Exchanging knowledge and experience with foreign partners about marginalization of the Roma in society and their lives in poor socio-economic conditions will be the objective of the Annual Meeting of the Gypsy Lore Society and its Conference on Gypsy Studies.
The Slovak capital of Bratislava will host the event from Thursday, 11 September, to Saturday, 13 September. “I am confident that the conference will contribute to a better understanding and knowledge of the historical, cultural and social similarities and differences of ethnic groups that have lived for centuries in the EU. Such knowledge is essential for finding the right solutions to overcome the problems that this minority has been facing for a long time in Slovakia and in Europe,” stated director of the Institute of Ethnology in Bratislava Tatiana Podolinska. According to numbers of the representation of the European Commission in Slovakia more than six million Roma live in the European Union while across Europe their number is estimated at ten to twelve million. It is the largest ethnic minority in Europe, but despite this it is still facing prejudice, intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion.
