2016
10th of February
BUVERO Showcase Event, British Embassy Budapest
RF organized a BUVERO showcase event on February 10, 2016, at the British Embassy, Budapest, with the generous support of the embassy. The event presented the results of the BUVERO program, the Media Camp for Romani Women. After a welcoming speech given by Mrs. Theresa Bubbear, Chargé d'Affaires Ad Interim to Hungary, the BUVERO project was presented to the audience by Katalin Bársony, executive director of RF, followed by screenings of short films made at the BUVERO camps and by two roundtable talks, including BUVERO attendees Krisztina Balogh, Zsanett Balogh and Szandra Kovács, longtime professional partners of the program Vera Munk (Index.hu), Balázs Román (Kreatív) and Board Member Kristóf Asbót.
3rd of March
Faces of Change, Kulturmagasinet, Sundsvall, Sweden
The screening was part of the Kulturkafé series at the cultural centre Kulturmagasinet in Sundsvall, Sweden, operated by the Municipality of Sundsvall. The event included a talk by Roma activist Misafet Redepi from the Roma organization Ny Framtid. “Faces of Change,” an episode of the series Mundi Romani (The World through Roma Eyes) presents the portraits of 10 successful Roma women.
9th of March
“Roma Women in the Media”, Roma Image Studio, DocuArt Cinema, Budapest
A screening of short films from the 2015 BUVERO Media Camp for Roma Women took place at the “Roma Women in the Media” event organized by the Roma Image Studio in DocuArt Cinema, Budapest. The screening was followed by a presentation by intern Réka Major, and a roundtable talk with Katalin Bársony, executive director of the RF, and Adrienn Balogh, a participant in the BUVERO 2015 Media Camp for Roma Women and student of the Department of Media and Communication of ELTE.
10th of March
International Women's Day Speed Mentoring Event, British Residency, Budapest
Around each International Women's Day, the British Embassy in Budapest organizes a speed mentoring event, where participants have short discussions with successful female leaders working in the fields of diplomacy, business and NGOs. In 2016, the Embassy offered RF the chance to send five young Roma women to the event. RF provided translation for the participants representing the BUVERO program, who had the opportunity to meet, among others, Colleen Bell, Ambassador of the United States of America to Hungary; Theresa Bubbear, Chargé d’Affaires, British Embassy, Budapest and Lisa Helfand, Ambassador of Canada to Hungary.
22nd of March
12th NGO Fair, Human RightS Initiative, Central European University, March 22, 2016
RF was among the 26 organizations that attended this year's NGO Fair at Central European University, organized for the 12th time by the Human RightS Initiative. RF presented its activities and projects in order to recruit volunteers and interns, using this opportunity to advertise paid internship positions that were open at the time.
16th of March
Kvinnofolkhogskolan, Gothenburg
Kvinnofolkhögskolan is a feminist folk high school in Gothenburg, Sweden. For the second time, a student group from the high school visited the office of RF as part of the Gendertrain course. After watching documentaries and videos related to Roma women, the students showed their own activist videos made at Kvinnofolkhögskolan, followed by a discussion with Romedia staff.
22-25th of March
“A Strategic Conversation: The Future Role(s) and Impact of Roma Organizations.” Zoralipe Workshop for Roma Advocates. Open Society Foundations Roma Initiatives Office, Belgrade,
Katalin Bársony represented RF at the Zoralipe workshop of the Roma Initiatives Office of the Open Society Foundations. The workshop addressed questions related to the policy environments in which Roma organizations operate, and the preconditions for these organizations in term of organizational development, funding and strategic cooperation to effectively influence these environments.
5-7th of April
Email Campaign for International Romani Day (April 8)
On April 8, on International Roma Day and the 45th anniversary of the international Roma movement, RF created an international email campaign asking celebrities to send a message of solidarity with the Roma community on their social media platforms in the coming year. As a response to our call for action, Brazilian rock band Sepultura shared a message on its Facebook group with nearly four million followers, referring to RF in it and using the hashtags recommended to them. In Hungary, mainstream news portals covered the result of our campaign.
https://www.origo.hu/kultura/20160409-sepultura-roma-nap-ciganysag-metal.html
https://444.hu/2016/04/08/magyarorszagi-roma-szervezetet-ajanl-facebook-oldalan-a-sepultura
8th of April
Video Message for International Roma Day, British Embassy Budapest
The British Embassy in Budapest made a video message with Katalin Bársony on the occasion of International Roma Day. “Internal narrative, self-identification has an outstanding importance even today and that's also why RF came to be, to transmit values, create bridges and show untold stories, segments of Romani traditions that can reveal a new value system, often by the force of innovation and novelty.... Opre Roma!"
