Dosta! Ireland - Roma and Travellers

Dosta! Go beyond prejudice, meet Roma and Travellers!

Dosta means "enough" in the variant of the Romani language spoken in the Balkans where the campaign was initiated. It is also a Council of Europe awareness raising campaign which aims to bring non-Roma closer to Roma citizens by breaking down the barriers caused by prejudices and stereotypes.

Although Roma have been living in Europe since at least the 14th century, they are not always recognised by the majority society as a fully-fledged European people. Many Roma communities today live in very difficult conditions, and their participation in public life is extremely limited.

What is sure is that Roma are European citizens: they form a group of about 12 million people and can be found in almost all Council of Europe member states; in several Central and Eastern European countries, they represent between 5 and 10% of the population.

Being European citizens means that Roma have not only duties but also rights and aspirations like everybody else, and therefore their citizenship and human rights must be recognized. In addition, Roma culture is fully part of Europe’s cultural heritage: it has always contributed to the enrichment of European societies. It is now time to recognize this contribution.

As for Travellers, they still encounter difficulties in maintaining and enhancing their nomadic (or semi-nomadic) way of life and specific culture.

Over recent years some progress has been made for improving the economic and social development of Roma in Europe. However, these efforts are often facing severe obstacles caused by deeply-rooted beliefs and prejudices.

Although European countries have different policies towards the Roma, different cultural patterns and social standards, the messages that "Dosta!" wants to convey are the same for all European countries.

Campaign objectives

Fighting stereotypes and negative prejudices against Roma and Travellers;
Combating anti-Gypsyism in the framework of policies/actions against racism and discrimination;
Raising awareness about Romani culture, language and history.

The Dosta ! campaign is not conceived as an exclusively Council of Europe action. We warmly welcome all Europeans, Roma and non-Roma, civil society representatives and public officials, who share the objectives of the campaign to join and contribute to it.

If you want to participate, there are plenty of ways for supporting the campaign, starting from spreading its messages and fighting stereotypes!

Stereotypes and prejudices are both filters which modify our view on what the reality is. Ignorance is the main factor of prejudice! Let's think differently!

Note: The term “Roma and Travellers” is used at the Council of Europe to encompass the wide diversity of the groups covered by the work of the Council of Europe in this field: on the one hand a) Roma, Sinti/Manush, Kale/Cale, Kaale, Romanichals, Boyash/Rudari; b) Balkan Egyptians (Egyptians and Ashkali); c) Eastern groups (Dom, Lom and Abdal); and, on the other hand, groups such as Travellers, Yenish, and the populations designated under the administrative term “Gens du voyage”, as well as persons who identify themselves as Gypsies.

Dosta Leaflet