European Roma Institute

The European Roma Institute is proposed as an independent organization with the mission of increasing the self-esteem of Roma and decreasing negative prejudice of the majority towards the Roma by means of arts, culture, history, and media.The idea of a European Roma Institute originates from discussions by Roma intellectuals over the past four decades. Prestigious Romani arts and culture organizations in Europe, prominent artists, cultural producers, and intellectuals are convinced of the value of this initiative supported by the Open Society Foundations, which formally approached the Council of Europe with the proposal of a partnership establishing the institute.This concept paper elaborates the principles underpinning the European Roma Institute project, and the institute's goals, functions, budget, and governance structure. The following are members of the Alliance for the European Roma Institute: European Roma Cultural Foundation, Romedia Foundation, Romano ButiQ, Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma, Katalin Barsony, Dr. Nicoleta Bitu, Dr. Ethel Brooks, Timea Junghaus, Sead Kazanxhiu, Saimir Mile, Andrzej Mirga, Anna Mirga, Dijana Pavlovic, Nadir Redzepi, Romani Rose, Dr. Iulius Rostas, and Mihaela Zatreanu