International Romani Day 2025

International Romani Day takes place each year on 8^th April, and from April 1^st to 30^th the Council of Europe is marking Opre Roma! Month. These events are dedicated to celebrating the rich contributions of Roma history, language, and culture to Europe’s shared heritage and cultural diversity and to raise awareness of the issues faced by Romani people.

The phrase “Opre Roma!”, meaning “Stand up, Roma!” in English, was a call prominently mentioned during the first International Romani Congress in 1971. It was used to inspire and unite the Romani people in their struggle for recognition, rights, and equality and it symbolises a call to action for the Romani community to stand up against discrimination and to work towards a better future. It continues to inspire unity and resilience within Roma communities today.

As part of their work on language preservation, the Romani & Traveller Social Work Association – co-founded and led by Romani and Traveller social workers – has recently published a Welsh Romanus language resource. The “Learn Romani” handbook is intended to be used alongside the provided audio recordings but can be downloaded and used as a learning resource in its own right.

Part 4 No More – standing in solidarity

Parliament is currently debating a new Crime and Policing Bill. As the Bill makes its way through Parliament, there is a chance to repeal Part 4 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (PCSC) 2022.

The Social Workers Union (SWU) and British Association of Social Workers (BASW) continue to firmly oppose Part 4 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. As predicted, the tougher policing powers introduced by the PCSC Act have had a negative impact on the ability of Romani and Traveller communities to continue a nomadic way of life, free from discrimination and arbitrary treatment. 

Join us and make a stand today by asking your MP to push for a repeal of Part 4 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (PCSC) 2022. Email your MP today using this quick and easy tool developed by Friends, Families & Travellers. It will just take a couple of minutes.

Everybody needs a place to live. It should not be a crime to have nowhere to go. #Part4NoMore

The ROMA Model – restorative social work practice

The Reflection, Objective, Movement and Action (ROMA) Model: A Framework for Restorative Practice© has been developed by the Romani and Traveller Social Work Association to enable ethical, evidence informed, and rights based social work practice with Romani and Traveller communities.

You can read more here about the ROMA model four-stage circle process and for details about how your social work team can participate in piloting the model. The Romani and Traveller Social Work Association hopes that the ROMA model will act as a framework for repairing harm and provide social workers with a foundation for building respectful and trusting community relationships.