Brno, Czech Republic: Eminent Romani figures speak at Romipen 2025, broadcast live online by ROMEA TV

Leading Romani artists, experts, and youth leaders from all over the Czech Republic made presentations in Brno on Friday, 20 June at the Romipen 2025 event. The cultural and educational program of this platform, run by the local Romani hub organization, connected different generations through artistic performances, lectures, and personal stories.

There was also an exhibition on stereotypes about Roma. The entire event was available to watch live on ROMEA TV, which is now also offering a video recording of the event.

The cultural and educational event Romipen 2025 took place from 10:00 to 12:00 in the Besední dům in Brno. Five prominent Romani figures made presentations on the new Romipen Stage there: psychologist Monika Berkyová, director of the Compass Charity and holder of the Order of the British Empire Petr Torák, entrepreneur Simon Slanina, educator and musician Oto Bunda, and Romani author and scholar Iveta Kokyová.

The actor Jiří Daniel was the Master of Ceremonies. The program started with historian and Romani Studies scholar Michal Mižigár lecturing on the education and the history of Romani people.

The artistic part of the program was enriched through the performance of traditional Romani dances from Ukraine, performed by the Duo Raňori ensemble, through the hip-hop choreography of the Brown Eyes group from the Cimburkova Elementary School in Prague, and through musical numbers performed by Ota Bunda and Tibor Žida. The organizers of Romani hub emphasized that the Romipen 2025 event is exceptional because it gives space not just to Romani artists, but also to Romani experts, and it draws attention to the contribution of the Roma to society as a whole.

“[Romipen] strengthens identity and pride among Roma children and breaks down stereotypes among their majority-society peers through workshops led by successful Romani people. This is key to improving interpersonal relationships, especially among the younger generation,” Romani hub said.

An exhibition entitled „Sem avka oda hin… / Ale tak to přece je…“ [But That’s How It Is…], which focuses on stereotypes about Romani people in education and everyday life, was open to the public in the foyer of the Besední Dům during the event. The exhibition was created in collaboration with experts in school education and textbook analysis.

The director of Romani hub, Tomáš Ščuka, added his own experience from a Council of Europe research project in which he participated in 2018 to the exhibition’s subject matter. “I was disappointed by two fundamental findings during that work: Roma are either completely neglected in textbooks, or they are presented in a distorted way that supports long-held social stereotypes. This experience awakened in me a strong need to actively contribute to changing these systemic inequalities in education,” he said.

The Romipen 2025 event will symbolically conclude on Friday, 16 August with an Open-Air Summer Evening in the Biskupský dvůr [Bishop’s Courtyard] in Brno, following up on the June program with a celebration of Romani identity, community meetings, and music.