On April 8, the Roma community all over the world is observing the 50th anniversary of the first World Congress of the Roma, which took place in April 1971 in Orpington, near London. The opening day of this event was declared International Roma Day. At this congress, Czechoslovakia was represented by Miroslav Holomek, Tomáš Holomek and Ján Cibuľa, a native of Klenovec, Slovakia. Ten years later, Ján Cibuľa was the main organizer of the second Roma Congress and also the first president of the International Romani Union (IRU), which became a UN observer organization.
On the occasion of the jubilee anniversary, Andrea Bučková, the Slovak Government proxy for the Roma Minority said that even after 50 years, the Roma minority continues to face significant inequalities and various forms of discrimination. This is especially true for people who live in an excluded and marginalized environment. According to Bučková, the national strategic framework for Roma equality, inclusion and participation until 2030, which was adopted by the Slovak Government on 7 April 2021, displays political responsibility regarding the issues Roma face in Slovakia today.
"If the lives of Roma communities are to truly improve, the Roma must be the authors, managers and controllers of policies aimed at eliminating inequalities between marginalized groups and the majority," reads the statement by Peter Pollák (OĽANO), Member of the European Parliament and former Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities. This ethnic group is the largest minority group in Europe with around ten million members.
