Roma community flag to be raised at Vilnius TV Tower for International Roma Day

The Roma community flag will be hoisted at the Vilnius TV Tower on Wednesday to mark International Roma Day, the BNS news agency reports.

This year’s commemoration holds special significance as it coincides with the 55th anniversary of the official adoption of the Roma flag, said Ištvanas Kvik, chairman of the Lithuanian Roma Community. “This is a great opportunity to discuss issues important to the Roma and to remind everyone that Roma are equal citizens, just like all others,” he stated.

Kvik noted that raising the flag at the TV Tower reflects a shifting public perception of the Roma community. “In many European countries, the Roma flag is raised at state institutions on this day. We also submitted such a request to the Seimas, but since the Roma do not have a recognised geographic state, current Lithuanian law does not permit it,” he explained.

The day’s events will begin at the Seimas Visitors’ Centre, featuring a new photo exhibition titled “I Am Roma – I Am European: A Manifesto of Identity, Freedom, and Dignity”, showcasing Roma crafts and jewellery. Traditional ceremonies, including flag-bearing, the singing of the Roma anthem, and the laying of flowers into the Neris River to honour victims of the Roma genocide, will also take place.

Vaiva Poškaitė-Kovaliuk, head of the Baltic Roma Association, highlighted ongoing discrimination against Roma as one of the most marginalised groups in society. “Unfortunately, we still see the word ‘čigonas’ [a derogatory term] used as an insult or the Roma portrayed as mystical figures during Užgavėnės [a traditional festival]. But today is also a day to celebrate progress—such expressions are decreasing, showing that long-term efforts are yielding results,” she said.

International Roma Day was established on April 8 during the first World Roma Congress in London in 1971, organised by the International Roma Committee. The congress marked the first global Roma cooperation effort and formally adopted the Roma flag.