D.H. and Others Tabled for Discussion One Year On
30 October 2008
One year after the groundbreaking judgment of the European Court of Human Right in D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic, the European Roma Rights Centre, Roma Education Fund, Open Society Fund Prague and the coalition of NGOs "Together to schools" for the Czech Republic are jointly organising an international conference entitled Education without Barriers: Romani Children in the Czech Republic on 12-13 November 2008 in Prague, the Czech Republic.
The event is organised under the patronage of the Czech Ministry of Education. With the participation of a dynamic and outstanding group of professionals from various central and local government agencies from the Czech Republic and the region, local and international civil society organisations and renowned educational experts, this meeting will be an important step towards ensuring equal access to education for Roma.
The aims of the conference are to:
- Further develop and foster the dialogue about the need for reform in the education system and implications of the recent Court ruling amongst all relevant stakeholders;
- Continue dialogue with the Czech relevant authorities on the implementation of the decision;
- Provide an overview of the Czech Government's efforts and steps undertaken in order to address the situation of Romani children in education;
- Mainstream the implications of the judgment in domestic and international policy and discourse on education; and
- Discuss positive practices in policy and legislative reform aimed at ending segregation of Roma in education.
Conference Materials
Agenda: English and Czech.
Concept Note: English and Czech.
Participant's List: English
Persistent Segregation of Roma in the Czech Education System – Report in English and Executive Summary in Czech.
Please also refer to the Conference website: http://osf.cz/konference/.
Relevant media articles in English:
- aktualne.cz, Study: Czech Roma still segregated at school (13 November 2008)
- ceskenoviny.cz, Czech Romanies's access to education may improve in 2011-minister (13 November 2008)
- Examiner.com, Gypsy kids herded into Czech schools for disabled (13 November 2008)
- newsday.com, Rights group: Czechs send Roma children to schools for the mentally retarded (13 November 2008)
Relevant media articles in Czech:
- ČT24, Ministr Liška představil novelu školského zákona (14 listopadu 2008)
- romea.cz, Liška: Podmínky přístupu Romů ke vzdělání lze zlepšit za tři roky (13 listopadu 2008)
- Romano nevo Li'il, Liška: Vzdělávání Romů lze zlepšit za tři roky (13 listopadu 2008)
- VOLNÝ, Liška: Vzdělávání Romů lze zlepšit za tři roky (13 listopadu 2008)
- ceskenoviny.cz, Liška: Vzdělávání Romů lze zlepšit za tři roky (13 listopadu 2008)
- aktualne.cz, Segregace Romů ve školách pokračuje, zní z Evropy (12 listopadu 2008)
For further information, please contact:
Sinan Gokcen, ERRC, sinan.gokcen@errc.org (+36 30 649 1698) (In English)
Gwendolyn Albert, Peacework Development Fund, gwen@peacework.org (+420 774 895 444) (In Czech and English)
