Open Society Foundation [to 16 January 2016]
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/issues/media-information

.
Two Milestones Put Romani Cultural Discourse in the Hands of Roma Themselves
January 15, 2016 by Cayetano Fernandez
For the Roma movement in Europe, 2015 was a pivotal year. It was the year Roma intellectuals and activists moved beyond “fixes” to employment, housing, health, and access to education, and embraced a more holistic view of the Roma situation. We took a wider look at majority societies and raised the crucial question: What is wrong with European democracies that they exclude more than 12 million of their citizens at different levels? From segregating Roma students in special schools to forcibly sterilizing Roma women, how can Europe keep blaming Roma for their disadvantaged situation?

This critical approach to Roma inclusion took concrete form last year in two major milestones: the growth of a Romani studies summer session at the Central European University in Budapest, and the establishment of a European Roma Institute to honor Roma contributions to society. Both were landmark advances in letting Roma define who Roma are…