“Drom” in the Romani language means “road”, which for centuries has been one of the most popular symbols associated with the Roma. This is still the case today, although not many members of this ethnic minority lead the existence of a wanderer. Wandering, especially in wooden wagons, is a distant past, a history remembered only by the oldest generations, and which children and young people learn about today mainly from books. As the most famous Romani poetess – Papusza wrote many years ago in her poem: “Gypsies ride in many carts…”.
“Drom” in the context of our project is therefore treated as a metaphor, as an online journey through the Roma culture and with the Roma, which in combination will bring a great result to our audience, an adventure combined with education, which is in vain to be found at school and sometimes at universities. E-drom Roma Culture Portal is a great pill of knowledge about Roma and their world, a journey into history and contemporary everyday life of our characters, a journey through the artifacts of Roma culture.
E-Drom Roma Culture Portal is a cultural platform, a living museum, a server of Roma culture, a dynamically developing online place, which is more than just a web portal. Created by Roma people, Romologists, i.e. experts in Roma culture, scientists, ethnographers, cultural scientists, educators, journalists, publicists, artists, social activists, and … the list is very long, because the cooperation has an open status…
The Roma Culture Portal is a living place. Its modest beginnings, which include several thematic galleries, film documents and collections made available by private collectors, however, thanks to its open formula and the cooperation of communities, it is developing all the time. We are rediscovering the Roma culture in its broader version and meaning, going beyond the usual stereotypes. The portal features documents, photographs, paintings, and films devoted to Roma tradition and culture, the most interesting phenomena from the world of art and culture, social activities, and profiles of prominent figures of Roma culture both from Poland and abroad.
The content on the portal is provided in a manner accessible to any viewer regardless of age, education, occupation or interests. The portal can be a source of education and entertainment, but also of specialist knowledge useful at school and at work.
A strategic part of the portal are the materials created by the authors involved in our project. Films, photos, articles, interviews, educational activities that have been or will be created for the portal. The portal is also a collection of important information that circulates on the Internet, but all the content on the portal has been analyzed by specialists and prepared in such a way that it is a source of truth about the history, culture and contemporary situation of the Roma. We realize that both the Roma and their culture are burdened with many stereotypes, negative and positive, and that is why we apply an appropriate filter, rejecting fake news, worthless content that may mislead the audience and create false images of the Roma world.
The road is a symbol of journey, something opposite to home, which for each of us is associated with a permanent place, a refuge to which we return. Let the journey in Romani culture be an adventure that will allow us to breathe during the hard moments of isolation, forced quarantine, or simply in moments when we dream of freedom, because freedom is another important symbol associated with the Roma.
Agnieszka Caban
