International Roma Day is marked around Europe to celebrate Romani culture and raise awareness of the situation of Roma and human rights issues they face. The Council of Europe is organising a number of events in the run-up and on the day.
On 5-6 April in Seixal (Portugal), the results of 3 years of implementation of the ROMED2 programme will be organised at a workshop which will gather participating municipalities as well as representatives of the Roma communities and authorities of several municipalities that wish to initiate the ROMED process. On 6 April the participants will take part in the European Seminar on the Roma Communities, organised by the Secretary of State for Citizenship and Equality, that will launch the revision of the National Strategy for Roma inclusion.
On 7 April in Strasbourg, a Training session on the socio-economic integration of Roma will take place from 8:45 to 17:00 in the Palais de l’Europe, Room 10. The training is organised by the Council of Europe together with the City of Strasbourg, in partnership with the European Association for Local Democracy, in the framework of the project "Combating discrimination against Roma in education and employment in the European Union". For registration, please contact Anaïs Cosco.
On 7 April in Strasbourg, a Photo exhibition “Roma in France, the Road to Successful Integration” featuring works by Sandro Veltin will open at 19:00 in the City Hall of Strasbourg (Hôtel de Ville, 9 Rue Brûlée). The exhibition consists of portraits and testimonials by French citizens of Roma, Sinti, and Yenish origin or belonging to the Traveller community (“Gens du voyage”). The exhibition organized by the Council of Europe and the City of Strasbourg will be open until 15 April. To attend the opening of the photo exhibition, please register with Annick Stroh.
On 8 April in Strasbourg, to mark the International Roma Day, the Lieu d’Europe will open its doors to the visitors from 14:00 to 20:00. The Open Day will include short movie screenings, a theatre play, a round table discussion and musical performances. The day will finish with a Roma Jazz concert by the band “Muhi Tahiri & Friends”. The Open Day is organised by the Council of Europe and the City of Strasbourg. Contact for more information.
On 8 April in Strasbourg (European Youth Centre), the Council of Europe will organise a training course for young people to work on the question of perceptions and participation (“Kéténé”, meaning “together” in Romani). The event is organised in partnership with the French No Hate Speech Movement and the organisations ARPOMT-GDV (Association de Recherche Pédagogique Ouverte en Milieu Tsigane-Gens du Voyage), LATCHO ROM STRASBOURG and Le Collectif Européen des minoritiés discriminées.
See more about the Council of Europe’s work with Roma and Travelers
Contact: Tatiana Baeva, tel. +33 3 88 41 21 41
+33 3 88 41 25 60