News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovene Local Elections

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Slovene Local Elections

There are challenges in ensuring candidates and voter participation among the Roma community in local elections, often leading to low turnout or no candidates at all.

Darko Rudaš, president of the Forum of Roma Councilors in Slovenia, notes a gradual increase in candidates, indicating growing recognition of the importance of participation in local governance.

Concerns about elected representatives forgetting community issues or serving personal interests contribute to low trust and participation, suggesting a need for mechanisms like recall options for councilors.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Project

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Slovakia: Project

Development teams in Slovakia will receive over 28 million euros from European sources to assist marginalized Roma communities with employment, education, housing, and social issues.

The project, named Development Teams II, aims to build on the successes of the previous initiative, Development Teams I, which helped over 2,600 families and improved living conditions for many.

The new initiative will also focus on the professional development of team workers to better meet the needs of local residents.

News Switzerland

Travellers in Zürich

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Travellers in Zürich

The Canton of Zurich is expanding a transit site for travelers in Vorderen Pfannenstiel, allocating 3.2 million Swiss Francs for the project. New sanitary facilities, including toilets, showers, and utility connections, will be added to meet minimum requirements for the site.

The site will also feature 20 new visitor parking spaces, with plans for 60% of them to support electric mobility.

One has to know that “Transi” Sites are solely for “foreign” travellers (i.e. Roma), while other camping sites are reserved to Swiss travellers, i.e. Jenische and Sinti.

Austria News Western Europe

Roma in Austria

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Roma in Austria

Josef Schmidt, born in 1971, grew up in a former Roma settlement in Burgenland, Austria, and faced discrimination during his school years, including being called derogatory names.

A recent police warning about “traveling people” has reignited feelings of discrimination among Roma, with Schmidt expressing concern that it unfairly stereotypes all Roma.

Organizations like Romano Centro in Vienna support both long-standing and newly arrived Roma and Sinti in Austria, focusing on employment, crisis support for women, and educational assistance for students.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Southern Slovenia and Roma

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Southern Slovenia and Roma

Three government ministers met with mayors from southeastern Slovenia and Posavje to discuss security and social issues in areas with Roma populations, as well as potential solutions.

The mayors expressed concerns that security has worsened despite police presence, reiterating similar sentiments from three months ago.

Interior Minister Franci Matoz acknowledged that while police are fulfilling their duties, the security situation remains unsatisfactory, emphasizing the need for improvements in the judicial system.

Mayor Gregor Macedoni highlighted the importance of addressing social policy and employment for Roma communities, focusing on the root causes of public order violations.

Economic Minister Anže Logar stressed that social benefits should come with responsibilities, urging Roma to engage in community work and improve their employment rates.

Hungary News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Expensive Kindergarten

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Expensive Kindergarten

The Hungarian state provided 460 million forints for the construction of a Reformed kindergarten in Tiszacsernyő (Slovakia); however, construction has not yet begun, despite the 2025 deadline.

According to an article by *Napunk*, the Reformed Christian Church in Slovakia requested the funds on November 27, 2023, and the Bethlen Gábor Fund Management made the decision regarding the matter on December 9, 2024. Under the grant agreement, the kindergarten was to be built by December 31, 2025, with the financial and professional reports submitted by January 30, 2026. However, construction has not yet started. The site in question is covered in municipal waste and overgrown vegetation.

Germany News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Poland

ERIAC head on AfD

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ERIAC head on AfD

Anna Mirga, who heads ERIAC, comments on the recent victory of the AfD in Sachsen Anhalt and on some of the comments somf prominent AfD politicians have made regarding Roma. One AfD MP ordered people she identified as Roma to sweep the streets. Tino Chrupalla, the AfD deputy leader and Bundestag MP suggested that a cache of weapons found in a forest near Berlin had likely been lost by Roma people who had “gone mushroom picking.” he oldest stereotype—that Roma are criminals and backward people—served as a cheap political ploy. The crowd laughed.

Greece News Western Europe

Roma Education in Greece

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Roma Education in Greece

The 1st Conference on the education of Roma students will take place in Volos, Greece, involving various stakeholders from education, local government, academia, and the church, aiming to address ongoing issues and promote inclusive schooling practices.

The conference will focus on combating school ghettoization and establishing organized educational programs for Roma students, emphasizing the need for safe transportation, teacher training, and supportive structures.

Activities will include presentations and workshops with mixed groups of Roma and non-Roma students, showcasing successful educational practices to foster a democratic and inclusive school environment.

Germany News Western Europe

Educational Mediators

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Educational Mediators

Adelina Dibu is one of five educational mediators in Hagen, Germany, and identifies as a Romani.

She promotes integration at Friedrich-Harkort-Grundschule and Grundschule Gewecke.

