Urba-Rom, a new version

After several months of work with the Crevilles team, the Urba-Rom site has been completely reviewed. This reorganization has improved access to the e-resource centre and to the Urba-Rom publications. It was also a opportunity to clarify the functions of our network, which has now become an observatory of the policies towards the groups referred to as Roma/Gypsies.

Why talk about the groups referred to as Roma/Gypsies? Of course, we don’t aim to cast doubt on individual and collective identities but we have decided to focus on the labelling processes, which are mainly led by mainstream societies and their institutions. Indeed, the ways to categorize, which are often stereotyped, forcibly determine the policies towards the groups in question. Why talk about an observatory? Because it corresponds with the activities Urba-Rom has carried out up to now: gathering of scientific and documentary resources, monitoring the news; critically analyzing the policies towards the groups referred to as Roma/ Gypsies.

As mentioned in the document introducing the Observatory, Urba-Rom has other goals. By examining the situation of groups referred to as Roma/Gypsies, we propose to: participate in the current reflections about European societies today, especially those which deal with the production of inequalities, the policies of poverty regulation and urban governance; and to encourage dialogue between researchers, institutional agents, civil society organizations and people concerned by the policies (users, target groups). 

Urba-Rom now has a charter. It aims to guarantee collegiality as the mode of decision-making within the observatory, and, at the same time, to encourage individual initiatives, if these latter are compatible with the Urba-Rom principles. The charter also aims to guarantee the durability of a space for reflection at the crossroads of the academic, institutional and organizational spheres and with the people concerned by the policies.  A space of reflection which is, moreover, independent (on the financial and institutional levels).  In our opinion, this independence is a key point in order to enable the Observatory to fulfil its missions  of providing information, critical analysis and dialogue.

Lastly, we must say that we have not finished the rebuilding of the site. There are a lot of things to do… especially with the translations into English. Of course, those who wish to participate in this work are welcome to. In its functioning as well as in its principles, Urba-Rom remains a collaborative organization.