ROMANI LANGUAGE WORKSHOP:

What‘s on offer?

At KaskoSan Roma Charity we have been running Roma cultural workshops since 2014 in the U.K. We are now offering different types of training content in relation to the Romani language and the Roma customary law, with workshops hosted by Roma linguist Juice Vamosi and tailored to focus on the following themes:

1.       introductory language workshop,

2.       healthcare, childcare,

3.      schooling and

4.      policing.

The language approach offers a neutral space where attendees can better understand the controversies caused by centuries of misinformation about Romani people. Attendees will learn about Romani culture through this unique experience.

Romani Language Manchester, Home, Manchester, June 2022

Romani Language Workshop and film screening, Glasgow, May 2022

Romani Language Workshop, Leeds, July 2022

Romani Language Workshop, Bolton, May 2022

Romani Language Workshop, Erith, May 2022

Romani Language Workshop, Sheffield, June 2022

Due to the centuries of isolation from each other as well as from outsiders, Romani speakers developed their own caste and group identities, call themselves numerous ways both with Romani terms and with various ethnonyms given by outsiders. The internal variants mostly derive from ‘Roma’ while the external variants are related to the word ‘Gypsy’.

Workshop participants will get to understand the origins of these expressions, the meanings behind them and the implications to the life of Romani speakers in different areas of their daily lives.

The Romani language workshops help attendees learn the language through the undocumented Romani customary law. While several castes are aware of its existence, call it by its name and consciously pass it down from one generation to another, there are many others that have lost the name of the rules or the language but carry on adhering to the thousands of unwritten laws subconsciously. All workshops will include:

·  Romani language and its dialects,

·  the unscripted Roma customary law that no one talks about, and

·  the compelling stories of Juice Vamosi, Romani language consultant for more than 33 years.

Each will then go into further detail on its individual theme. Each language workshop incorporates elements of storytelling and music. Upon request, we can also provide dance coaching and offer food samples to attendees.  Alongside the language workshops, we continue to offer our successful cultural workshops which have been running  since 2014:

·  Traditional Roma storytelling

·  Traditional Roma music

·  Traditional Roma food

·  Traditional Roma dance

To discuss further and get your quote now please email juice@kaskosan.org.

On November 7th 2022 we hosted the Romani Language workshop at the UN in Geneva:

Origins of the Romani Language Workshops in the U.K.

Juice Vamosi:

“As a filmmaker I learnt the power of films in terms of changing perceptions. Roz Mortimer, the director of The Deathless Woman, an expert in making films about trauma, gave that a further push by introducing the idea of a Romani language workshop preceding selected screenings of The Deathless Woman https://thedeathlesswoman.com** during its Arts Council England-supported national U.K. tour in spring/summer of 2022. The overwhelming success of these events made us realise that both Romani speakers and non-Roma found the workshops gave them:

– ways to deeply engage with Romani speakers,

– transparency and clarity about who descendants of Romani speakers are, 

– a deep insight into Romani perceptions of life through Pachiv, Roma customary law,

– a clear understanding of interlinkages between Romani language and its history, 

– a clear-cut image of how Romani speakers are perceived in the eyes of an outsider, 

– but also, a concise overview of the common cultural heritage shared by most Romani speakers and their descendants. 

We now want to keep building on the interest and positive feedback received after these workshops.”