Jan Balog: Romani nonprofits in Prague will meet to discuss dissatisfaction with Czech Govt Council for Roma Minority Affairs

Jan Balog, a member of a working group of the Committee for National Minorities at Prague City Hall and a Romani minority representative on the Czech Government Council for National Minorities has announced to news server Romea.cz that the functioning of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs, an advisory body of which he was once a member, will be on the agenda of the working group’s next meeting. “Given the long-term dissatisfaction of a significant number of Romani people with how the Roma Council functions and with the situation at the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic when it comes to questions of the integration of the Romani national minority, I have decided to create room to discuss the purpose and role of the position I hold as a member of the Czech Government Council for National Minorities as part of the working group of the Committee for National Minorities of Prague City Hall, planned for 13 February 2020,” he wrote to the news server.  

“I believe the competences of the representatives of 20 Romani organizations there will facilitate my acquiring a final, practical standpoint on what to do in the future with the possibilities of that role,” Balog said. He established the working group last year.

According to its so-called 10 Commandments, the working group should be the official representation to Prague City Hall of nonprofit organizations involved in the Romani movement and based in Prague. The aim of the working group is to improve the lives and situations of Romani people in Prague.