Today marks International Roma Day
April 8 is International Roma (Gypsy) Day, which celebrates Romani culture and contribution to society as well as raising awareness of the ongoing issues that the Romani people face throughout the world.
The day was officially declared in 1990 in Serock, Poland, the site of the fourth World Romani Congress of the International Romani Union (IRU), in honor of the first major international meeting of Romani representatives, 7-12 of April 1971 in Chelsfield near London.
This was important day not only because it gather Roma activists internationally, but because it marks the beginning of political organizing and advocating globally for their rights.
In all countries of the Western Balkans Roma people are still one of the most vulnerable social groups who are systematically being discriminated against and marginalized, who are denied of their basic rights and who have been living in poverty and social exclusion.