Ostrava: project Words are not important (2015)
From March 21-22, 2015, a choral workshop called ‘Words are not important’ was led by Ida Kelarová at Ostrava’s Chaloupka family and community centre. The participants were Roma and non-Roma foster families who were looking to adopt.
Ida Kelarová drew on her years of experience of working with Roma children, which was a great benefit for the foster parents because understanding the Roma mentality and culture is a key factor in bringing up Roma children. And because the foster parents did not grow up in that culture, it’s important they understand it so that they can also pass it on.
Ida Kelarová also outlined the activities of the organisation MIRET, z. s. with examples of the work undertaken and screened the film Černobílý příběh. Each day during the workshop everyone sang Roma songs with a concert later staged. And in the audience were the foster families’ Roma children. The project was so successful that the director of the Chaloupka association, Edita Kozinová, invited Ida Kelarová and her team to stage the workshops again in 2016 so that the experience passed on could be widened and deepened.
