by Emil Metodiev
Miglena Mihailova comes from a small village in the southwestern part of Bulgaria, but for many years she has lived and worked in Blagoevgrad. She is married and has a 13-year-old boy; she is a lawyer by profession.
“Yes, I am Roma and that’s my ethnic background. These are my roots and I don’t want to run away from them, nor do I want to hide. I am proud of the many achievements of the people in my community. We have a lot of successful people – with their accomplishments, with what they have achieved, with the little feats and victories.”
Miglena joined the Bulgarian Roma movement Roma Standing Conference (RSC) since its establishment, on the eve of April 8th – International Roma Day in 2017.
“I am one of the few people who have been with RSC since the very beginning in 2017. I remember receiving an invitation to attend the launch of RSC; a huge hall full of friends, activists, Roma and non-Roma alike… people who supported the idea that we, Roma, come together as a community and work together to change policies, because we were tired of being lied to, and somehow there was no vision for change. Since then, the Roma Standing Conference has gone through many stages in its development.”
Political representation, political will and better policies to improve the life of Roma are what Miglena Mihaylova wants RSC to achieve.
“What we are working towards is the political representation of the Roma community. In the healthcare sector, pilot models are being created based on our experience in the field, but the state does not use these models. What we want to achieve with RSC is to see our proposals reflected in the national policies; concrete proposals that are based on the experience of people who have worked for the benefit of the Roma community for many years.”
Join the movement yourself!
Roma Standing Conference
founded: 8 April 2017
mission: The Roma Standing Conference is a civic movement comprising Roma, pro-Roma activists and organizations from all over the country, working for social justice and the prosperity of the Roma community. We act with purpose, striving to implement politics and policies for the benefit of our Roma community.
website: www.romastandingconference.org
facebook: www.facebook.com/romastandingconference.org
instagram: www.instagram.com/romastandingconference
how to get involved: https://survey.zohopublic.eu/zs/hLhWR7
The Proud Roma Movements is a collaboration between the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture – ERIAC and its member Emil Metodiev, sponsored by the International Press Institute (IPI) as part of the NewsSpectrum fellowship.
