Center “Amalipe” will gather generations of Roma activists in a open conversation about the Roma movement.
The eighth of April is International Roma Day. It was proposed as such by the International Romani Union (Romani Union), and since 1992 it has also been recognized by the UN and the Council of Europe. Today, all the institutions of the European Union recognize and even celebrate 8 April as International Roma Day.
On this day, we commemorate the half a million Roma who was murdered during the Second World War, when the Nazis carried out a systematic Holocaust against the Roma as well. However, the reason why it is the eighth of April that is Roma Day has to do with the fact that on this day in 1971 the first World Roma Congress began in London, which adopted the Roma anthem and flag. Since then, we have celebrated it as a symbol of the Roma movement, of Roma from all over the world uniting in their quest to fit equally into the globalizing modern world. The preservation and renewal of the Roma identity is an important part of this process: an identity that preserves the original Roma values but breaks the patriarchal shackles of the modern Roma; an identity that incorporates the identities of different groups and bridges them. Because only a person proud of his identity can be equal.
In connection with the 50th anniversary of the first World Roma Congress in 1971, a number of events and activities are planned in Bulgaria and Europe to mark this special day in 2021. Due to the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, all of them will be organized online.
Therefore, Amalipe Centre will organize a discussion forum “OPRE Roma! We are not alone! Let’s move forward!
The aim of the event will be to give Roma activists from several generations the opportunity to discuss the achievements, challenges, and lessons learned of the Roma movement over the last 50 years, as well as to chart the direction in which, with united efforts, we must move forward towards the modernization of the community.
The discussion forum will bring together several generations of Roma activists, representatives of NGOs, representatives of the European Commission and the Informal Group of Ambassadors for Roma Inclusion (IGARI), teachers, mediators, and Roma youth. It will be opened by a ceremony broadcasted simultaneously from several places in Bulgaria for commemorating the memory of the Roma killed during the Holocaust, followed by a video message on behalf of the Roma day from ambassadors from IGARI.
All the participants will be welcomed by H.E Muriel Berset Kohen, Swiss Ambassador to Bulgaria and Chair of IGARI.
The date and venue of the meeting are 8th April, from 12 to 15h, at the audio and video conferencing platform Zoom!
We are all lucky to live in the era of Roma awakening and to contribute to its happening. This is also our responsibility! We look forward to having a productive conversation and generating ideas, inspiration, and energy for a positive continuation of our common cause – equality and unity!
The event will be broadcasted live on Amalipe FB page
For further information, please, contact:
Atanas Atanasov, cor.amalipe.vt@abv.bg
Galina Decheva, amalipe.vt@gmail.com