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Orhan Galjus

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Orhan Galjus is founder and pioneer of radio programs and was leading member of Roma associations in Ex Yugoslavia. He worked on Romani issues and mainly on Roma media in exYugoslavian countries, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Western Europe. In Amsterdam was High Commissioner of the International Romani Union (IRU), and today he is European Rroma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) – IRU delegate He was a member of the Pedagogical Working Group on Roma/Gypsies and Travellers of the EC Commission, member of the Group of Research and Action in Rromani Linguistics, member of the board of directors of the Phare Roma Program in Romania.

He established in 1991 the Nevipe-Press Rrom News Agency, and published first RromaniEnglish periodical Patrin. Later, in Amsterdam started to broadcast Radio Patrin, weekly Rromani-Dutch radio program (1992). As publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the periodical Patrin, in 1994 established Patrin’s branch office in Presov, Slovakia, yet again, from February, 2009 he restarted the same Radio Patrin at SALTO – at the Amsterdam public broadcasting organization. He serves as international correspondent for Swedish International Radio Program in Rromani “Radio Chachimo”. He was guest editor and staff member and author of articles for numerous Roma publications/newspapers. He was Communication Officer of the Roma Participation Program (RPP) and later as program manager of the Network Media Program (NMP) of the Open Society Institute (OSI) in Budapest, Hungary. Orhan Galjus worked as regional coordinator (Hungary Slovakia and Czech Republic) for Partners for Democratic Change (San Francisco, Bratislava, Budapest, Prague).

Orhan Galjus is one of the key voices of the Roma on the international scene and one of the major drivers of Romany emancipation worldwide. In 1996, he received the “Phralipe” (“Brotherhood”) award from the International Romani Association Romano Them (Italy) and a special THANKS Award for outstanding contribution to the strengthening of the Romani nation from the 5th (Prague) and 7th Roma World Congress (Zagreb). During the II Summit of Roma in Cordoba, (April 8, 2010) in Spain, the Instituto de Cultura Gitana and Spanish Ministry of Culture awarded Orhan Galjus with the “Premio de Cultura Gitana 8 de Abril”en la modalidad de Comunicacion”. From September 2010, he is lecturer at the Paris Inalco University. Thanks to his communication skills recently he was appointed as executive adviser for the Dutch based company IP Solutions – partner in solutions for business.

 

Updated February 2011