9th of June
BLINDFOLD v 2.0 video installation, Roma Integration 2020 Launch Event, Brussels
BLINDFOLD v2.0 is a multi-channel video installation, created as an -artistic collaboration between media artist Dávid Szauder, director/producer Katalin Bársony, painter Márta Bada and photographer/DJ Elemér Sánta. A critical commentary on the majority perception of the Roma, it combines images of Romani life in the Western Balkans and Turkey with the campaign “Take Your Blindfold Off, Dear Europe!” The installation was performed live at the launch event of Roma Integration 2020, an initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Open Society Foundations and implemented by the Regional Cooperation Council.
14th of June
The video is a trailer version of BLINDFOLD v 2.0, a multichannel video installation by RF, presented at the launch event of Roma Integration 2020, an initiative of the European Union and the Open Society Foundations, in Brussels, on June 9, 2016.
15th of July
Muddy Blood, Cinémathèque Française, Paris
The program series Cinéma d'avant-garde is a monthly event at the Cinémathèque Française devoted to neglected parts of film history. The “Créations Romani” film evening presented the work of Roma filmmakers. Muddy Blood was made at the 2014 BUVERO Media Camp for Romani Women in Dunavarsány, Hungary. The short film commemorates more than a hundred Romani victims who were executed because of their race in February 1945 at Várpalota in Western Hungary.
2nd of August
Eva Fahidi talks about the extermination of the Gipsy camp in Auschwitz, National Roma Self-Government, Budapest
In the video interview, Holocaust survivor Eva Fahidi provides eyewitness testimony of the extermination of the Roma “Zigeunerlager” in Auschwitz on August 2, 1944. The video was screened at the Roma Holocaust commemoration event of the National Roma Self-Government, which was attended by RF.
24th of September
”Whether to repatriate refugees? When? Which is your house? Who is it for?”- “Uprooted” screening, Budapest
A screening of the film “Uprooted” took place at the event entitled ”Whether to repatriate refugees? When? Which is your house? Who is it for?” organized by the TOTÁL Filmklub Dokumentumfilm, Budapest.
The screening was followed by a presentation by Katalin Bársony and Elemer Santa, executive director and producer manager of RF respectively, and a round table with Barsony, Santa and Andras Lederer from the Helsinki Commission.
8th of November
Michael Roth, German Minister of State for Europe, visited Romedia, Budapest
On Tuesday, November 8, Germany's Minister of State for Europe, Michael Roth, visited RF, in Budapest, and expressed strong support for its work. The aim was to exchange experiences on minority issues and Roma situation in Europe. RF promoted its strategy to Mr. Roth who was very supportive, and encouraged RF specifically with advancing with Tumari Trash in Germany.
9th of November
"Languages create wealth seminar: Exploiting the economic and cultural value of minority languages” — Budapest
The event included talks from a number of participants, including Astrid Thors (former High Commissioner of National Minorities in OSCE) who spoke about the role of minority rights in building bridges. Katalin Barsony, executive director of RF, spoke about new approaches to build on the linguistic diversity of Romani communities in Europe, specifically the case of the Romanes in films. Within this framework, the executive director took the opportunity to lobby and engage the numerous participants on RF’s work.
29th of November
EU Platform for Roma Inclusion "mutual accountability for all,” Brussels
On November 29, 2016 the EU Platform for Roma Inclusion — "mutual accountability for all" was held in Brussels.
The platform brought together a number of representatives of Roma civil society, including RF, and discussed the mutual accountability of all stakeholders regarding effective partnership and Roma participation, including Roma women and youth. The Romedia Foundation took this opportunity to lobby and engage with experts and relevant stakeholders with regard to its strategy.
7-9th of December
“A Strategic Conversation: Resourcing the Future of Roma Leadership Development and Long-Term Impact,”— Belgrade, Serbia.
RF was invited to participate in the third strategic conversation. Program manager Galya Stoyanova represented RF at the workshop of the Roma Initiatives Office of the Open Society Foundations, devoted to the topic of organizational leadership strategies in unpredictable contexts.