1. Case-study No. & Title:
198. The implementation of an active policy to aid the integration and participation of Roma in the local society, Český Krumlov, The Czech Republic. This case report highlights three aspects of this policy in particular:

Keywords

2. Author information:
2.1 Author’s Name
Peter Mulder

2.2 Institutional Affiliation and Contact Details:
Peter Mulder (Chairman občanské sdružení Spolu-CZ)
Spolu-CZ
P.O. Box 651
661 51 Brno-2
The Czech Republic

Contact:
Tel.: +420-603-843.982 (private)
Fax: +420-5-4524.61.66 (work)
E-mail: peter.mulder@post.cz

2.3 Date recorded
02/02/2001

3. Good Practice Information Sheet
3.1 Local Level Good Practice:
In the Czech town Český Krumlov, there is a long tradition of relatively quiet and peaceful co-existence of Romanies and the white majority-population. This situation has been influenced both by the Roma themselves, and by the approach of the local authorities. On the part of the Roma, the fact that only a small number of Roma migrated from elsewhere to Český Krumlov has played an important role. The majority of the Roma, who live in Český Krumlov, are descendants of a small number of families, who have lived in Český Krumlov already since the 1950s.

For their part, the local authorities have worked actively on stimulating the participation of the Roma community in the society of Český Krumlov for several years. In general, the local authorities have an open approach towards the Roma, not merely addressing them as a socially or ethnically problematic group. Three aspects of this approach are highlighted in the present case study:

3.2 Location:
The project takes place in Český Krumlov, a historic town in South Bohemia, Czech Republic. The centre of the town has been added to the UNESCO list of protected monumental areas. Český Krumlov has nearly 15,000 inhabitants (February 2000). In the census in 1991, 107 of them declared themselves as Roma, but the real numbers are higher. According to ethnographer Eva Davidová (specialised in Roma history and ethnography), the number of Romany people in the town of Český Krumlov has not been growing very quickly for the last 10 years, today there are around 775 Roma living in the town (5% of the total number of inhabitants). In the whole of the Český Krumlov district live approximately 1600 Romanies.

Until 1990, most of the Roma lived in the historic centre of Český Krumlov, but today, only a small number of Roma still live there. Most of them live in housing estates situated outside the town centre.

In 1998 the function of Roma Advisor was established at the District Authority of Český Krumlov. The Roma advisor co-operates with local authorities, schools, the labour office or police in matters concerning the Roma population. Also co-operation with the local Roma NGOs is an important aspect of the work of the Roma advisor. Last but not least, the Roma advisor also provides information and advice to Roma, and helps them in the communication with offices and institutions.

In Český Krumlov there are currently two Roma organisations: "Soužití" ("Living together") and "Drom" ("Journey"). A large part of their activities are aimed at Roma children and Roma youth.

3.3 Minority/Target Groups:
Minority: Roma
Target group: The Roma-community in the Czech town Český Krumlov

3.4 Major Actors Involved

3.5 Budget allocated by local government authorities and/or by other actors
It is difficult to state here the amount of money put into these activities. The reason for this is that the main aspect of the case described here is the attitude of the local authorities towards the Roma community living in the town.

3.6 Timeframe
Co-operation with the building- and cleaning-firm of Mr Dezider Dunka: This co-operation was started in 1996. At the moment, this co-operation is still going on and provides work for approximately 40 Roma.

Presentation of Roma social and cultural life on the internet: The Official Information System (OIS) of the Český Krumlov region was established in 1997. The OIS were given the task of presenting the city and the region of Český Krumlov on the internet in a professional way. Roma social and cultural life was given space on the Český Krumlov website. The Roma advisor has responsibility for keeping the information up to date.

Activities of local Roma NGOs: the organisation "Soužití" ("Living together") has been active since 1998. In 1999, a second NGO named "Drom" ("Journey") was established. After carrying out a number of small-scale projects and activities, the organisation carried out a re-qualification-course in co-operation with the Municipal Labour Office during 2000.

3.7 Local level good practice relation to national level ethnic policy
The good-practice is entirely local level. However, the activities in Český Krumlov are widely known about in the whole of the Czech Republic. In general, there is substantial support for the approach of the local authorities, both at the local and the national level. However, criticism does come both from local sources, as well as from outside of Český Krumlov. This criticism concentrates on two main aspects. The first is, that Český Krumlov is paying too much attention to what has been achieved and directs all its publicity towards it, without reacting to newly-emerging social problems. The second kind of remark comes from sources inside or close to Krumlov's Roma community, and are about the preference which is given by the local authorities to co-operating with (mainly) one large Roma family (the family connected with the Roma firm and the organisation "Soužití").

4. Good Practice Description
History
A large majority of the Roma living in Český Krumlov, are third- or fourth-generation Roma inhabitants. They are descendants of Roma, who migrated from Slovakia shortly after the Second World War. After this period, relatively little migration has taken place. While in many Czech cities, chain-migration played an important role in increasing the number of Roma, for the Roma community in Český Krumlov it appeared not to be common practice to invite relatives from, for example, Slovakia, to stay permanently in Český Krumlov. It is generally considered that the approach of the local authorities was, considering the circumstances, positive as early as during the communist period. However, problems did also appear in Český Krumlov, especially in relation to housing: The first generation of Roma, of which a majority was not used to the living and housing conditions in Czech cities, were housed in the historical centre. Complaints about flats in poor conditions were one aspect that caused problems in the coexistence of Roma and the white majority. During the years, Roma were moved to housing estates around the city-centre.

