EWC will play an important role in developing the educational activities at the new Roma and Sinti Centre in Prague. Planned to open in March 2023, the new centre is part of the Czech strategy for Roma integration and will serve as a meeting place to learn about Roma culture and history.
“This is a modern way of thinking about the use of museums – as an educational arena and as a meeting place. We are confident that the center can link historical events with current themes that concern everyone. I believe it will help make the local community more inclusive and help prevent hate speech”, said Norwegian ambassador, Robert Kvile, at the ceremonial presentation of the new Roma and Sinti Center in Prague.
As one of Europe´s most marginalised minorities, the Roma face discrimination and exclusion from the societies in which they live, including access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, and housing. Recognizing the need to address the Roma situation in the country, the Czech government adopted a five-year strategy in 2015 aiming to eliminate the unacceptable differences between the majority population and the Roma minority.
As part of this strategy, and in order to strengthen the knowledge about and interest in Roma culture and history among the minority and majority population, the Museum for Romani Culture in Brno has been assigned the task of developing and managing the new Centre for Roma and Sinti in Prague. The centre will serve as a place to learn about Roma culture and history, as well as for intercultural encounters and dialogue.
8 September 2020, the Museum of Romani Culture invited national and international guests to visit the villa and surrounding garden located in the neighbourhood of Dejvice, Prague. The public event included a guided tour of the villa – which will undergo reconstruction until summer 2022 – and an introduction to the history of the facilities.
As project partner, EWC will contribute to the conceptualization of the educational and awareness raising services that the centre shall provide for schools and youth, as well as the training of trainers working at the centre. “In addition to teaching about Romani history, our focus is on education about democracy and human rights […], and the EWC´s experience in this is very valuable”, says Head of the Center, Olga Vlčková. EWC has previously worked with several museums across Europe, specifically related to the development and implementation of educational approaches and methodologies.
“Thanks to the perspective and experience of EWC experts we will discover a new approach to such educational work, become acquainted with the philosophy and methodology of EWC, and together create a pilot educational program for the Center for Roma and Sinti when it opens in Prague”, Ms. Vlčková adds.