This is the 9th time we are opening a nomination process for the prestigious award of Roma Spirit 2017. The award highlights exceptional actions and efforts of individuals and organizations to improve the situation and life of the Roma in Slovakia. Announcers of the Award are the Association for Culture, Education and Communication (ACEC), Slovak national public broadcaster RTVS, and the Office of the Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities. The ceremony is carried out under the auspices of H.E. Andrej Kiska, President of the Slovak Republic.
„Every received nomination is a proof that the hope in dignified human life and the idea of equality and protection of human rights are still present in our society. We believe in goodness and morality of both the individuals and the society. We will continue to highlight the activities of those that build bridges between people without looking at their origin or nationality,” stated Magdaléna Rothová, ACEC Director. She continued to say: „I would like to express my admiration for all these activities and attitude towards life, and I would also like to thank all those who are submitting their nominations and letting us know about the exceptional actions, people and organizations.“
You can nominate your candidates and highlight their best-practice examples from the life of the Roma community and/or from harmonic cohabitation of Roma and non-Roma in seven categories: Personality, Culture, Municipality, Company and Employer, Non-Governmental Organization, Media, and a special Act of the Year category. You can send your nominations via mail, e-mail, or by submitting an online form on our website www.romaspirit.sk by September 15, 2017.
The 9th annual Roma Spirit 2017 will culminate in ceremonial announcement of the laureates of the award from the 21 final nominees (3 in each category) at the gala which will take place on November 26, 2017. The laureates in each category will be chosen by the International Jury and the Act of the Year Jury. The recording of the award ceremony will be aired on the Dvojka channel of RTVS.
„We commonly think of Roma as a problem or an issue that needs to be solved, while Roma often bring big contributions for their surroundings and the whole country. I am glad the we have this opportunity to meet every year at the Roma Spirit award to celebrate those who carry an important message- in each of us there is a potential to change things around us for the better,“ said Ábel Ravasz, Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities, at the occasion of the press conference announcing the 9th year of the Roma Spirit award.
Roma Spirit in Numbers
Roma Spirit Award originated in 2009. In the 8 years of existence of this award, 959 subjects had been nominated and 47 laureates had been presented the award. Some of the laureates include Civic Association Človek v tísni, Theatre Romathan from Košice, US Steel Košice, Jarmila Vaňová, Spišský Hrhov municipality, Gypsy TV and many others. In 2016, a new category has been added to highlight the efforts in the area of Romani culture.
