Category Archives: Slovenia

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and the Holocaust

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Slovenia and the Holocaust

The article discusses the violent actions of communist partisans in Sodražica during May 1942, including the murder of 16 Roma and other locals, highlighting the impact of these events on the community.

It references the historical context of the region, including the rise of communism and the experiences of local families during the war, particularly the Kozina family.

While it is true that partisans executed Roma and others during the war, this is aprt of a new narrative in Slovenia whereby all crimes during the war were committed by others …  As a reminder, let’s just say the mayor of Ljubjana vetoed the transfer of Roma victims to the local cemmeraty devoted to victims of World War Two.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma Soul

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Roma Soul

The project “Roma Soul Food” explores Roma musical and culinary traditions through interviews with community members in three countries, resulting in a collaborative album.

The initiative emphasizes the connection between food and music as vital elements of Roma culture, fostering community ties and storytelling.

Despite being one of Europe’s largest ethnic minorities, Roma communities face significant social exclusion, with low feelings of inclusion reported in Serbia, Greece, and Slovenia.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Summer Camp

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Summer Camp

A five-day summer camp in Slovenia, organized by the Creative Youth Association in collaboration with the Sports Union of Murska Sobota allowed children to explore various professions through play, creativity, and movement.

Activities included visits to local institutions such as Radio Romic, the Murska Sobota Police Station, and the Health Center, where children learned about different careers and community roles.

The camp emphasized creativity, teamwork, and respect for various professions, culminating in an exhibition of the children’s work, showcasing their experiences and new friendships formed during the camp.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma Settlement

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Roma Settlement

Representatives from the Office for Nationalities visited a Roma settlement in Dolga Vas to discuss the challenges faced by the Roma community and share best practices for their inclusion and empowerment.

Roma councilor Nataša Horvat highlighted the responsibilities and challenges of representing the Roma community, emphasizing the need for perseverance and courage in creating positive change. The discussions underscored the importance of mutual respect, collaboration, and honest dialogue in achieving sustainable changes for the community.

Frankly, with the small number of Roma in the country, this problem could have been solved earlier…

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Really?

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Really?

A Slovenian Roma community representative in Brezje–Žabjak claims that a 19-year-old pregnant woman was left homeless after her residence was demolished without prior notice from authorities.

The representative is urging the mayor and local government to provide temporary housing for the woman and to clarify the legal basis for the demolition. The community seeks to legalize their homes and is willing to purchase land, emphasizing the need for cooperation and respect from local authorities.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Settlements Infrastructure

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Settlements Infrastructure

In 2026 and 2027, the Slovenian municipalities of Črenšovci, Rogašovci, and Šalovci will receive financial support to improve communal infrastructure in Roma settlements as part of a government initiative.

A total of 12 municipalities applied for funding, with Črenšovci receiving nearly €118,000 for a sewage pumping station, Rogašovci receiving €156,000 for road reconstruction and €250,000 for a sewage network, and Šalovci receiving €65,000 for infrastructure improvements.

These investments aim to enhance living conditions in Roma communities, promoting health, education, and economic development, thereby fostering social inclusion and reducing disparities.

It says a lot that sewers and roads still need funding in 2026… What have they done til now?

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Is it Normal?

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Is it Normal?

Zoran Stevanović, before becoming the president of the Slovenian parliament, made various controversial statements online as a local politician.

In a specific post, he said: Bratje Romi, ena 5G antena vsebuje 10 kg bakra in celo pol kg platine. Pa ponoči jih noben ne čuva. Samo da veste. Brothers Roma, one 5G antenna contains 10 kg of copper and even half a kg of platinum. And no one guards them at night. Just so you know.

His comments reflect a longstanding attitude rather than a new development after his election to the national assembly.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Attack

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Attack

Several articles in the Slovenian press about a violent incident where a 28 years old man was injured and needed to he hospitalised. The attackers were apparently Roma, but the police confirmed that the attack was not random and involved individuals who knew each other.

Bad reporting, and bad news…

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Education in Slovenia

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Education in Slovenia

Eleven Roma students from the Kher šu beši Day Center visited the mayor of Trebnje, Mateja Povhe, after regularly attending school and center activities. The mayor emphasized the importance of education for achieving their dreams and encouraged the children to continue attending school for better opportunities.

The municipality of Trebnje is actively promoting the inclusion of Roma children in education, recognizing it as essential for their personal development and successful integration into society.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Education in Slovenia

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Education in Slovenia

Borut Rončević, a sociology professor at the university of Novo Mesto and current minister of Eudcation in the Slovenian government, speaks about his plans and views. Specifically about Roma, he says there is a need for a comprehensive approach to addressing the challenges faced by Roma children in schools, emphasizing collaboration across various sectors including education, social policy, and local communities. He highlights the importance of accountability among parents, teachers, and the state in ensuring that all children, regardless of their background, achieve basic educational standards. He insists on the equal application of laws for school attendance, something that is being reproached to Roma regularly.

What he did not discuss is the profound issues of exclusion and racism faced by Roma in the region.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenian Conference

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Slovenian Conference

The conference focused on the development of the Roma community’s position over the last two decades, current challenges, and strengthening Roma activism and representation.

Key speakers emphasized the importance of collaboration between state institutions, local communities, and Roma representatives, highlighting the need for connecting formal rights with real-life improvements.

