The Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Center for the Affirmation of the RE Population (CAREP), marking the International Day of the Romani Language, organized an event to draw attention to the fact that language is important for the identity of a nation or community, and that the Romani language is in danger because it is dying out .
Nardi Ahtmetović, executive director of CAREP, emphasized the importance of celebrating the International Day of the Romani Language and reminded of the importance of preserving the language. He pointed out that this November 5th is particularly significant for the RE community because the first Youth Parliament of Roma and Egyptians was formed in Nikšić.
"Language is an essential component of identity. We in Montenegro have several problems with that, because we are one of the few countries that practically discriminates against the majority language of its population. But this is also the case with some minority languages, and in this sense, the position of the Romani language in Montenegro should be improved in the future. The Roma population gave a lot to Montenegro and the entire region, and we owe them a lot. I hope that through these activities and the support we provide, we begin to pay back at least part of that debt, and in the future we will see that it will certainly be more than this and in accordance with what you as a community deserve", said the President of the Municipality, Marko Kovačević, recalling his childhood Roma friends who taught him many life lessons.
The President of the Municipal Assembly, Nemanja Vuković, said that the establishment of the Youth Parliament sent a message that Nikšić takes care of all its citizens, that we are all equal and that together we want to build a better future for all of us and for generations to come.
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"Together we sent a message that we want to fight against discrimination, ethnic distance, to preserve our peculiarities and peculiarities, that although we are different in many aspects, I believe that we are all the same in our intentions to make this country and this city a better place for everyone to live our citizen. Preserve your culture, preserve your tradition, preserve your language, be proud of who you are, build and strengthen your community, and that's the only way we'll all make a better Nikšić and a better Montenegro together," said Vuković.
At the panel discussion on the topic "The importance of preserving the Romani language", where Sokolj Beganaj, MSc, Romani writer, Fana Delija, executive coordinator of the NGO Center for Romani Initiatives, Irena Vasiljević, director of the "Mileva Lajović Lalatović" Elementary School, and Mensur Šalja, president, spoke of the Roma Council, it was said that much more attention must be paid to the Roma language every day, not just on November 5, and that a better organized education system is needed so that the language does not die out. The moderator of the discussion was Ahmetović.
"If we had the possibility to learn the Romani language in schools, the situation would be different. We have had several attempts to introduce the Romani language into educational institutions, but so far we have not succeeded, primarily because we do not have staff - linguists who deal with the Romani language, experts, we do not have educated educational staff who can teach the Romani language, trained people who know Roma traditions, customs and everything that adorns the Roma population," said Beganaj, who is the national coordinator for monitoring the implementation of the Strategy for the Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro 2021-2025 and the head of the Department for the Advancement and Protection of Roma Rights and Egyptians in the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights.
He reminded that the first Romani primer was created in Montenegro, as well as that the Faculty of Philology is planning to introduce master's studies for the Romani language based on the model of Croatia.
As part of the event, the film "Pearl of Montenegro" was shown, dedicated to the cultural wealth of the ethnic communities in Montenegro, Maja Dukić from KUD "Duga Montenegro" and the producer of the film, said that this type of promotion of folk costumes is important for getting to know interculturalism in the real sense. way, as well as the fact that in this format the traditional Roma costume was shown for the first time.
A photo exhibition was also organized, showing historical figures from the Roma community, as well as the work of NGOs dealing with the affirmation of the Roma population - CAREP, Center for Roma Initiatives, Alfa Center and Defendology.
At the end of the evening, a cultural and artistic program was organized in which the reciters Melissa Ajvaz, Mona Beslimaj, Beriša Bajram and Medin Ferizi, CAREP youths who presented themselves with dance choreography, took part.
The program was hosted by Tijana Krunić.
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