Breaking Barriers: Unveiling Anti-Roma Racism in Vydrník Village

On 12 July 2023, the first workshop in the village of Vydrník on the topic ‘Identify anti-Roma racism (antigypsyism)’ took place in the framework of the MARIO project. The workshop was attended by more than 20 people, and the participants learned about the definition of anti-Roma racism and the whole agenda related to this topic. The active discussion about where Roma men and women encounter anti-Roma racism everywhere showed us that it is necessary to talk about this topic and especially to actively fight the manifestations of anti-Roma racism. We talked about the need to be active in one’s community and to stand up against measures that should be directed towards discrimination and exclusion.  We also introduced the participants to the issues surrounding the term ‘gypsy’ and explained why it is important to insist on the use of the term Roma/Gypsy, as this is closely related to manifestations of anti-Roma racism.