First-ever European Roma Spirit 2016 award nominations include news server Romea.cz
This year for the first time the European Roma Spirit Award (ERSA) will be given to express appreciation for activities, individuals and projects supporting the
integration of Romani people in Europe and contributing effective, functional solutions to the problems the Romani community faces. The award is administered by the
Association for Culture, Education and Communication (ACEC) together with the Open Society Foundation under the auspices of the Slovak Ministry of Labor, Social
Affairs and Family Ján Richter and the Slovak Government Council on the Romani Community.
During this first year, a total of 65 nominations were submitted from 23 European countries. The final three nominations in each of the five categories were decided by
a jury comprised of EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumer Protection and Equal Opportunities Věra Jourová, Czech composer and political activist Michael Kocáb, Andrzej Mirga of the Roma Education Fund, Mirjam Karoly of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and Esther Brooks of Rutgers University (USA).
The awards ceremony will take place on 10 October in Bratislava, Slovakia.
The nominees are:
1. Non-Governmental Organization: Impreuna Agency for Community Development (Romania), Fundación Secretariado Gitano (Spain), NGO Young Roma–Herceg Novi (Montenegro)
2. Company, Organization & Employer: Hospital Network Antwerp (Belgium), The Roma Education Support Trust (Great Britain), The Center for Education Development (Poland)
3. Media: TV Šutel (Macedonia), Romea.cz (Czech Republic), Romani Union of Slovenia (Slovenia)
4. Municipality: Spišský Hrhov (Slovakia), Berlin-Neukölln (Germany), Graz (Austria)
5. Personality: Veijo Baltzar (Finland), Ivailo Tournev (Bulgaria), Sabiha Suleiman (Greece)
National-level Roma Spirit Awards
The national-level versions of the Roma Spirit Awards have a longer tradition than the European one does – for example, this is their eighth year in Slovakia. The
deadline for nominations for Roma Spirit in Slovakia this year is 13 October.
In the Czech Republic the award will be give for the sixth time and the deadline for nominations is Friday, 30 September. The mission of Roma Spirit, which in the
Czech Republic is organizaed by the Michael Kocáb Foundation in collaboration with Open Society (Otevřená společností, o.p.s.), and the Musuem of Romani Culture, is to appreciate and popularize the work of individuals and organizations contributing to improving the situation of Romani people in the Czech Republic.
Nominations to any category can be sent by any resident of the Czech Republic through a simple online form. The nominated actions or activities must have taken place
between December 2015 and the end of September 2016.
After Friday it will no longer be possible to nominate candidates. The Roma Spirit award ceremony in the Czech Republic takes place on the occasion of International
Human Rights Day, 10 December 2016, at the Prague Crossroads.
