Slovakia: Roma Spirit award won by those who saved two human lives

On 15 November 2015 there was a gala evening for the Roma Spirit awards ceremony at Bratislava’s New Stage Theater (Divadlo Nová scéna) and the well-wishers included the moderators of the evening – Gitana and Marián Mitaš, Mirka Partlová, Božena Ferancová, and musical legend Antonín Gondolán. During the evening there was a performance by the group Chalani z chatrče, who were joined by singer Marián Labuda, Jr.

Models including the current Miss Czech-Slovak Roma, Bianka Bertoková of Bratislava, also presented fashions from the SOŠ studio in Kežmarok. The Roma Spirit 2015 awardees are:

NGO Category:  Oz Equity, Bratislava – Nominated for implementing the "Black & White – Let’s Live Together!" summer camp for non-Romani and Romani children, which contributes to building friendships and mutual respect.

Media Category:  Gipsy Television, Bratislava – Nominated for news reporting work disseminating positive information about the Romani community and for developing the potential of Romani-origin journalists.

Individual Category:  Mária Oláhová, Detva – Nominated for long-term work benefiting the Romani community by organizing activities, supporting Romani women and tutoring children and youth.

City and Municipality Category:  Vtáčkovce Municipality – Nominated for improving residents’ quality of life through projects benefiting the Romani community and through its collaboration in community activities and events.

Company/Employer/Firm Category:  Muránska Dlouhá Louka Primary School – Nominated for building an open school that is changing the lives of adults and children and contributing to breaking down prejudices and promoting mutual tolerance.

Good Deed of the Year Category:  Dušan and Štefan Klempárovec, Markušovce – Nominated for saving the lives of two young men by dragging them from an automobile as it was sinking in the Hornád River and giving first aid.

The awardees were chosen from among 18 final nominations by an international Expert Jury of the following people:  Gheorghe Raducanu (President of the European Roma and Travellers Forum), Ivailo Tournev (founder of the program of Romani health mediators in Bulgaria and director of the Neurology Clini at the Alexandrovska Teaching Hospital in Sofia), Michael Kocáb (activist, composer, and former Minister for Human Rights and National Minorities in the Czech Republic) and Jarmila Lajčáková (Center for Research of Culture and Ethnicity).

The Good Deed of the Year Category was decided by the following jury:  Albín Cina (chair of the Association of Field Health Assistants), Darina Sedláková (director, Office of the World Health Organization, Slovakia), Dušan Chrenek (Head of Representation, European Commission in Slovakia), Jarmila Vaňová (journalist), Silvia Sarkozyová (musician) and Ivan Antala (General Director, Expres Radio).

The ceremonial gala evening for the seventh annual Roma Spirit awards will be broadcast on 21 November 2015 at 20:10 CET on Slovak Television Channel 2.