Open discussion Fostering diversity in Roma communities- Roma LGBT was held on 5th April 2019, within implementation of the Joint Programme between the European Union and the Council of Europe ROMACTED Promoting good governance and Roma empowerment at local level and in cooperation with Centre for Women Studies and the Faculty of Political Science of University of Belgrade.
With the aim to meet April the 8th, the International Roma Day, we presented three books dealing with the diversity among Roma community: Gipsy Feminism, by Laure Corradi, professor of the Italian University of Calabria; Romani LGBTQ Intersectional Marginalization and Social Distance, by Dezso Mate, Ph.D. candidate at the Central European University in Budapest and activists for LGBTQ Roma and Roma Rights; as well as the Džuvljarke - Roma Lesbian Existence, by Vera Kurtić, the Council of Europe Project Officers on the Programme ROMACTED and the long-standing activists for women and Roma human rights.
Through its programs, the Council of Europe supports the strengthening of the international networking of Roma LGBT people, while the ROMACTED program focuses on strengthening the Roma community at local level, in which, certainly, different identities exist.
The important message from this event was that diversity contributes to the prosperity of any community and that Roma LGBT do not hesitate to talk about their existence, as well as to share their personal testimonies.
