Partecipanti:

Filippo Focardi

Giulia Simone

Paola Degani

Lorenza Perini

Bendetta Accordi

Partner:

Centrul de Cercetari Culturale si Sociale "Romane Rodimata”, Romania
Deina APS, Italy
 Stowarzyszenie Romow w Polsce, Poland
Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy
Sucar Drom, Italy
Culture Hub Croatia Platforma Za Edukaciju Kreativnost I Poticanje Razvoja Kroz Kulturu,  Croatia

Abstract:

The public recognition of the Roma genocide is recent. This produced 4 main consequences: 1) Only a minority of memorial sites are internationally recognised as memorial landmarks (as the Zigeunerlager), 2) most camps are only nationally recognised as having hosted Roma people, 3) only a few EU countries have a dedicated Roma genocide remembrance policy, 4) many memorial sites are at risk of destruction because they survive only in the memories and oral accounts of Roma and Romni (Roma women). Meanwhile, there is a wealth of research and materials produced recently, most of it is only available at the national level, in national languages, and with a national perspective.
The aim of the project is thus, to promote a stronger interconnection between existing cultural hubs, to collect the fragmented materials and website into a single online Virtual Museum, to produce digital cartography of the existing memorial sites, and to study and compare the multilevel Roma remembrance policies in Europe, to produce an education toolkit and to generate new research based on the Roma knowledge.
In this effort, it will be important to maintain an intersectional approach with particular attention paid to the role of Roma women, both as victims and producers of oral knowledge. Moreover, the project will take the shape of a participatory action research project in which Roma communities (120 people) are going to be coresearchers, rather than the target of the research.
The expected impact is the creation of an international network of cultural hubs (physically connected by an existing website), the recognition of at least 20 international memorial sites with direct involvement of the local communities (560 people), the diffusion of the toolkit to at least 2,000 EU citizens, the creation of the "City of Remembrance International network", the organization of 3 international conferences: on Roma women and genocide, on Roma genocide remembrance policy, and a European-wide cultural trip.

Obiettivi:

The project aims to address the historical marginalization and insufficient recognition of the Roma genocide, fostering greater awareness and inclusion in European collective memory. By leveraging participatory approaches and involving Roma communities as active agents in research, education, and cultural initiatives, the project seeks to achieve the following overarching objectives:
    Raise Awareness of the Roma Genocide: Enhance public understanding of the historical events surrounding the Roma genocide, ensuring its recognition as a European-wide tragedy and not merely a series of isolated national events.
    Promote Inclusive Memory Policies: Develop and advocate for policies that integrate the remembrance of the Roma genocide into national and transnational frameworks, addressing gaps and fostering inclusivity.
    Create and Disseminate Knowledge: Establish a comprehensive repository of historical data, oral histories, and memorial sites through the development of the International Virtual Museum on Roma Genocide, making these resources accessible to educators, policymakers, and the general public.
    Foster Community Engagement: Engage Roma and non-Roma communities in shared remembrance activities, encouraging dialogue and collaboration to strengthen social cohesion and mutual understanding.
    Combat Anti-Gypsyism: Use education, cultural initiatives, and remembrance activities as tools to challenge and reduce stereotypes, discrimination, and hate speech against Roma communities.
    Establish a Transnational Network: Create the Cities of Remembrance International Network, connecting cultural hubs, municipalities, and organizations across Europe to promote collaboration, sustainability, and the dissemination of the project’s outcomes.
These objectives align with the broader European Union goals of fostering equality, inclusion, and the preservation of diverse historical narratives.

Piano delle attività:

The project is coordinated by the Steering Committee (WP1). The project develops in three phases:

1. participatory action research (WP2, WP3, WP4 and WP5);
2. engagement of the local communities (WP6, WP7, WP8, WP9);
3. dissemination activities (WP10, WP11, WP12, WP13).

While the research is split into two main halves (history and policy), the first four WPs together constitute the backbone of the whole project and shall be considered a single Participatory Action Research. They share the same structure and common methodology aiming at identify at least 5 new sites of remembrance exploiting Roma knowledge and providing the Roma community with the possibility of telling their own stories.

At the same time the four middle WPs (WP6, WP7, WP8, WP9) are crucial to engage local communities and municipalities into publicly recognise the “new” memorial sites. These events will focus on taking people to sites of persecution and extermination of Roma people, to renew the historical memory of these events through the accounts of experts and researchers. At least three new sites in Croatia, Italy,Poland and Romania will be visited. During this process the consortium will promote the creation of the “Cities of Remembrance International Network” among European municipalities, with a dedicated invitation to all municipalities. A mobile cenotaph will allow the project to organize the events in the absence of political will. Finally, the last four WPs are interlinked dissemination activities which flesh out from the previous 8 WPs: the educational toolkit (WP10), the academic conference (Romnja conference) (WP11), the Remembrance policy conference (WP12) and the International Virtual Museum on Roma Genocide (WP13).

Contatti:

matteo.bassoli@unipd.it

Flowchart of the activity Plan.pdf

Download