World Day of Romani Language promotes

Romani language Romani (; also Romany, Romanes , Roma; rom, rromani ćhib, links=no) is an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities. According to '' Ethnologue'', seven varieties of Romani are divergent enough to be considered languages of their ...

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

and education. It is celebrated annually on 5 November, since 2009. Croatian Parliament officially recognized it in 2012 and UNESCO proclaimed 5 November the World Day of Romani Language in 2015. As of 2018, 16

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

member states recognize Romani language as a

minority language A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities. With a total number of 196 sovereign states recognized internationally (as of 2019) and ...

under the

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) is a European treaty (CETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe. However, the ...

Origin

On 5 November 2008 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, during the presentation of first Roma-Croatian and Croatian-Roma Dictionary written by Romani scholar and politician Veljko Kajtazi, representatives of Romani community from all around the world and members of Croatian public life signed the charter which pronounced 5 November the Day of the Roma Language in Republic of Croatia. Signing of the charter was initiated and organized by Veljko Kajtazi and Croatian Association for Education of Roma People "Kali Sara" (today called Croatian Romani Union "KALI SARA"), and the charter was signed by approximately 150 individuals. Charter Romani Language Day

In 2009 during the World Symposium for Standardization and Codification of Romani Language which took place from 3 to 5 of November 2009 in Zagreb, Croatia,

International Romani Union The International Romani Union ( rom, Romano Internacionalno Jekhetanipe), formerly known as the International Gypsy Committee and International Rom Committee, is an organization active for the rights of the Romani people. Its seat is in Vienna. ...

and Croatian Association for Education of Roma People "Kali Sara" issued a declaration asking for recognition of 5 November as the World Day of the Romani Language in all countries where Roma people live. This occasion also marked the first official celebration of this date.

International Acceptance

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor ...

unanimously (122 votes for) accepted the request of its members to support the international initiative for marking the 5 November World Day of Romani Language at the session held on 25 May 2012, becoming the first parliament in the world to do so and inviting other national parliaments, international institutions and organizations, as well as all the people of good will in the world to join the initiative. At the request of Republic of Croatia,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

proclaimed 5 November the World Day of Romani Language in 2015.

External links

Roma Archive

UNESCO

References

International language observances November observances Romani language International observances Romani culture Romani advocacy {{holiday-stub