police authority in Neusiedl on Friday, in which the police warned the population about Roma and Sinti. The letter, the Commissioner argued, perpetuates historical anti-Roma stereotypes. The letter’s instruction not to accept services from members of this ethnic group could constitute an incitement to discrimination, emphasized Sandra Konstatzky, head of the Equal Treatment Commission.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma Funds in Slovakia

Published by:

Roma Funds in Slovakia

After the 2023 elections, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) appointed loyal party member Alexander Daško as the plenipotentiary for Roma communities to decide on the redistribution of money for projects. Daško was given significant authority to gradually decide on the use of approximately 430 million euros out of the total billion that the European Union has allocated to support Roma in Slovakia until 2027. The remaining money is distributed by the ministries of labor, education, and health.

Now he is losing this, and the funds will be managed by the head of the Government Office, Juraj Gedra.

Croatia News Eastern Europe

Croatian Roma Funds

Published by:

Croatian Roma Funds

The Croatian state has published the list of recipoients of the 380’000 Euros allocated to Roma in the country.

  1. ​Roma Association in Croatia “KALI SARA” (Zagreb): 238,000 euros (over 60% of the total budget)
  2. ​Roma Resource Center (Darda): 58,900 euros
  3. Roma Women’s Association “Bolja Budućnost” (Zagreb): 27,000 euros
  4. Roma National Forum Association (Beli Manastir): 21,500 euros

​The funds are intended for information, publishing, culture and events such as the “World Romani Language Day” or the commemoration of the suffering of the Roma in World War II (Samudaripen).

The article bemoans the lack of fund in the Međimurje region.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Khamoro Festival

Published by:

Khamoro Festival

The already traditional international Khamoro festival presents the best of Roma culture from around the world. Visitors can look forward to concerts, an accompanying program and meetings with prominent figures of the Roma music and art scene.

The festival brings a diverse mix of genres from traditional Roma music to modern projects and offers a unique opportunity to experience the richness of Roma culture in the heart of Prague.

Austria Hungary News Eastern Europe News Western Europe

Burgtheater Vienna

Published by:

Burgtheater Vienna

A theater director is commissioned by the Burgtheater Vienna to stage a play by and with Roma actors. He promptly decides to use the real-life biographies of the participants for his piece and has a house from their village dismantled into 3,000 individual pieces in order to rebuild it on the stage of the Akademietheater. Audience and press eagerly anticipate the extraordinary production and hope for maximum authenticity.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Commemoration in Lety

Published by:

Commemoration in Lety

On Sunday, 10 May 2026 at 12:00 CET, the annual commemoration will be held to honour the memories of the victims of what was once a Roma concentration camp in Lety u Písku. The Event is organized by the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust in the Czech Republic (VPORH) with the support of the Czech Culture Ministry and the Foundation for Holocaust Victims.

rroma.org
en_GBEN
de_DEDE fr_FRFR en_GBEN