News

Czech Gov't Agency for Social Inclusion may see even more quitters

23.5.2015 15:54 Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier (Czech Social Democratic Party - ČSSD) has not yet begun to look for replacements for the 14 staffers of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion who have given notice because of their disagreements with him. The announcing of those hiring procedures will wait until a new director is found for the Agency.  full story

Commentary: What will the Agency be like once its employees give notice?

23.5.2015 14:30 On 21 May, 14 employees of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion gave their notice. The resignations happened more than one month after the dismissal of Agency director Martin Šimáček, which jump-started a crisis within that institution and a tempestuous discussion about its future and about Romani integration policy.  full story

Alexander Oláh: A brief report on the emancipation, integration, and participation of Roma

23.5.2015 8:02 It is completely surprising, but the current Romani Integration Strategy is actually beginning to be implemented. This has never been the case before - the previous Romani Integration Concept was mostly about photographs of former Human Rights Minister Micahel Kocáb and was basically never implemented at all.  full story

Czech Gov't Agency for Social Inclusion staffers resign after meeting with PM

23.5.2015 6:37 The crisis at the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion, which began with the unexpected dismissal of its director, entered a new phase on 21 May when 14 employees gave notice. News server Romea.cz publishes their joint statement in full translation below.  full story

Václav Havel's 1995 speech at the unveiling of the Lety memorial

22.5.2015 11:26 This year marks the 20th anniversary of the unveiling of the modest memorial to the victims of the so-called "Gypsy camp" at Lety by Písek by Czech President Václav Havel. News server Romea.cz publishes the speech he made on that occasion in full translation here.  full story

Czech ethnology students' strike does not achieve removal of director, but they have bigger plans

22.5.2015 9:58 A strike by some ethnology students at Charles University in Prague has not succeeded in its aim of removing Marek Jakoubek, director of the Institute of Ethnology, from his post. "The strike is over, but our initiative is not," the students announced on 12 May.  full story

Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner criticizes Norway for taking Romani children into care

22.5.2015 9:21 Half of the children from Norwegian Romani families in Oslo are in foster care or at risk of being removed from their birth families by the courts. Nils Muižnieks, the Human Rights Commissioner at the Council of Europe, has included that information in his current report on Norway.  full story

New director of Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion will be announced next week

22.5.2015 8:09 Seven candidates have applied for the position of director of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion. A three-member hiring committee met on 18 May to review their applications.  full story

They weren't just victims: Roma, forgotten heroes of the anti-Nazi resistance

21.5.2015 7:59 History has treated them just as unfairly as contemporary society often does. The brave Romani people who fought as partisans or as soldiers against the Nazis are heroes who are invisible today.  full story

Commentary: Will the pig farm on the Roma Holocaust site still be part of the Czech reality in 2020?

20.5.2015 8:23 What takes place around the pig farm in Lety by Písek continues to tell us important, interesting things about Czech society, about the level of our public discussions, about the nature and purpose of protest, about communications inside the Romani community, and about pro-Romani and Romani activists here. Much has already been written about the scandal of this farm, which is located on the site of a former concentration camp where hundreds of Romani people perished and from which others were sent to their deaths at Auschwitz, and the basic arguments about and problems with the farm are absolutely clear.  full story

Czech PM: Agency for Social Inclusion will remain part of the Human Rights Minister's agenda

20.5.2015 6:56 Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka believes the situation at the Agency for Social Inclusion will gradually calm down. He has also rejected its employees' demands for the Agency to be removed from the agenda of Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier.  full story

Amnesty International campaign for equal access to education for Roma in the Czech Republic

19.5.2015 16:47 A campaign called "Letters in the Streets" (Dopisy v ulicích) by the Amnesty International (AI) organization is focusing on the right to education in the Czech Republic. Students at 10 schools from various parts of the Czech Republic will be taking to the streets with cards for people to sign asking for the assurance of equal access to education for people in the Czech Republic, Iran, and Sierra Leone.  full story

Czech Republic: Boxing club offers Roma a new start

19.5.2015 9:10 Combining a tough sport like boxing with activational social services for youth and their parents is not exactly a tradition in the Czech environment - unlike, for example, the United States. However, the unusual combination of an uncompromising commitment to boxing, a community education center, and work in the social sphere can sometimes set something in motion that is more than the sum of its parts.  full story

Gyulla Banga: The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion is about Roma without them

19.5.2015 6:52 The goings-on around the Agency are genuinely embarrassing. It's a farce!  full story

Czech state removes children of Romani arson victim from her care

18.5.2015 21:40 At the beginning of May the trial continued at the Regional Court in Plzeň in the matter of the allegedly organized group that has been using the names "Blood and Honour" or "Combat 18". Some members of the group, according to the indictment, are said to have carried out an arson attack on a residential hotel occupied mostly by Romani families in the West Bohemian town of Aš in 2012.  full story

Czech Republic: Romani association ARA ART wins prize for workshop supporting the LGBT community

18.5.2015 20:40 On Sunday, 17 May, the eve of the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, the Mecca club in Prague was the venue for an awards ceremony held by the PROUD organization for actions supporting the emancipation and recognition of the LGBT community. The award for Action of the Year was given to the Romani association ARA ART for a workship it held for LGBT Roma.  full story

France building a wall around Romani camping site

18.5.2015 19:54 The French town of Wattrelos, located on the border with Belgium, is erecting a wall around a campsite that is reportedly used by Romani people. The 2.4 meter high barrier will extend to the border.  full story

Czech Human Rights Minister informs mayors about the future of the Agency for Social Inclusion

18.5.2015 19:38 Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier met today with 14 mayors of cities and towns collaborating with the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion, accord to a press release from his ministry. The Agency is currently in a crisis: Most of its employees have protested the minister's dismissal of the director of the Agency and disagree with the planned changes to its work.
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Interview with Zeljko Jovanovic, Director of the Roma Initiatives Office at the Open Society Foundations

18.5.2015 13:53 Zeljko Jovanovic is director of the Roma Initiatives Office (RIO), which aims to strengthen the voices and leadership of Roma with respect to improving public policies and services in Europe. Since the fall of the socialist regimes in Europe, Zeljko says he has witnessed "new claims for justice" being made in the context of those emerging democracies. He has published several articles in a variety of media such as The Guardian, La Repubblica, Foreign Policy Blogs, Romea.cz and on the RIO blog and is the co-author of the book From Victimhood to Citizenship: The path of Roma integration (2013, CEU Press).  full story

Commentary: Is the fight over the Agency really about Romani integration?

17.5.2015 8:25 The dispute between employees of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion and Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier began with the dismissal of the Agency's director Martin Šimáček. By now, however, it has completely grown beyond a mere clash over who will be director - although who that is going to be is still an important issue.  full story