Czech Govt Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs builds network of regional Romani ambassadors to work with her
Lucie Fuková, the Czech Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs, wants to involve Romani men and women at all levels of public life, connecting bureaucrats, institutions, police and politicians with the Romani people living in a particular municipality, city or region. The new network of Regional Romani Ambassadors will arrange for this to happen.
She announced the existence of the network to news server Romea.cz. “I have been working on this during the summer holidays together with the Platform for the Participation of Roma and Collaborations at Local Level, which I initiated. Simply put, this is a network of Regional Romani Ambassadors who are an extension of my office in the places where they live and that they know,” the Commissioner said.
The model is being tested in four regions, Karlovy Vary, Pardubice, South Moravia and Ústecký. “I chose the ambassadors on the basis of their experience, knowledge, the work they have done and the level of their engagement in the region,” she said, adding that the Karlovy Vary Regional Ambassador is Milan Kováč, the Pardubice Regional Ambassador is Ivan Červeňák, and the Regional Ambassador for South Moravia is Tomáš Ščuka.
The fourth ambassador is Karel Karika, who has begun working in the locality of Mojžíř in Ústí nad Labem, which is currently receiving a lot of media coverage that is sometimes quite distorted. “He is behind the community organizing in that locality, holding the cleanup days, aiding the children and their parents, and he has already cooked and distributed food to the most needy 260 times,” the Commissioner explained her choice.
According to information received by Romea.cz, one of the big cleanup days at the Mojžíř housing estate, which local residents joined, happened last Saturday. “Karel has determinedly and relentlessly started working with the local community, most of whom are Romani, as part of the group called ‘For a Better Mojžíř!’ I thank him for it from the bottom of my heart,” Fuková said.
His role and that of the other ambassadors is to improve communications between Romani residents and bureaucrats, institutions, police and politicians. “Our shared aim is, among other matters, to provide local Romani people aid, for example, with establishing neighborhood committees, which are a special type of committee for a municipal assembly, as an initiatory and oversight body for the municipal assembly, the city council, the community action groups and the other advisory bodies to city councils,” she said.
The Commissioner says this network of Regional Romani Ambassadors is one way to fulfill the Strategy for Roma Equality, Inclusion and Participation 2021-2030 and to make room for Romani people to express their views of the matters that concern them. “Romani people have to be involved in the solution of local problems and in the transformations that affect them directly. No more ‘About us without us’,” she said.
