That’s why Mirek Richter, the pastor of a Roma churg in the Czech Republic, organized a Roma conference for Roma Christians. He wanted to gather them all together so they could sing songs of praise, celebrate their faith, and take solace in the fact that even though most of Europe finds them detestable and actively discriminates against them that God will always have his arms open to receive the Roma in their time of need and help them through any adversity that may come their way. The conference was held in Brno, Czech Republic and featured many attendees sharing their passion for a life in service to Christ and his causes of good.

The participants of the Roma conference worked in the community on outreach missions to improve the lives of others. They shared stories of how God has touched their lives and saved them from times of trouble. They sang and danced and celebrated the wonder of life even though they often feel abused and discriminated against. The power of faith was on display in an impressive way and it lifts the heart to see people that have struggled so much still find joy with such ease. The Roma Christian movement helps families achieve a greater sense of community and have greater success in Europe.

The Roma conference was held in part to try and educate people on how to help the Roma integrate, as opposed to just kicking them out. For the most part they don’t have any desire to destroy the societies they live in – some practice thievery to survive and cause mass problems – but many governments in Europe seem unwilling to listen and would instead prefer that the Roma leave their countries entirely.

The Roma conference was organized by the Gypsy Lore Society (the Roma are also known as Gypsies) a group that doesn’t typically engage in political action but felt the need because of the French actions and Italy (thousands of Roma have been expelled from Italy in much the same way that France did, although in a less public manner). Many speakers at the conference detailed the long history of poor treatment of the Roma and it’s fairly stunning how for more than a thousand years they’ve been hunted, enslaved, expelled, murdered, and more by the people of Europe. These activist groups hope to change that poor treatment and work hard every day to do so.

The Roma Conference is part of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exlusion, a wide-reaching initiative by the EU looking to eliminate suffering of groups that have been discriminated against. While the conference runs there will be a collection of experts on the Roma culture talking and sharing their knowledge so attendees can get more familiar with the people they’re trying to help, which is awfully smart. The more people know the more they’ll sympathize with the Roma and that can only help lead to the social equality they seek. There will also be an exhibition of projects that have been successful in helping to integrate the Roma into society.

Roughly 450 guests are expected to attend and participate in the Roma Conference. There are decision makers that can help put into action the plans that are discussed at the conference. There are experts on the Roma that will share their knowledge. There are planners and so much more. The event is open to the press and all are urged to cover it and spread the word on what they’re trying to accomplish. The entirety of the conference will be available in three languages and the opening remarks will be available in 12 languages.

The Roma often live in stunning poverty and can be almost entirely excluded from society based on misguided preconceptions about their culture and the people as a whole. It’s often a brutal life they lead and the governments feel responsible for taking care of the people living in their country and ensuring that they are not in perpetual misery. Each country came up with a Decade Action Plan that had very specific details about how they were going to achieve their goal of Roma inclusion. They had a large Roma Conference and went over everything before the initiative started.
A number of international organizations have gotten involved as well and are providing both funds and support in other ways to make these desired changes a reality. The Roma Education Fund is particularly dedicated to improving the education of Roma children around Europe. One of the largest obstacles they face is not getting the Roma kids enough education and as a result they suffer later in life. If these issues can be solved the Roma have a much better future ahead of them.

Most of the Roma people live in ghetto-style housing and settlements. They don’t enjoy most benefits of modern society. Few Roma children manage to get a good education, mostly due to their parents not placing a high value on it and the overwhelming stigma they face, which is a challenge to overcome. In some countries the government openly discriminates against the Roma, making it difficult for them to get any traction and integrate themselves into society and advance like almost everyone gets a chance to do. It’s a challenging life and it leads to the sorts of behaviors that end up pushing people farther away from society, sadly.

The Roma Conference was held to talk about the inclusion of the Roma people into European societies and how the efforts to do so can be improved. A wide range of countries will participate and they plan on sharing ideas and information that can help the Roma people all over Europe. There has been good progress in the initiative to socially integrate the Roma and the conference is meant to harness that momentum and put it to good use for the benefit of all of Europe. It’s never good to have a group socially isolated from the rest.