A new report finds systemic racism against Roma in the Czewch Republic. Not suprising, but sad.
The scary politician from the motorist party in Czechia, now in coalition government…
An article about the fact that there are gifted children among Roma … Clearly so, but not for everybody. Statistics and new studies show that there are thoughtful and bright children among them, but as a society we have great reserves in recognizing and supporting them.
“In segregated schools, talent is usually not talked about, and if it is, it is in the context of artistic or sports talent. Roma children are good at boxing, music and dance, but not at mathematics,” describes Karel Gargulák from the research company PAQ Research, how Czech society is used to thinking about certain groups of the population. “
Segregation is bad, just think of the USA …
An interview with Sára Kaplanová on prejudice, her job as a nurse, and on her social media presence.
The 1990s were wild. No exaggeration. The old order fell, the new was just being born, and in between, there was room for people who were not afraid to do things a little differently, so to speak. One of the most prominent figures in the underworld of that time was Antonín Běla. A man who, according to experts, was not exactly the smartest, but in reality he didn’t particularly mind. He had a “knack for people” and was able to build an empire around himself that other gangsters could only dream of.
A radio show in Serbia presenting the work of the prominent Czech linguist and ethnographer Milena Hübschmanova, a pioneer in the research of the Romani language and culture. She was among the first to lay the foundations of Romani studies in the then Czechoslovakia and one of the few who dedicated her life to the study and preservation of the Romani language, recording folk tales, songs and life testimonies of the Roma. Her work was of enormous importance for the affirmation of Romani identity and education, and her studies continue to serve as the basis for contemporary research on the Roma in Europe.
On December 20, 2025, the dance-theatre production Kali Sara, patron saint of the Roma premiered at the Horácký Theatre in Jihlava, which tells the story of the Romani patron saint and symbol of Romani identity through dance and theatre. The original performance was presented by children and young people from the art groups Lole Čhama and Bare Kalore, active in the AV-Amari Vysočina association. The production touches on the themes of equality, prejudice, trust and belonging.
Two members of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs, David Tišer and Gwendolyn Albert, have terminated their membership in this advisory body. They decided to resign after careful consideration in response to the development of the political environment in the Czech Republic, in which political entities and positions that openly or indirectly question the basic principles of human rights, equality and the protection of minorities are gradually being legitimized.
Roma have long been portrayed in limited and stereotypical roles in Czech media and film – as victims, perpetrators or caricatures. Alica Sigmund Heráková, founder of the Tuke.TV platform and the TUKINO film festival, talks about why authentic Roma stories, Roma authors and diverse characters are missing in audiovisual media in the new episode of the SODAcast podcast.
An Interview with the director of the Czech Museum of Roma Culture Jana Horváthová. She was asked what issues from her own family did she have to deal with?
“Throughout my childhood and youth, I considered my Roma origin to be a kind of mark of Cain,” she says.
The well-known Roma musician Gejza Horváth can tell you at length how they celebrated Christmas. He was born in 1948 in Písečná in the Šumpersk region, but spent his childhood in the settlement of Kolinovce near the Slovak town of Krompachy. He comes from a musical family and was already playing with the biggest bands in Slovakia at the age of twelve. So he was definitely not bored at Christmas. In Gejza Horváth’s childhood, Roma would go around the village to play carols for the gádže
“The first step must be taken by oneself – to believe that one can achieve everything one dreams of,” says Romani writer and activist Sally Cortés in an interview.
The Roma football club, which was founded without a pitch and without money, today attracts the attention of opponents and spectators throughout the district. SK Roma Mělník had to fight for its place in football. “I was excited, but at the same time I knew that starting from scratch would be incredibly difficult,” says its chairman and player Dominik Malinský in the DROMcast podcast.
The Hermeniculum Association is preparing the first translation of the Constitution of the Czech Republic and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms into the Romanes. It will be created as part of the Romani version of the book Constitutional (Disorder) in Pictures, which will be published by Wolters Kluwer. The translation is intended to symbolically and practically strengthen the position of Romani in the public sphere and draw attention to the importance of not only the linguistic rights of national minorities.
Well, not sure of the purpose.
Nick Ferenc is an actor and musician who breaks stereotypes about Roma in the Czech public space. He studied alternative and puppet theatre at DAMU, dubbed the character Tibor in the English version of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and is heading to the new series Oddíol B, directed by Petr Kolečko. “We Roma are not portrayed as characters, but as Roma,” he says in the podcast Režim neršit.
In the December review episode of SODAcast, podcast authors Zdeněk Ryšavý and Patrik Banga look back at the key events of the end of the year. In addition to the newly published Report on the Status of the Roma Minority and the debates surrounding anti-Gypsyism, they also address one of the most controversial moments of the current political situation – the nomination of Filip Turek as Minister of the Environment in the emerging government of ANO, SPD and Motorists.
A Roma business fair was held at the Grandior Hotel in Prague on November 27, presenting successful examples of business, a space for sharing experiences and new opportunities for cooperation. The event was created as an extension of an educational project focused on community development and entrepreneurship, implemented by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
Education, community projects, consulting, activism, writing and support for Romani culture and identity. All of this belongs to the world of Janka Plešková, a native of Slovakia, a student at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University.
“As far as I can remember, I have always lived in two worlds, Romani and non-Romani. And I searched for myself for a very long time, I did not know where I belonged.”
A day-long series of workshops called Phen oda romanes (Say it in Romanes) took place in Prague. The aim of the project is to support the development of written Romani and to connect novice and experienced authors, journalists, translators and students of Romani studies from both the Roma and the majority society.
More than three dozen Roma children from Ostrava have had their first rehearsal of a new choir. This is the only regional branch of the well-known choir Čhavorenge under the direction of singer and choirmaster Ida Kelarová. They will rehearse regularly and hope that it will change their lives.
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