Performing Arts workshops for Roma children and youth

The civic association MIRET has been actively searching for talented and gifted Roma children and youth, providing them with professional assistance and guidance in fulfilling their dreams and ambitions which they would not have been able to achieve due to their underpriviledged family background.

Ida Kelarová and her creative team help children to develop their own personality, teach them goal seeking, perseverence and responsibility, perfect their artistic performance and improve their inclusion, and show them their Romani roots as a valuable source of inspiration for their art and a way to represent themselves and promote their rich Romani culture. This also motivates them to achieve a better performance and teaches them the importance of education as an investement for their better future.

The aim of the workshops and festival is to support the child's creativity, abilities and talent, and motivate Roma children and youth by promoting the Romani culture on a professional level.

Each project is mainly about groups of people from different social and ethnical backgrounds coming together - groups of Romani children, children from functional and dysfunctional families and children's homes.

The main focus of the projects is to contribute to the children's upbringing, extend their knowledge about culture and create a natural environment where children and young people can spend their time meaningfully.

We want to:

• Provide Roma and non-Roma children the opportunity to participate in major multicultural events with a rich programme offering song, dance, art and drama.
• Create an inspirational atmosphere and space for children of different ethnical and social backgrounds to meet and work together.
• Provide children and young people with an insight into Romani culture and traditions which serves as a way to deal with prejudices about cultural values and lifestyle on both sides. At the same time, this may help the inclusion of the Romani community, prevention and elimination of expressions of extremism, racial intolerance, nationalism and xenophobia.
• Provide all festival visitors the opportunity to particiapate in an open discussion and talks concerning current Roma issues in the CZ and all over the world.
• Through Roma ballads, music, dance and accompanying events (debates, talks, exhibitions, Romani customs, handicrafts, cuisine), the Romani traditions and lifestyle are introduced to the festival visitors.
• Mutually motivate and inspire each other.
• Promote the talent of Roma children and youth.