The Untold Story. An Oral History of the Roma People in Romania

COORDINATOR OF PROJECT

Lavinia Snejana Stan PhD.

PARTNER RESEARCH TEAM LEADERS

Doru Radosav, PhD.

Guðmundur Hálfdanarson, PhD.

Research teams:

Babeş - Bolyai University

Ionuţ Costea, PhD., Valentin Orga, PhD., Ioana Cosman, PhD., Manuela Marin, PhD., Sînziana Preda, PhD., Adrian Boda PhD. stud., Nicolae-Marcel Cristea, PhD. stud., Diana Săcărea PhD. stud., Cristian Bota, technician

University of Iceland

Ólafur Rastrick, PhD., Vilhelm Vilhelmsson, PhD., Marco Solimene, PhD., Ionela Bogdan, PhD. stud.

Contacts:

email: untoro.eea@gmail.com

Facebook: Untold Story of the Roma People from Romania

The topic of this project is the recent history of the Roma community in Romania (re)constituted through oral narratives. This approach will have a national impact as Roma communities from all regions of Romania will enter under the scrutiny. Moreover, it will provide both the minority - the Roma - and the majority of Romania with instruments for mutual knowledge and understanding. Thus, the project will raise awareness about each other's identity and about the fact that both minority and majority share a common past which needs to be identified and offered to the larger public. By providing fundamental texts about the recent history of the Roma community, the project will contribute to the children and adult education on this topic. The overall Romanian society will be more able to cope with its cultural diversity, the Roma being one of the most visible and negatively presented and perceived minority.

The project will analyse the role of “traditions” in the present and explorations of how reference to old ways has implications for their status in the present and how collectives could capitalize economically, symbolically, socially, politically etc. on their cultural heritage, in order "to strengthen capacity and human resources development."