ERIAC Program

Projects, initiatives,
arts and culture events
of ERIAC

EUROPEAN ROMA INSTITUTE FOR ARTS AND CULUTRE (ERIAC) STRATEGY 2021-2025[1] 

ERIAC’S THEORY OF CHANGE^[2]

In order to advance the unique mission as the transnational Roma organization established “to promote artistic and cultural creativity of Roma to a European audience, and thereby to increase the self-esteem of Roma in Europe and to tackle the the widespread and deep-rooted negative prejudice towards Roma in mainstream society”[3], ERIAC shall use its unique advantages: (1) embodiment within the multilateral system of the Council of Europe (CoE); (2) Barvalipe Academy and ERIAC membership that gives it an institutionalized source of legitimacy, talent and social capital; (3) being part of the Open Society Foundations (OSF) network that gives it a possibility to work with other transnational Roma organizations, national advocacy campaigns and grassroots movements supported by OSF.

With these advantages in mind, ERIAC will advance its mission if its strategy combines them with the following strategic components in the next 5 years:

Build physical and digital infrastructure to upscale the talent, visibility and quality among the Roma artists and cultural producers. The infrastructure has several meanings, including establishing new ERIAC branches; building partnerships with mainstream arts and culture spaces and events to exemplify the best of Roma arts and culture; and developing digital infrastructure and digital tools for exhibitions, language and history learning, new ideas for public policy as well as media content generation with positive stories and images about the Roma.

Build on the recent breakthrough Council of Europe Recommendation on the inclusion of the history of Roma and/or Travellers in school curricula and teaching materials, positioning ERIAC as a key institutional partner that will provide policy input to the CoE secretariat and its member states, as well as by building lasting partnerships with educational institutions, in particular universities.

Advance the sense of pride and belonging among the Roma. In cooperation with larger Roma transnational organizations, national campaigns and grassroots movements, ERIAC will run high-visibility events and campaigns to reinforce common belonging, identity discourses and political movement for active citizenship of the diverse European Roma communities. To do so, ERIAC shall maintain a careful balance between highest quality standards and pop-culture, and between representing critical cultural discourses while maintaining a diplomatic character.

The choices of priorities, strategic objectives, activity and budget planning should happen within this strategic framework.

ERIAC STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 2021-2025

Build physical and digital infrastructure to upscale the talent, visibility and quality among the Roma artists and cultural producers

Physical infrastructure

1. Open new ERIAC Branches;
2. Develop partnerships with mainstream arts and culture institutions to showcase Roma contemporary arts and culture at leading mainstream art institutions and most prestigious European Biennales and Festivals;
3. Target universities to develop lecture series, conferences and Roma history education methodologies in collaboration, with inter alia, leading higher education institutions and Roma organizations;
4. Develop initiatives and materials aiming at safeguarding Romani Language teaching and promotion.

Digital infrastructure

1. Continue existing initiatives and develop new ones which build digital infrastructure for the visibility and prosperity of Roma art; Roma history education; archiving of publications and studies on Roma history and knowledge; as well as media initiatives, as a tool to fight antigypsyism by providing positive counter-narratives and encourage Roma self-representation.

Build on the recent breakthrough Council of Europe Recommendation on the inclusion of the history of Roma and/or Travellers in school curricula and teaching materials

1. In partnership with leading Roma organizations, develop referential history and cultural history-teaching materials; introduce them in formal and informal education practices and provide consultancy, training and teaching services (both through a learning community and through teacher-training strategies).

Advance the sense of pride and belonging among the Roma

1. Provide Roma organizations and communities with identity-related accessories, symbols, and materials, shared history and language education tools and methodologies;
2. Grow the community through social media and digital events, in particular through regularly organized talent competitions, creative informal online education tools, hosting and broadcasting annual celebrations and commemorations;
3. Develop creative campaigns to shape Roma identity and pride;
4. Provide support and work in service of the transnational Roma movement;
5. Foster innovation by responding to crisis situations on the one hand, and applying latest trends and technologies for the arts, culture and identity of the Roma community.

Cross-cutting objective: ERIAC institutional stability and development

1. Strong partnerships and cooperation with the CoE and CoE Member States;
2. Membership engagement through ERIAC members’ presence and visibility in ERIAC representation and programming;
3. Strong public visibility, growing online and offline community and audience;
4. To ensure appropriate resources which correspond with the ambition of the strategy, the objective of the association is a robust fundraising strategy seeking potential core funding and project funding, as well as strategic partnerships with key Roma-led institutions, major cultural public and private foundations and Institutions as well as with international arts and culture organizations, networks and initiatives.

[1] This public document is an abridged version of the internal ERIAC strategy paper which has been approved by the ERIAC Board on November 30, 2020.

^[2] The Theory of Change was approved by the Board on October 27, 2020.

[3] Statutes of the association European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture.