A very good review of what the AI videos of a Romni singer, “Lolit Cercel” actually mean.
After a very long time, Vienna will erect a memorial to the Roma and Sinti victim of the Holocaust in the Weghuberpark in Vienna-Neubau, built in front of the Ministry of Justice.
Over the past five years, approximately 2,700 Roma have applied to the Employment Service, but only a third of them—29.3%, or 790—have found employment. According to Inga Nomeikienė, Advisor to the Employment Service’s Service Organization Department, one of the biggest challenges in finding employment is low education. “Approximately 30 percent of these clients have no primary education, and more than half have only primary or basic education. Illiteracy is common among older Roma. Only a few have secondary education or vocational qualifications.”
There was a Roma music festival in Tallin.
In Croatia Roma officially constitute a community of around 18,000 people, although the actual number is many times higher.
Although the position of Roma has gradually improved in recent years, their social status and level of human rights protection still lag significantly behind the average of the majority population. They are often associated with specific and difficult social and economic circumstances – living in settlements without basic infrastructure, without permanent employment and, especially, without administratively regulated aspects of life, from personal documents and legalization of land and houses to working in the grey zone.
A movie from 2017 about Django Reinhardt. While other Sinti across Europe are persecuted, Django’s popularity allows him to feel safe – until the Nazis try to send him on tour to Germany. Django refuses. His Parisian lover helps him, his pregnant wife, and his mother go into hiding near the Swiss border. There he meets members of his extended family, who are also on the run. He plans to cross Lake Geneva into Switzerland, but the Nazis are hot on his heels.
Well, the Swiss denied him Entry …
Amnesty criticizes Slovakia for constitutional amendment: Changes are part of a shift from democracy to authoritarianism.
In Slovenia, discrimination remains one of the key problems in ensuring human rights, Amnesty International Slovenia warns. The Roma population still faces it on a daily basis and at a systemic level all too often.
According to the Travellers’ Times, Covid saw an undercounting of the impact of the Covid epidemy on Travellers and Roma.
After years of complaints and repeated police operations, the Berlin authorities are finally pulling the plug: The controversial Roma accommodation in the “BB Hotel” in Berlin Schöneberg will no longer be used to house the homeless, with many Roma under them.
There are Roma in Cyprus, and they are facing the same disrcimination that exists in many other countries.
French news last week were dominated with a reportage from TF1, state TV about how minors are exploited by Roma networks to maximise gains. Again, this might be part of the reality, but how it is presented is simply pandering to sterotypes and extrapolating to all Roma. In brief, a racist narrative.
Other news, the usual: closure of a camp near Orange, in the Sotuh of France, and a fight between Roma (according to the extreme right Breizh info).
In the twenty-second review episode of the SODAcast podcast, its authors Zdeněk Ryšavý and Patrik Banga return to this year’s celebrations of International Roma Day, the reception of Roma personalities at Prague Castle, and the debate on changes in the Agency for Social Inclusion. They also address the case of Václav Sivák, who wore a sweatshirt with a Russian flag at a press conference, the police crackdown on children in Most, and other events of recent weeks.
Lolita Cercel, created virtually with the help of artificial intelligence, is a star in Romania and beyond. Her genre, “Balkan trip-hop”, combines traditional Roma melodies with modern pop, dance and electronic rhythms and has long since become part of the mainstream music scene. But, in addition to fame, she is also the target of critics. “The instrumentalization of Roma culture”, someone called her. According to critics, while real Roma artists are often underestimated, a “virtual, racially charged and dehumanized Roma identity” is suddenly gaining ground.
Women Leaders Create First Inclusive Social Laundry in Nerubayska Community in Odessa Region. In the social laundry, vulnerable families can not only use services free of charge, but also wait out the power outage, chat, drink tea, and receive psychological or social support. Another task of the “Pure Dignity” project is to overcome stereotypes: public prejudice against the Roma community, and among Roma families themselves, caution in interacting with services.
On the occasion of International Roma Day, the Roma National High School last week invited young people to a youth event in the Borta Open House (OHO). Young members of the Roma, Croatian and Hungarian ethnic groups participated. The main topic was networking and involving young people in political processes.
A press release announcing that Sofia will host the XV World Roma Congress, which will be held in the period 29–31 October 2026. The event is organized by the Association “United Civic Initiatives – OGI E ROMENGO” with chairman and main organizer Toma Mladenov.
According to the organisers, Delegations from over 40 countries are expected to participate, as well as representatives of international institutions such as the UN, the Council of Europe and the European Union. The forum is expected to be one of the most significant international events related to the Roma community in recent years.
The Roma mayor in the Garmen neighborhood “Kremikovtsi” in the Blagoevgrad region of Bulgaria was detained as part of a specialized police operation.
There are two detainees, and the home of a deputy mayor of a municipality is being searched based on reports. During searches of the home of one of those being searched, an illegal gun was found.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the opposition Slovakia Movement presented a series of findings that, according to its representatives, point to the systemic misuse of European money intended to help Roma communities. Representatives of the movement pointed out suspicious subsidies, conflicts of interest, personal connections and a commission mechanism in projects in Roma settlements.
They are calling for the dismissal of the Slovak Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities, Alexander Dašek, from his position. The Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities (ÚSVRK) rejects the movement’s claims. It called them purposeful disinformation.
A Rom frokm Slovakia was honoured by the Association for Culture, Education and Communication (ACEC) for successfully promoting the re-diagnosis of a Roma boy from a special school, thanks to which the boy was able to continue his education at a regular elementary school in Zvolen.
Well, it says effectively a young Rom was sent to a special school for mentally disadvantaged children just because of his etnicity.
English (UK) English (UK) 
Deutsch
Français