On 8 April, the Roma and Travellers team of the Council of Europe organised the annual Roma Day celebrations, in the presence of the “Roma Youth Together 2024” seminar, the Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty, and the Chair of the Committee of Experts on Roma and Traveller Issues, Manuel Demougeot. Members of the Council of Europe staff and Permanent Representations attended as well.

The speakers discussed the importance of fighting discrimination against Roma people while recalling the significant contributions of Roma and Travellers to European culture and history. The event’s purpose was both to celebrate Roma identity while advocating for greater respect, equality, and human rights for this community. The ceremony’s highlights were the performance of the Romani anthem Djelem Djelem and the tossing of flowers symbolising the unity of people around the world.

International Roma Day also provided the opportunity to cast further light on joint EU-CoE Roma-related projects, those being ROMACTED, Roma Integration III, ROMACT, INSCHOOL, and EQUIROM, which aim to improve the inclusion and education of Roma people, and fight against their discrimination.

The ROMACTED project, active across seven countries of the Western Balkans, aims to promote good governance and the empowerment of Roma communities at the local level. The ultimate goal is to allow for a better delivery of public services to Roma people by enhancing democracy, accountability, inclusivity, and responsiveness of local authorities towards these communities. It is a joint project with the EU Commission’s Directorate-General for European Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations. 

Also co-organised by the EU Commission’s Directorate-General for European Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations is the Roma Integration III programme. In a similar fashion to ROMACTED, it aims to help the governments in Turkey and the Western Balkans address the issues faced by Roma communities in the development of national strategies.

The Joint Programme ROMACT, organised with the EU Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, strives to build up political will and understanding of Roma inclusion at local and regional levels. Based on national and European policy frameworks for Roma inclusion, this programme recognizes that local and regional initiatives are critical to improving the lives of Roma communities in essential areas like housing, employment, education, and health.

The INSCHOOL project, organised with the EU Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture seeks to support inclusive education and the desegregation for Roma children in four countries, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Romania and the Slovak Republic, by contributing to the development of their national capacities. 

The “Equality and Freedom from Discrimination for Roma” (EQUIROM) programme, organised with the EU Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, seeks to advance equality for Roma people in South Eastern Europe. The objectives of EQUIROM are based around fighting stereotypes perpetuated in the media, promoting a greater mutual understanding, and empowering Roma women and youth in the fight against antigypsyism. To that end, EQUIROM has developed activities to train journalists, create communication campaigns and bring together public authorities and representatives from Roma communities.

If you are interested, you can find out more about the work of the Roma and Travellers team here, and the different joint EU-CoE Roma-related programmes here: ROMACTED, Roma Integration Phase III, ROMACT, INSCHOOL, and EQUIROM.

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.