Roma festival looks to younger generation

The 24th annual People from the House of Roma (Ľudia z rodu Rómov) festival starts today in the Slovakian towns of Banská Bystrica and Zvolen. The theme of this year’s festival is “The New Generation”.

The theme of the festival represents a shift of focus from previous years, away from commemoration of the past and towards the future.

“While in previously years the People from the House of Roma extensively featured the commemoration of Roma Holocaust victims, this year we want to point to the ongoing stereotypes in our society, which don’t apply only to the older but also to the younger generation,” festival head Andrea Bučková stated. “It is the younger generation that plays an important role in eliminating prejudice.”

The festival programme includes concerts, theatre performances, exhibitions and a dance class. It will also bring together young people from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Finland for a series of workshops on dealing with prejudice.

“The event isn’t only an ordinary cultural festival but also has an artistic, humanitarian and educational context,” the festival head emphasised.

The People from the House of Roma festival will run from 19 to 22 August.