The unwelcome ‘other’: the litmus-test of the Roma (3 December 2013)

wpctlogoThe 35th Corbishley Lecture will be given by Dr Michael Privot (Director of ENAR – European Network Against Racism, Brussels) “The unwelcome ‘other’: are there limits to integration of European citizens in other national settings?  The litmus-test of the Roma.”, followed by a panel discussion with Joseph P. Jones, Chairman of the Gypsy Council; Sarah Teather MP; Katharine Quarmby, journalist and author.

Tuesday, 3 December 2013 at 6.30 pm in the Grand Committee Room of the House of Commons by kind courtesy of Sarah Teather MP

The lecture will be followed by a reception in the IPU room in the Palace of Westminster  and is free of charge but prior registration is ESSENTIAL (see attached form)

The 2013 Lecture is the 35th in the series held in memory of Father Thomas Corbishley, former Master of Campion Hall, Oxford, and Superior at Farm Street, London.

With grateful thanks to the generosity of the Peter Storrs Trust

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The European Union has built part of its popular legitimacy on the freedom of citizens to move from one place to another in the EU to find better working and living conditions.  If the opening to new Member States was a great political decision, it brought its share of changes for which the Union was little prepared.

Hitherto, Roma had hardly featured on the political map of EU decision makers, yet they were facing outrageous living conditions in all new EU Member States.  Today, Roma seem to be at the nexus of conflicting European policies and highlight, by their dire conditions, some of the contradictions of the European integration process: right to mobility versus security; European social inclusion versus “national” or “ethno-national preference; anti-discrimination versus pseudo-equalitarianism; role of the State versus liberalization.

Dr Michael Privot will address the general issue of immigration within the EU which has become such a hot issue in the UK and other European countries.  The issue of the Roma can be seen as a test-case in this area of policy.

He has been the Director of the European Network against Racism in Brussels since 2010.  He has a long experience in community building in Muslim communities in Belgium and elsewhere in Europe.

The subject will then be aired with a well-informed panel of respondents before opening up for welcome discussion with those attending this event.

Joseph Jones was born into a Gypsy family and has been a spokesperson for the Gypsy and Traveller community since 1972, calling for their total inclusion and integration into society, and provision of accommodation, education, training and employment.  He is currently trying to create and fund employment prospects in Bulgaria and Romania.

Katharine Quarmby’s journalism has appeared in The Economist, The Guardian, The Times and other broadsheets.  She has been a finalist for the prestigious Paul Foot Prize and produced films for BBC Newsnight and Panorama.  Her first book, Scapegoat, on hate crimes against disabled people, won the AMIA International Literature award.  Her most recent book, No Place to Call Home: Inside the Real Lives of Gypsies and Travellers, followed seven years of reporting and research.  She continues to be an active campaigner for Romani rights.

Sarah Teather is the MP for Brent Central. She was elected to Parliament in a by-election in 2003 to become the youngest MP in Parliament.  She served for two and a half years as the Minister of State for Children and Families in the Department for Education and is now a backbencher and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees.

Please register on the attached form: a ticket will be issued shortly before the event with instructions for security and entrance to the House of Commons.

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