The article highlights her role in supporting educational initiatives for marginalized communities.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenian Mayoral Elections

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Slovenian Mayoral Elections

A pre-election discussion on improving employment for the Roma community will take place in Novo mesto, involving mayoral candidates and Roma representatives.

The event is organized by the Regional NGO Center and aims to find practical solutions for better integration of Roma into the labor market.

The discussion is part of a broader initiative involving 12 regional NGO networks across Slovenia, with local elections scheduled for November 15.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Illegal Building

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Illegal Building

Authorities demolished an illegally constructed building in the Roma settlement of Brezje–Žabjak, following a legal order from the construction inspectorate.

The police provided protection during the demolition, as the building was erected without proper permits on municipal land.

The municipality of Novo mesto has been actively working towards the legal regulation and gradual legalization of Roma settlements for several years.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

ECHR on Serbia

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ECHR on Serbia

The European Court of Human Rights today delivered its judgment in Pavlović v. Serbia, ruling unanimously that Serbia violated Article 8 (right to respect for private life) of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to protect a Romani child’s physical and psychological integrity who was the victim of a violent assault.

News Eastern Europe Romania

Outing Oneself

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Outing Oneself

Mihai Neacșu, director of the National Center for Roma Culture, highlighted that only one-third of Roma in Romania openly identify with their ethnicity due to stigma and fear.

He emphasized the importance of promoting historical truth about the Holocaust and shared historical documents showing Roma soldiers pleading for their families not to be deported during the war.

Neacșu recounted a poignant story of a Roma man who wished to be buried standing, symbolizing the struggle for dignity and identity among the Roma community in Romania.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Housing in Serbia

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Housing in Serbia

A significant number of Roma in Serbia live in informal and substandard settlements, lacking access to basic utilities and safe living conditions, prompting YUROM Center to call for prioritizing housing solutions for Roma by state and local institutions.

On International Housing Day, YUROM Center emphasizes that adequate housing remains unattainable for many Roma families and is a matter of human rights and Serbia’s European integration.

The organization urges authorities to prioritize housing issues for Roma through investments in infrastructure, social housing, and measures to prevent further segregation, asserting that adequate housing is essential for dignity and equal participation in society.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Forced Evictions

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Forced Evictions

The forced eviction of Roma families from their homes in Bulgaria leads to severe long-term consequences, worsening social isolation and vulnerability, especially for children.

A report by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee highlights that 90% of eviction orders since 2012 target Roma homes, despite widespread illegal construction across all ethnic groups.

The report calls for legislative changes to ensure protections against arbitrary evictions and emphasizes the need for social housing policies and training for authorities on housing rights.

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Roma Press Centre

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Roma Press Centre

The Roma Press Centre (RSK) is set to move into a space previously occupied by Radio C, with a unanimous decision from the City Assembly to lease the space at a 66.6% discount for 5+5 years.

RSK aims to create a Roma civil center that will host other organizations and media initiatives, promoting collaboration rather than subletting the space.

https://rroma.org/wp-admin/post-new.phpThe center will focus on Roma community issues, with plans to establish a full-time editorial team and produce content that addresses topics often overlooked by mainstream media.

Germany News Western Europe

Commission on Discrimination

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Commission on Discrimination

A commission has been established to address historical discrimination and institutional injustices faced by Sinti and Roma in post-war Germany, comprising equal representation from both minority and majority communities.

Michael Brand emphasized the importance of this commission as a crucial step in systematically addressing injustices that occurred after 1945.

The commission aims to make experiences of injustice visible, close knowledge gaps, and derive consequences for the present and future, with support from the Foundation for Remembrance, Responsibility, and Future (EVZ).

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovak Teachers

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Slovak Teachers

 Teachers in Slovakia face complex challenges beyond just delivering lessons, often acting as psychologists, mediators, and advocates for their students, especially in classrooms with high numbers of marginalized Roma students.

A recent study found that while teachers in these environments experience significant stress, the presence of Roma students alone does not correlate directly with increased burnout; rather, it is the additional responsibilities and lack of support that contribute to their stress.

The study emphasizes the need for more support for teachers, such as the presence of educational assistants, to help them manage their expanded roles and ensure quality education for all students.

Europe

Council of Europe on Racism

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Council of Europe on Racism

The Council of Europe reports an alarming rise in racism and hate speech in Europe, particularly against Romani communities, which often goes unnoticed.

Adèle Sutre highlights that anti-Romani racism is perpetuated by political actions and persistent stereotypes, with many Romani people being unfairly labeled as nomadic despite most being sedentary.

In Sweden, foreign Roma are denied free healthcare available to other EU migrants, and the economic struggles of Romani women in Romania, particularly florists, are exacerbated by rising prices and online competition.

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