2007 Activities

In 2007, OSI Roma programs, such as the Roma Initiatives Office and the Roma Participation Program, and Soros foundations worked to empower Roma communities and change attitudes among the public and policymakers in areas ranging from arts and culture to public health to education and economic development.

Chachipe (“truth” or “reality” in Romany), an online international photography contest organized by OSI and the Open Society Archives under the Decade of Roma Inclusion, sought photos by both professional and amateur photographers that defied traditional prejudiced images of Roma and portrayed Roma as equal and active members in society. Nearly 300 photographers from 18 countries submitted some 2,200 images to the contest. All contest photographs are available on the Chachipe website. The photos were also exhibited in Budapest and will travel to several European cities in 2008.

Another project supported by OSI brought Roma artists to the Venice Biennale contemporary art exhibition for the first time. The Roma pavilion, sponsored by OSI, the Allianz Kulturstiftung, and the European Cultural Foundation, featured Paradise Lost, an exhibition of works by 16 contemporary Roma artists representing eight European countries. The pavilion’s presence at the biennale exposed Roma artists to a wider audience and demonstrated the vital cultural and political contributions that Roma can make to Europe.

Roma women in Hungary are three times as likely to die from breast cancer as non-Roma women. OSI addressed this crisis by organizing a public information campaign designed by local organizations and Roma artists to raise awareness about breast cancer and improve Roma women’s access to screening and early detection services. The Roma Participation Program and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee worked with leading Hungarian cancer organizations on the campaign, which included conferences and “Open Health Day” events providing breast scanning and information about breast cancer and healthy living.

Tuberculosis is another health crisis facing Roma communities throughout Europe. Two OSI initiatives, the Roma Health Project and Public Health Watch, collaborated with the World Lung Foundation, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, and the World Health Organization to make the TB emergency in Roma communities a political priority. The Roma Health Project supported an international seminar on TB and social exclusion, published a policy report, and helped organize a meeting for civil society representatives, increasing awareness of Roma TB issues among policymakers and international health organizations.

An award-winning antidiscrimination campaign in Romania sponsored by the Roma Initiatives Office and the Roma Participation Program integrated the first national-level policy report by Roma researchers, a television series examining relations between Roma communities and the majority population, and TV and live half-time messages from professional soccer players about the dangers of racism and discrimination. As part of the soccer campaign, led by OSI Roma Initiatives fellow Valeriu Nicolae and largely funded by national and international soccer associations, Romania’s president named Banel Nicolita, a popular player of Roma origin, as the ambassador against racism and violence in Romania.

A polling project cofunded by OSI–Sofia demonstrated that information and discussion about Roma integration in Bulgaria can change public opinion. The project initially surveyed 1,344 people on issues involving Roma and housing, crime, and education. From this group, pollsters selected 250 respondents to consider proposals from political parties, the government, and nongovernmental organizations and then attend a two-day meeting. After the meeting, the participants showed increased tolerance toward Roma and lower acceptance of exclusionary policies.

For the 2007 elections, the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society helped NGOs produce a booklet promoting the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities’ expectations on issues such as political participation, education, and the return of refugees. OSI organized a microfinance workshop in Skopje, conducted by OSI’s East East: Partnership Beyond Borders Program, to help Roma communities in Macedonia pursue housing development. The workshop, which was the first time that stakeholders in the region integrated Roma, housing, and microcredit issues, resulted in the establishment of a Roma housing fund in Macedonia.

Legal efforts to advance Roma rights had a major breakthrough in 2007. After eight years of litigation, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that racial segregation of Roma in education is a violation of fundamental human rights. The case, D.H. and Others v. Czech Republic, was brought by the European Roma Rights Centre, an OSI grantee.

To foster reading and creative writing in Roma communities in Bulgaria, the Next Page Foundation, an OSI Information Program grantee, worked with 12 partners in four countries to implement the “Our Stories” project. The project involved children in the creation of books, provided communities with access to age and culturally appropriate materials, and organized mentoring activities between communities and 40 authors, artists, and educators.