03/04/2023
FSG
The Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG) joins, for another year, the celebration of April 8, International Roma Day, a day to show the pride of being Roma, and claim the right to recognition and equality.
The celebration of 8 April recalls the history of this People and pays homage to the Roma victims of the different persecutions throughout the centuries. A celebration that commemorates the 1st World Roma Congress, held in London in 1971, in which the flag (blue and green with a red wheel) and the anthem Gelem, Gelem were adopted as their own symbols.
The International Roma Day is the time to commit as a society, as a country, to the full equality of Roma men and women. Equality, starting from the recognition of diversity and the value of a distinct cultural identity, but which is also a part of the shared history and culture.
Despite the advances, many Roma continue to be behind and at a great distance from the rest of society in the enjoyment of fundamental rights such as decent employment, quality education, decent housing or the right not to be discriminated against. The institutional recognition of the Roma People, as well as the guarantee of equal opportunities and treatment for Roma men and women, must be an effective commitment of the public authorities.
The Fundación Secretariado Gitano takes advantage of this date to launch pieces to raise social awareness and value the Roma culture. This year, we have produced a poster and an animated video for social networks, based on the “Bronce y Sueño” (Bronze and Dream) urban mural, located in Don Benito (Badajoz). A scenario that has served to set up a photo session with the protagonists of the mural, Rocío and Paco, and other children, young people and Roma families summoned by our FSG Don Benito team.
The image on the poster represents the pride of being Roma with the embrace between the two sieblings and the verse from Lorca's “Gypsy Ballads” superimposed. Jonatan Carranza Sojo is the creator of the mural, which was one of those selected for the Street Art Cities 2022 international contest. The photo session was carried out by Ana Palma, author of the images of the FSG posters from the 2020s (“For our elderly people") and 2021 ("Stand with Ukraine").
The celebration of 8 April in Spain includes different events at the local, regional and state level, among which we highlight:
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