#3: "To find a way out where everybody else sees a dead end" with Zeljko Jovanovic

Romatopia - Roma talk about their Utopia for Europe

Roma Rights Activist Zeljko Jovanovic about political activism, having always a plan b and his vision for Europe

Zeljko Jovanovic is a tireless activist for Roma Rights. He comes from a family which, through belief in hard-work, self-determination and education, moved from extreme poverty to the middle class of Serbia. We talked to him about his youth, the fight for democracy, about how important it is for Europe when the Roma are doing well. Being asked what majority societies can learn from Roma he says: “We find a way out where everybody else sees a dead end”.

Our guest: Zeljko Jovanovic is the director of the Open Society Roma Initiatives Office. Before that he worked for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on elections and public policy and for Catholic Relief Services on civil society development. He also has established a local Roma organization and protested for democracy during the Milosevic regime in Serbia. Jovanovic has degrees in law from the University of Belgrade, in public policy from the University of Oxford and Strategic Management at Harvard University. He is a chair of the Pavic Board of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC).
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/who-we-are/programs/roma-initiatives-office
https://eriac.org/

Zeljko Jovanovic ist ein unermüdlicher Roma Rights Aktivist. Er stammt aus einer Familie, die es durch den Glauben an harte Arbeit, Selbstbestimmung und Bildung aus extremer Armut in die Mittelschicht Serbiens geschafft hat. Wir sprachen mit ihm über seine Jugend, den Kampf für Demokratie, darüber wie wichtig es für Europa ist, wenn es den Roma gut geht. Auf die Frage, was die Mehrheitsgesellschaft von den Roma lernen kann, sagt er: "Wir finden einen Ausweg, wenn jede_r andere nur das Ende sieht."

Unser Gast: Zeljko Jovanovic ist Direktor des Open Society Roma Initiatives Office. Davor arbeitete er für die Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe im Bereich Wahlen und öffentliche Politik und für Catholic Relief Services im Bereich Entwicklung der Zivilgesellschaft. Er gründete eine lokale Roma-Organisation und setzte sich während des Milosevic-Regimes in Serbien für Demokratie ein. Jovanovic hat Abschlüsse in Jura von der Universität Belgrad, in Public Policy von der Universität Oxford und in Strategic Management von der Harvard University. Er ist Vorsitzender des Pavic Board des European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC).
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/who-we-are/programs/roma-initiatives-office
https://eriac.org/