Newsroom
OSCE/ODIHR supports activities surrounding the International Roma Day
Warsaw 5 April 2000
WARSAW, 5 April 2000 - The OSCE/ODIHR Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues supports a number of awareness-raising activities organized on the occasion of the International Roma Day on 8 April 2000. The main focus of this year's events will be Kosovo, where the ODIHR, as part of its Action Plan and in co-operation with the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, is organizing a number of public activities, including a series of cultural events with the participation of a group of famous Roma artists from Norway. The activities take place in Roma communities throughout the province and constitute the first high profile public manifestation of Roma in Kosovo since the end of the armed conflict.
"We must maintain and develop our Roma culture, encourage new dynamism in our communities and forge a future compatible with Roma lifestyle and beliefs. We have been passive for long enough", says Nicolae Gheorghe, the ODIHR Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues. "This International Roma Day is a good opportunity to make further progress in raising awareness of the particular situation of Roma in many OSCE countries."
The ODIHR Contact Point also co-ordinated activities commemorating the International Roma Day in a number of other countries, including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In this context, the Contact Point welcomes the official presentation of a study on 'Roma in the OSCE Countries' by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities on the occasion of the International Roma Day on 8 April.
The International Roma Day is celebrated in commemoration of the First International Roma Congress in London in 1971, which marked the beginning of a co-ordinated effort to promote Roma rights at an international level.
For further information please contact Mr. Nicolae Gheorghe, ODIHR Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues, Tel.: +48 603 793 786 (mobile).
"We must maintain and develop our Roma culture, encourage new dynamism in our communities and forge a future compatible with Roma lifestyle and beliefs. We have been passive for long enough", says Nicolae Gheorghe, the ODIHR Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues. "This International Roma Day is a good opportunity to make further progress in raising awareness of the particular situation of Roma in many OSCE countries."
The ODIHR Contact Point also co-ordinated activities commemorating the International Roma Day in a number of other countries, including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In this context, the Contact Point welcomes the official presentation of a study on 'Roma in the OSCE Countries' by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities on the occasion of the International Roma Day on 8 April.
The International Roma Day is celebrated in commemoration of the First International Roma Congress in London in 1971, which marked the beginning of a co-ordinated effort to promote Roma rights at an international level.
For further information please contact Mr. Nicolae Gheorghe, ODIHR Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues, Tel.: +48 603 793 786 (mobile).