Discussions included Slovenia’s legal and financial framework for the Roma community, the significance of targeted funding, and the ongoing challenge of linking mechanisms to measurable outcomes and effective participation in decision-making.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

No Racial Profiling?

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No Racial Profiling?

The Slovenian Advocate of the Principle of Equality has halted an investigation into alleged ethnic profiling of Roma during tax enforcement procedures, concluding that no discrimination occurred.

The investigation was initiated due to concerns about vehicle seizures in joint operations by the Financial Administration and police, examining whether Roma were treated unequally based on their ethnicity.

The Advocate found that authorities acted within legal frameworks and based on objective circumstances, with the main reason for enforcement being unpaid debts to the state, not ethnic background.

News Eastern Europe Serbia Slovenia

Slovenia: International Conference

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Slovenia: International Conference

An international conference in Murska Sobota, Slovenia, gathered representatives from Roma communities and organizations across Europe to discuss the progress and challenges faced by Roma people over the past two decades.

Dalibor Nakić, president of the National Council of the Roma National Minority, highlighted advancements in education and political participation for Roma in Serbia, attributing these to collaboration with state institutions and civil society.

The conference showcased successful integration examples, particularly the Pušča settlement, recognized for its developed infrastructure and community organization, serving as a model for local development for Roma in Slovenia.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Conference

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Slovenia: Conference

An international Roma conference is taking place in Murska Sobota, focusing on the progress, challenges, and future of the Roma community, twenty years after intensified policies were initiated.

Jožek Horvat Muc, president of the Roma Community Council, noted some improvements due to political measures, but highlighted ongoing issues like access to education, housing, and basic utilities. The conference emphasizes the need for greater Roma involvement in decision-making and a coordinated EU approach to address the community’s challenges.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Settlements

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Slovenia: Settlements

The Minister of the Interior and Public Administration, Franci Matoz, met with Mayor Gregor Macedoni to discuss current security conditions in the municipality of Novo mesto. The Mayor made himself known by taking drastic measures against Roma linking social services as well as warer and electricity to “good behaviour”.

The meeting focused on issues related to the Roma community and illegal construction, emphasizing the need for collaboration between various government departments and local authorities. The Minister confirmed the government’s commitment to addressing Roma issues through inter-departmental cooperation, acknowledging that narrow departmental approaches have hindered effective responses to challenges in southeastern Slovenia and Posavje.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Young Roma in Slovenia

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Young Roma in Slovenia

The article discusses an international roundtable event focused on creating an open society for youth, held in Murska Sobota, Slovenia, which brought together various stakeholders in youth work.

Key topics included challenges faced by marginalized youth, the importance of education and active participation, and the role of local communities in supporting youth initiatives.

Participants emphasized the need for collaboration among local communities, schools, NGOs, and youth to foster inclusive and quality youth work, highlighting the significance of international programs like Erasmus+.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: New Project

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Slovenia: New Project

A new Slovenian project addresses the prevention of early and forced marriages, gender equality, women’s empowerment, and combating anti-Roma sentiment to enhance the skills of public officials working with the Roma community.

A training session was held online on June 12, 2026, focusing on various aspects of working with Roma youth, emphasizing inter-institutional cooperation and the role of social work centers. The training included presentations from government representatives and educational leaders, highlighting the importance of education in the lives of Roma youth and sharing best practices in inter-institutional collaboration.

Nice, but what is the impact?

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and WWII Victims

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Slovenia and WWII Victims

The Slovene National Assembly has passed a law regarding the burial of victims of post-war killings. According to the article, the left continues to label as an ‘ideological law’ and a source of ‘division’. The article argues that this law is a necessary civilizational duty to address the thousands of unburied victims of communist terror, supported by archival documents.

It recounts historical atrocities committed by communists, including the execution of innocent civilians, emphasizing the need for the law’s implementation as a moral obligation.

Roma were also killed by Partisans in Slovenia. From mid-May 1942, communists partisans forcibly gathered and drove a large group of Roma from below Krim, from Vrblje and Podpeč into the gorge. At Benkov meadow, they shot everyone in a row without a shred of mercy: children, young people, old people, men and women. At that time, 43 innocent victims ended up in a common grave, which turned Iška into one large cemetery.

What the article fails to mention, is that the mayor od Ljbljana, who is not a leftist, denied the burial of these Roma victims in local cemetary for war victims … This all is part of a narrative whereby Roma were not killed by Slovenes, but by partisans only (some of which were indeed slovenes).

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia, Kindergartens, and Roma

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Slovenia, Kindergartens, and Roma

The municipalities of Šentjernej, Škocjan and Šmarješke Toplice are facing challenges in integrating Roma children into kindergartens. Despite the large number of Roma families, the enrollment of Roma children in kindergartens is very low, which raises questions about the success of integration efforts. It seems that the problems with the admission of children have been successfully addressed in the aforementioned municipalities, but we still rarely encounter Roma children in kindergartens.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Kindergarten and Roma

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Kindergarten and Roma

An article about the fact that there are almost no Roma in Kkindergarten in a Slovenian region that has several Roma settlements. According to the article:

Although there are many Roma people living in the municipality of Šentjernej, and around 70 Roma children attend primary school, this is not reflected in kindergarten enrolment. According to the principal, not a single Roma child currently attends the kindergarten.

“Despite our efforts, we have not managed to collect enough applications for a shorter program funded by the state and intended for children who do not attend kindergarten before entering school.”

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