From the second generation onwards, Roma started to find their place in the local society. From their vantage point, not only the - extended - family was important, but also the city as such gained more importance in Roma life. Today, approximately 580 – 600 registered Romanies have been born in Český Krumlov as children and grandchildren of the first settlers.

Since the second half of the 1990s, the local authorities have started to work increasingly actively on stimulating the participation of Roma in the local society, both at economic and cultural levels. A key aspect of this approach is that the Roma in Český Krumlov are not seen first and foremost as a "social problem" which "has to be solved", but as one of the different ethnic-cultural groups which have their place in local social life. I will mention three areas in which this approach plays a role:

Co-operation of the city with the firm of Mr Dezider Dunka
In Český Krumlov, certain Roma entrepreneurs are trying, by employing Roma in their businesses, to support their community in avoiding unemployment. One of these entrepreneurs is Mr Dezider Dunka, who owns a firm that is active in cleaning and building services. In 1996, the local authorities contracted this firm to carry out communal services for the municipality. This concretely means that Mr Dunka's firm is responsible for cleaning the streets, keeping streets snow-free in winter, waste-collection etcetera. Approximately 40, mainly Roma, people are employed in this firm.

At first sight, the fact that the city contracts a cleaning-firm to carry out these services might not look as something of particular importance, even when this is a concrete step in solving problems of unemployment of Roma. Some people might find it even politically incorrect to have the ethnic minority cleaning the streets of the city… However, there are several important things that should not be overlooked:

Presentation of Roma social and cultural life on the internet
Český Krumlov has an extensive and well-elaborated presentation on the internet (www.ckrumlov.cz). Under the responsibility of the local and regional authorities, the Official Information System (OIS) was established in 1997 and given the task of presenting the city and the region on the internet in a professional way. Comprehensive information about the town and the region is presented on this website in the Czech, English and German languages. The site works both as a source of information for those people who want to gather information about Český Krumlov in general (for example, tourists), as well as for the town’s own citizens who are looking for information about municipal services, office-hours, and so on.

Information about, and also presented by, Roma can be found easily on this website. It is not hidden, or presented under the heading "Social problems", or "Romská otázka" ("The Roma problem", or "Roma question"). Neither is the attention paid to Roma-culture limited to only folklore. Different aspects of Roma social and cultural life are situated at different locations on the site, together with the general, or "white", information or topics.

The structure looks the following

Looking at the site-map, it confirms what has been mentioned before, that Roma life and culture is represented on a par with other aspect of the life in Český Krumlov.

The texts for the chapter "Romanies in Český Krumlov" has been written by Ms Eva Davidová. Ms Davidová is a historian and ethnographer, who has been engaged with Roma already since the 1950s. She is nationally and internationally recognised as an expert on Roma issues. Living herself in Český Krumlov, she has extensively documented the history and ethnography of the local Roma community. It is a good sign that the local authorities asked her to provide the text about Roma history.

The other texts have been written by Ms Marta Čarná. She is Roma herself, and is working as a Roma Advisor at the Districts Office (Okresní úřad).

Activities of local Roma NGOs
In Český Krumlov, there are two active Roma organisations, named "Soužití" ("Living together") and "Drom" ("Journey").

The organisation "Soužítí"
The organisation "Soužítí" was founded in 1998. The chairman is Mr Dezider Dunka, who also owns the firm, which has been contracted by the municipality of Český Krumlov to carry out the communal services. The organisation has approximately 80 members. The activities of "Soužití" are directed to preservation of authentic Roma culture and to develop the talents of Roma children and youth. Their main activities can be characterised as cultural. Several choirs and music-groups, working under the umbrella of "Soužití", are successfully taking part in local, regional and sometimes also nation-wide culture- or music festivals. Examples of this are the yearly Romfest and the Český Krumlov "Five-Petal Rose Festival". The latter is an important cultural festival, organised under the patronage of the municipality of Český Krumlov. It is very popular among tourists visiting the town.

The NGO "Drom"
The organisation "Drom" has been established in February 1999. Chairman of the organisation is Mr Jan Dunka. The activities of the organisation are aimed at Roma children and youth. Apart from supporting cultural or musical activities, Drom organises courses, meetings and training. The aim is to prevent the segregation of Roma children and support their integration into the society, to minimise language problems and to make the young people aware of both their rights and their duties.

Another part of the activities of Drom is to provide Roma citizens with information and advice, and to help them in the communication with offices or institutions. In 1999 it was preparing a project of re-qualification of Roma youth (in co-operation with the local Labour Office) and a project of preliminary classes (so-called "zero-classes").

Relations between local authority policy and the activities of above-mentioned NGOs
The above-mentioned organisations are, of course, independent in carrying out their activities, deciding what are their priorities, etcetera. There is a twofold relation between their activities and the policy of the Český Krumlov municipality. First of all, by being open towards activities of Roma individuals and organisations, the municipality provides space and opportunities for these organisations to develop, and to take part - as any other cultural or social organisation - in municipal actions and activities. Second, the municipality provides a platform for these organisations to present themselves to a wider public without labelling them as problematic, or just as folklore.

Among the sources, used to prepare this case, the following written sources have been the most important: