Category Archives: Slovenia

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Roma Integration

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Roma Integration

Progress in Roma Integration, Establishment of a Regional Health Center, Further Development of the Economy, and Solving the Housing Problem are the Four Key Tasks Set by Kočevje Mayor Gregor Košir for 2025. He also expressed satisfaction that the municipality is not among the most indebted, which allows it greater flexibility in planning projects.

As Košir emphasizes, one of the key problems in Roma integration is their low employment rate. Of the approximately 800 Roma living in the municipality, only a few individuals are regularly employed. Therefore, one of his priorities will be to increase employment among the Roma population. In cooperation with the Employment Service, they are planning to launch the Romano program, which will be aimed at solving this problem.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Romani Policewoman

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Romani Policewoman

Among Slovenian police officers, there also are several Roma who are trying to build a bridge between the Roma and the majority population. One of them, a policewoman from the Murska Sobota Police Station, works in the field of Roma issues and multiculturalism.

As she told STA, her goal is not only to provide advice when working with the Roma, but also to participate in various events. “Above all, I am a bridge of communication between the Roma and the rest,” she said.

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Slovenia and Roma

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Slovenia and Roma

An article about a politician asking how much money has been spent on Roma projects in the Roma settlement of Dobruška vas, where around 350 people live in the Municipality of Škocjan. A new kindergarten was inaugurated recently after the previous one was destroyed by arson. But apparently, this is the third time, money has been spent on a kindergarten.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma and Slovenes

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Roma and Slovenes

Relations between the Ribnica Roma, the municipal administration and the majority population have long been at a standstill, the state must put an end to this. On March 2, 2014, 16 Roma men and women from two Slovenian Roma settlements filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights for violation of the right to water. These are the settlements of Dobruška vas in Škocjan and Gori. They lost their case in 2022. But the situation has not improved at all…

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Elderly People

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Slovenia and Elderly People

A series in Radio entitled “A Bench Under the Free Sun” talks to Micka, a 74-year-old pensioner, who lives in a housing unit of the Public Housing Fund of the City of Ljubljana. On her father’s side, she has roots in the Roma community, where she also spent her childhood. She shares with us the challenges and trials she has faced throughout her life. She describes the discrimination she has faced as a Romni, who, despite poverty and difficult circumstances, maintains her identity and family ties. In the conversation, we learn how life has shaped her view of the world.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Crime and Slovenia

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Crime and Slovenia

The Slovene Minister of the Interior Boštjan Poklukar says that Slovenia is one of the safest European countries and that its crime rates are very low. The article goes on to say that “many people are probably left with a bitter taste when they remember the problems caused by Roma in parts of Slovenia or the past epidemic of robberies in Ljubljana by migrants”.

Bad.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Role Models

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Slovenia and Role Models

Sandi Horvat, editor, journalist and host of Roma radio and television programs on the national RTV speaks very openly about the problems and challenges of the Roma community, without shame, and at the same time proudly says that he is Rom. He gave a talk in the Fran Metelko Škocjan Elementary School.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Municipal Funding

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Slovenia: Municipal Funding

Currently, funds for the integration of Roma are allocated according to the size of the municipality, not aligned to the number of Roma who live there. This may be changing, if the current discussions come to an agreement.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia, Roma, and Schools

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Slovenia, Roma, and Schools

The Slovene government is working on a package of measures that address key areas such as access to education, housing conditions and security. Among the proposals is the mandatory inclusion of Roma children in kindergarten a year before primary school and the abolition of the higher child allowance for children who are not included in preschool education.

In plain text: if children do not go to Kindergarten, there’s no more money.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma

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Slovenia and Roma

The final conference of the international ACE project, led by the Roma Association of Slovenia took place in Murska Sobota. The project, done in cooperation with partners from Italy and Spain, lasted two years and had a clear goal: to empower young and older Roma and political stakeholders for better cooperation and inclusion. According to the project team, the project has positioned Slovenia as an example of good practice, as it is the only one of the participating countries with an adopted law on Roma and a national program for Roma. “Slovenia is a bright spot of the project, because with legislation and experience we can contribute a lot to other countries,” emphasized Škerlak.

Well, judging by the Slovene press, this seems highly doubtful…

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma in Slovenian Education

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Roma in Slovenian Education

Bojana Rozman has been a Roma assistant at Bršljin Primary School for more than 13 years, and her work week is always dynamic. Providing learning assistance, working with a social worker, resolving conflicts between students and visiting a Roma settlement are just a few of the activities of many Roma assistants. Together with other school employees, they solve the problems of Roma students.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Antigypsyism

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Slovenia and Antigypsyism

The Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Nationalities recently published an invitation to participate in a public prize competition for children and young people entitled Together against Anti-Gypsyism.

Roma representatives greeted the idea, but there are several politicians and parties who criticise this as a waste of money.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Humour?

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Slovenia: Humour?

A Slovenian Radio produced a “humorous” video clip as a parody of a new measure introduced by the Slovenian government about the right to disconnect, i.e. the right not to answer emails.

Their parody involves a debt-ridden Rom who tapped into the water supply and complains about the water “cutoff”.

Bad.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Campaign against Racism

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Slovenia: Campaign against Racism

The Slovenian government campaign Together against anti-Gypsyism has upset residents living near Roma, as well as Roma. The Government Office for Nationalities explained that by announcing a prize-winning competition for children and youth entitled Together against anti-Gypsyism, they want to tackle so-called anti-Gypsyism, which is an internationally accepted and established term.

In communes with a Roma minority, people have started protesting saying “what will a 4th grader in SE Slovenia, who has a Roma classmate four years older than him, who bullies him every day and demands money from him, think about this prize game?”

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Access to Water

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Slovenia and Access to Water

Representatives of Amnesty International Slovenia, Roma organizations and Roma people warned at a press conference in Ribnica that a fifth of Roma settlements in Slovenia still do not have drinking water, even though the right to water is guaranteed as a human right under the constitution. They therefore called on the government with a special petition to provide water where it is not yet available.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma Settlements

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Slovenia and Roma Settlements

An interview of Jasna Hudorovič, a 60-year-old Romni who was born to a single mother in Gornje Lepovče, Ribnica. She has now lived in the Roma settlement in Goriča Vas near Ribnica for forty years and has been without water and electricity her entire life.

This says it all …

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia, Roma, and Employment

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Slovenia, Roma, and Employment

The employability of Roma in Slovenia remains a challenge, as they face high levels of unemployment and limited employment opportunities. According to data from 2002, about 15% of Roma were employed, while 85% were unemployed. They are for bright exceptions that prove that this is also possible. This is the case of Đani Stojanovič, who works at Komunala Novo mesto.
Why no journalist ask how one gets at such numbers if governments do admit they do not know how many Roma live in a country?

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma Workers

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Slovenia and Roma Workers

An article about Unemployment programs and their success in enrolling people in long term jobs. Well, for Roma it doesn’t seem to work. And in Slovenia, one often hears that Roma are not interested in working. Maybe it’s the employers who are not interested in Roma…

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