European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture

The European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) is a cultural institute headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 2017 on the initiative of the Council of Europe, the Open Society Foundations and the Alliance for the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture. Its stated core mission is to strengthen Roma self-esteem and to reduce negative prejudice among majority populations toward the Roma community, while fostering exchange and cooperation among artists and intellectuals across Europe so that Roma art, culture and history become more visible. ERIAC operates as a civil-law foundation and, since 7 June 2017, as a registered association (eingetragener Verein). Its opening took place on 16 February 2017. The institute is co-funded by the Council of Europe and the Open Society Foundations, each contributing 200,000 euros annually, with additional third-party funds and donations. ERIAC's work spans cultural outreach, knowledge production, commemoration and education. It runs international cultural outreach programs, capacity-building trainings, fellowship programs for first-time beneficiaries, and publishes position papers on topics such as media representation, remembrance and history teaching, and education and knowledge production. Its projects include the Roma Cultural History Initiative (RCHI), the Roma Memory project, the Re-thinking Roma Resistance project, and the Roma Tangible Heritage Network. It also maintains a Barvalipe Academy of distinguished members and engages with European museums and cultural institutions through policy recommendations and guidelines on the promotion of Roma identity, history and culture. The institute addresses the cultural heritage of Europe's largest ethnic minority, estimated at 10–12 million Roma people, and seeks to raise awareness of Roma communities' contributions to European culture among majority societies, mainstream cultural institutions and European governments. Its activities include publications, masterclasses, documentary releases, and partnerships such as the Roma Holocaust Voices Fellowship with the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University.

The creation of a European Roma institute emerged from a series of political and civil-society initiatives in the mid-2010s. On 12 March 2014, Androulla Vassiliou, then EU Commissioner for Education and Culture, stated that a Roma museum was urgently needed. In March 2014, a motion signed by 24 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe called for the creation of a European Roma institute to provide Roma with a Europe-wide reference point, promote research and clarification of their culture and history, and offer a contact point for politicians and decision-makers to reduce prejudice and ignorance toward the minority. On 4 April 2014, José Manuel Barroso, then President of the European Commission, endorsed the initiatives and the establishment of the European Roma Institute by Thorbjørn Jagland of the Council of Europe and George Soros of the Open Society Foundations as complementary to the Commission's and member states' actions against negative stereotypes and for Roma integration. Consultations and preparatory work continued through 2014 and 2015. On 7 April 2014, at the 6th meeting of the scientific committee of the European Academic Network on Romani Studies in Cluj-Napoca, the founding of a Roma institute was welcomed. A statement for the founding was submitted to the Council of Europe on 30 April 2014, followed by a non-paper titled 'An approach to the establishment of a European Roma Institute' on 12 May 2014. Consultations between Council of Europe member states and civil society began on 22 May 2014, and a consultation with Roma intellectuals took place at the Council of Europe office in Paris on 14 November 2014. From 27 to 29 May 2015, the 9th meeting of the Council of Europe's Ad Hoc Committee of Experts on Roma and Travellers (CAHROM) in Strasbourg addressed, among other topics, the education and housing situation of Roma, their language, culture and history, and the question of founding a 'European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture' as a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the Open Society Foundations. The Open Society Foundations published a concept paper for a European Roma Institute on 15 May 2015, and an online consultation was launched on 19 May 2015. A hearing before the European Parliament took place on 4 June 2015, and the German Bundestag discussed the planned institute on 11 June 2015. On 8 April 2016, International Roma Day, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland issued a landmark statement on the future shape of ERIAC, noting that Roma communities have lived in Europe for more than 600 years yet relatively little is known about their cultural heritage and influence. The Council of Europe published a draft statute for a Roma institute for arts and culture on 25 May 2016. ERIAC was founded in 2017 on the initiative of the Council of Europe, the Open Society Foundations and the Alliance for the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture. It was established as a civil-law foundation, and its opening took place on 16 February 2017. It has been registered as a registered association (eingetragener Verein) since 7 June 2017. The institute is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It is co-funded by the Council of Europe and the Open Society Foundations, each contributing 200,000 euros annually, with additional third-party funds and donations. Since its founding, ERIAC has developed a broad program of cultural outreach, knowledge production, commemoration and education. Its Roma Cultural History Initiative (RCHI), financed by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, built on the results of international outreach projects to produce and disseminate long-term foundational materials for the preservation and education of Roma language, symbolism for identity, and a transgenerational understanding of Roma cultural history. The institute has published position papers on education and knowledge production (2023), remembrance, commemoration and history teaching (2024), and media representation and production (2025). It runs capacity-building trainings and first-time beneficiary programs, and has produced publications such as 'Re-thinking Roma Resistance throughout History: Recounting Stories of Strength and Bravery', edited by Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka and Jekatyerina Dunajeva. It also maintains the Barvalipe Academy, a body of distinguished members, and collaborates with institutions such as the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University.

• EU Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou states that a Roma museum is urgently needed.

• A motion signed by 24 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe calls for the creation of a European Roma institute.

• European Commission President José Manuel Barroso endorses the establishment of the European Roma Institute.

• Non-paper 'An approach to the establishment of a European Roma Institute' is issued.

• Open Society Foundations publishes a concept paper for a European Roma Institute.

• A hearing on the planned Roma institute takes place before the European Parliament.

• Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland issues a landmark statement on the future shape of ERIAC.

• Council of Europe publishes a draft statute for a Roma institute for arts and culture.

• ERIAC opening ceremony takes place.

• ERIAC is registered as a registered association (eingetragener Verein).

• Roma Cultural History Initiative (RCHI) is financed by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany and conducted largely online due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

• ERIAC publishes a position paper on education and knowledge production.

• ERIAC publishes a position paper on remembrance, commemoration and history teaching.

• ERIAC publishes a position paper on media representation and production.

A pan-European cultural institute dedicated to Roma arts, culture and history, operating at the intersection of cultural diplomacy, minority representation and knowledge production.

• Roma Cultural History Initiative (RCHI)

  A project financed by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany to produce and disseminate foundational materials for the preservation and education of Roma language, symbolism for identity, and transgenerational understanding of Roma cultural history.

• Re-thinking Roma Resistance throughout History: Recounting Stories of Strength and Bravery

  A book edited by Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka and Jekatyerina Dunajeva, with chapters by a diverse group of researchers, uncovering forms of Roma resistance and survival strategies throughout history.

• International Cultural Outreach Program (ICOP)

  A program for the recognition and promotion of Roma arts and culture, including Romani language courses (Romani Čhib A1, A2, B1).

• Barvalipe Academy

  A body of distinguished members providing guidance to ERIAC's work.

1. 1ERIAC official websiteeriac.org
2. 2Roma Cultural History Initiative (RCHI) 2020eriac.org
3. 3History and Commemoration categoryeriac.org
4. 4Re-thinking Roma Resistance book pageeriac.org
5. 5Wikidata entrywikidata.org
6. 6German Wikipedia articlede.wikipedia.org