Norwegian money to help Romanian, Icelandic researchers create first oral history of the gypsy

Teams of Romanian and Icelandic researchers will restore the oral history of the Roma population, with the help of EUR 750,000 in Norwegian funding. This is a one of a kind project for Romania, and the first such attempt to re-create the Roma history using oral information sources. The project, which will start in August this year, will consist in 600 recorded field interviews with members of the Roma community in Romania, as well as setting up a Roma virtual museum, the first of its kind. The Romanian team is made of researchers from the Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj Napoca, who will work with researchers from the University of Iceland. “We will speak with elder members of Roma communities, who also have the time to talk to us, and who will refer us to other people who know interesting stories from the past and who are good story tellers,” said during a press conference Lavinia Snejana Stan, the project coordinator, quoted by Mediafax. The team of researchers will be made of 15 people, plus master and doctorate students, as well as volunteers. Not only Roma in Romania will be interviewed, but also Roma from other European countries. In Romania, researchers will talk to Roma communities in Strehaia and Pata Rat. Most of the funding – 65 percent – will be used by the Romanian team, while 35 percent, by the Icelandic team. Most of the money will be used to buy equipment and books for the Cluj Institute of Oral Research. The project will take three years to complete, and will end with creating a virtual museum, where recorded interviews will be posted. Two books on the topic will also be published. “The Roma community is a very important minority in Europe, it is part of our lives, and by giving these people a voice, we will understand them better,” said Professor Gudmundur Halfdanarson from the Iceland University. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Freeimages.com)