8 April Movement: Roma Self-determination Now An Achievable Goal?

A loose coalition known as the”8 April Movement”, which has been building up
over recent months, is attempting to address some of the core challenges
besetting Roma in Europe and around the globe.

Faced with rising racism and anti-Roma vigilantism, everywhere exacerbated by
the economic down-turn which has helped cripple even the best pro-Roma
strategies, this growing alliance of activists wants to help us get on the move
again through enhanced collective action.

A younger leadership, including more women activists, is at the forefront of
the movement, impatient for better self-representation and a stronger voice. For
a start, it aims to “join-up” activists through common, coordinated action on
Roma Nation Day 8 April 2013.

Moreover, they want to see a democratic transition both through increased
participation in municipal, state-wide and European elections, and specfically
the introduction of electronic voting by Romani organizations and institutions.

The movement views as a practical possibility the building up over the next
few years of virtual Roma constituences on websites around the globe. These
together will form a national Roma electorate, providing a broad-based mandate
able both to lend legitimacy and ensure the accountability of elected leadership
bodies.

All can be achieved through new and existing websites and the simple device
of cell-phone electronic voting, according to advocates in the movement.

By creating a voter-bank, with proper safe-guards, it will be possible to
ensure the emergence of legitate, fully-mandated leadership structures. Elected
representatives would have widespread grass-roots support, expressed through
coordinated manifestations; cultural pride and civic equality events going off
in as many as fifty capital cities simultanewously on 8 April each year.

Our status has been defined as that of a nation without territory; a nation
of l0 million in Europe alone, a figure that will double by 2050. The 8 April
Movement believes the building of an electoral mandate is the next essential
step towards realization of a greater level of individual empowerment and of
collective self-determination.