Despite persecution and genocide, the Roma in Ukraine were and are not just victims, but active fighters for democracy, human rights, and justice. Over hundreds of years, they made a contribution to Ukraine – including the ongoing attempts to defend Ukraine against Russia’s large-scale invasion. A joint event by the Society for Threatened Peoples, the Pilecki Institute in Berlin, Youth Agency for the Advocacy of Roma Culture in Ukraine (ARCA), and the Central Council of the German Sinti aims to highlight the diversity of the Roma and their contribution to democracy, human rights, and justice.

You are cordially invited:

Thursday, May 16, 2024,

from 6 pm to 10 pm

Pilecki Institute, Pariser Platz 4A, Berlin.

Please click here to register.

The event will begin with a welcome speech by S.E. Oleksii Makeiev, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany. This will be followed by the opening of the exhibition “Me Ukrainatar” by the Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Maksymov. The discussion on the topic “Roma in Ukraine as champions of democracy, human rights, and justice: World War II and Russia’s war against Ukraine since 2014” will start at 7 pm. Participants are:

• Mr. Maksym Eristavi, journalist and expert in Russian colonialism studies 
• Mr. Pierre Chopinaud, writer, political scientist and strategy advisor 
• Mr. Artur Zolotarenko, expert working in the Babyn Yar museu
• Mr. Janush Panchenko, ethnographer and linguist, Romano Than center in Kherson
• Ms. Nataliia Tomenko, expert on Roma Cultural Heritage in Ukraine, ARCA

The panel discussion will be led, among others, by Sarah Reinke, Head of Human Rights Work at the STP. Following that, the documentary film “Named Voices” will be shown (starting at 8 pm). 

The Roma are an integral part of the Ukrainian society, and the population group’s diversity represents a unique part of European culture that should be protected and promoted. The Ukrainian Roma have a unique, exclusive cultural heritage that has been preserved by their communities for centuries – despite persecution, genocides, wars, and globalization. The aim of the event is to raise awareness among decision-makers and in society and to promote the recognition of the Roma communities.