08.04.2022 On the occasion of World Roma Day, the care and support center in Zîrnești - Caring Speranța, organized a cultural event to present the beautiful culture of Roma in the Republic of Moldova. Emphasis was also placed on equal rights. Many roma people from took part in this event. They all had fun watching various art program.

On the progress of human rights for the Roma: In 2010 and 2011, significant progress was made in the explicit commitment of the European institutions to address Roma exclusion. The Council of Europe's Strasbourg Declaration on the Roma is a political impetus for concrete action in this direction. The EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020 is also a long-awaited step for Roma rights activists across Europe.

Today, there are more young Roma in universities than ever before. In some countries, Roma experts are employed in ministries or the police, or work in local or regional administrations. Roma and nomads are also enthusiastic participants in private sector development in some areas. These are important advances, if we compare them with the period of only 10 years ago.

This progress is proof of what is possible when communities, policy makers, families and individuals cooperate in order to attack even the most hidden form of exclusion. Strategies to include Roma and nomads must be implemented with the participation of communities in the development, implementation and evaluation of these public policies. There will be no improvement without the participation of Roma and nomads in the decision-making process. More than anything else, the European authorities must attack, once and for all, the prejudices and stereotypes - romophobia - that lead to discrimination and violence against Roma and nomads in Europe.

It is time to end the negative portrayal of the Roma in the press and in politics.