The Roma population is composed of about 8 to 12 million people, mainly in south-eastern Europe. Thus, they represent the largest ethnic minority in Europe and their very wretched economic and social situation has led to many initiatives on the national, European and even OSCE levels, whose results have always been disappointing. In Eastern Europe, the recent integration of Romania and Bulgaria in the EU has enhanced awareness regarding Roma. They are discriminated in their ‘home’ countries and also encounter major difficulties when they try to migrate within Europe. In the older Member States, the economic crisis has led sections of the local population to regard Roma as scapegoats. Most of the recently emigrated Roma live in slums. Of late, Roma have been murdered in the Czech Republic as well as in Hungary merely due to their ethnicity.

This was the backdrop against which the event was organized. It was placed under the official patronage of the Diplomatic Academy. To be more precise, ICCR Foundation worked in conjunction with the ‘Felix Kreissler Institute for Austro-French Relations’, headed by Michel Cullin. For this reason, three regions in Europe represented the focus of analysis during the evening: France, Austria and also Serbia/Kosovo. In the course of the evening, which started at 6 p.m. (see programme with all speakers), each of the three panels was composed of social workers or artists working with Roma on a daily basis as well as representatives of the Roma communities or researchers presenting a more general view of the topic.

Attendance was excellent, the ‘Salon rouge’ of the French Institute being crowded, although the talks were held in French, English and German, with consecutive summaries only in French or German. In the first part, Ivan Akimov presented his amazing work of 10 years with Slovak Roma children singing and dancing in the group ‘Kesaj Tchave’ throughout Europe. Rudolf Sarközi, who spoke on the second panel, is the official representative of the Roma community in Austria and was the best-known speaker. Born in a concentration camp in 1944 and having spent his working life as a garbage collector, in 1992 he managed to have the Roma officially recognized as an ethnic minority in Austria. This acknowledgement goes hand in hand with rights and duties, which were subsequently discussed. In the section devoted to Serbia and Kosovo, the Human Rights Advisor to the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Valon Murteza, came especially for the evening.

After a short buffet, the children of ‘Kesaj Tchave’ went on stage to perform Romani songs and dances. The atmosphere was excellent, everyone applauded and new contacts were established.

More links:

- some photos
- a short film
- a report in French

Before establishing the new blog, we had a long debate at the ICCR whether or not a blog makes sens for us. After all, we talk about social sciences and humanities, and these are disciplines that need a lot of thinking and well placed arguments. Hence, long discussion papers, articles, books. There is already an ongoing trivialisation of the SSH, based upon presentation software and the format of SSH conferences: 15 – 20 minutes, 10 slides to make your point. It is obvious, that this development is against all scientific rules.

In fact, this development comes from the management “sciences”. We can see the effects all over the social and political life: “New Public Management” is at odds with democratic governance. Evaluation and assessment is trivialised to “benchmarking”. Politics and policies are reduced to election winning strategies. This is what Marcuse already criticised in his famous book “The One-Dimensional Man” and what Gramsci called the hegemony of the ruling class.

Why then starting a blog? It is to defend the SSH in a modernistic electronic age. Do not expect social theory happening here. This is not the medium for it. The approriate media are still books and journals; arguably so, social action could be included into this: Prominent authors, like recently Luk van Langenhove, call for action research. Much earlier, Patrick Moynihan held the claim that social scientists are “professionalized reformers” – and became Senator of New York. Even if one would not subscribe to this claim – and I personally do not – “science&society” is quite relevant a topic: there must be a way between “Ivory Tower” and trivialisation.

A blog cannot replace what Mannheim called “The diagnosis of our time”; and this is still the mission of the SSH. What a blog can, however, achieve are critical comments on developments. It might make readers curious to go deeper into specific issues and, for instance, look into the sources the notes are referring to. And politics, policies, cultural developments, the society at large as well as the scientific societies deserve a lot of critical comments.

This is why the ICCR-family, the Interdisciplinary Centre in Vienna, the Centre Interdisciplinaire in France and the ICCR Foundation as umbrella organisation of the two research centres have decided to start this blog.

It is up to the readers to judge about its usefulness. Hirshman told us that there are two possibilities to disagree, exit or voice. You might choose not to participate in the journey – which is exit, although you have not yet entered. You might choose to react by saying: no use.

But voice can prove participation as well: you are welcome to comment, whether you agree with the arguments developed on blog, or whether you disagree. In either case, we would count it as encouragement.

Yours sincerely,

Ronald J. Pohoryles