International Romani Day

The International Romani Day is a day to celebrate Romani culture and raise awareness of the issues facing Romani people, and was established in 1990.

Who celebrates?

Everyone – it’s an international awareness day!

How do people celebrate?

• The day is used to celebrate Romani people, history, culture and language
• It also highlights the discrimination and exclusion of Romani people in society.

What should I know?

• The Romani, also known as Roma, are an Indo-Aryan people, traditionally nomadic itinerants living mostly in Europe
• Romanichal and Kale Romani groups have lived in the UK since the 15th century and first came to the UK in the 1990s seeking asylum to escape persecution
• It is not known how many Roma live in the UK. The best estimate is around 300,000. Many Roma avoid declaring their ethnicity and instead use their nationality.

How can I support others?

• Use the additional resources to educate yourself about Romani people
• If anyone you work with is Romani, you could respectfully ask about their experience to deeper your understanding
• Talk to your team about the ethnic representation among your volunteer, employee and service user population and if it’s representative of your area.

Romani Arts: Romani Day: http://www.romaniarts.co.uk/international-romani-day/

VICE video: Romani struggle for survival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALdlphTYdi4

Omniglot: Romani phrases: https://omniglot.com/language/phrases/romani.htm

BBC podcast” Romani history: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bty2w8

Live Science: Romani culture: https://www.livescience.com/64171-roma-culture.html