The Museum of Romani Cultur announced the winner of the landscape-architectural competition for the form of the future memorial “Lety: Memorial to the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in Bohemia”.

The winning design was submitted by Jan Sulzer and Lucie Vogelová from the terra florida v.o.s. studio and by Jan Světlík, Vojtěch Šedý and Filip Šefl of Ateliér Světlík. Roman Černohous and Petr Karlík also worked on the design.

The jury assessed the designs according to the architectural and artistic quality of their response to the challenge posed by the competition, taking into account the perspective of how the memorial would be situated in the landscape and also the degree to which the design expresses the subject matter and processes the topic of the memorial. A crucial factor in that regard is the degree of respect shown by the design for the culture of Bohemian Roma and Sinti.

“We are very glad that we have managed to choose a design that the jury agreed on practically unanimously,” said the director of the Museum of Romani Culture, Jana Horváthová. “The winning project was highly appreciated for its sensitive approach to the subject itself and to that of the surrounding landscape where the memorial will be situated, as well as for fulfilling the conditions of the economic suitability of the design.”
The assumed costs for building the memorial are, according to expert estimates, CZK 31.5 million [EUR 1.18 million] during the first phase of realization. The memorial will be financed by multiple sources, with most of the budget covered by the EEA Grants. The opening of the new memorial to the public is planned for 2023.

The new exhibition and memorial are meant to honor the memory of the Romani and Sinti victims of the Holocaust, to commemorate, educate, inform and spark discussion of both the past and also the present social situation, and to cover the subjects of discrimination against minorities and of human rights. Detailed information about the competition and the background materials for it are available on the competition website in Czech and English: www.novypamatniklety.cz.

EEA and Norway Grants and Human Rights

EEA and Norway Grants continuously support human rights in the beneficiary states and enable finding suitable ways for their support and development. Several programmes under the EEA and Norway strive for better inclusion of Roma and fight racism and xenophobia.

Programme Human Rights

Programme Human Rights plays a key role. One of its areas directly focuses on Roma inclusion and empowerment. Various projects will be supported in three open calls. Moreover, the programme directly supports pre-defined project of Museum of Romani Culture and establishment and operation of Centre of Roma and Sinti in Prague. This memory institution will not only present Romani history and spiritual and material culture, but will also become a social and community center offering educational and cultural activities to the general public. The opening of the centre is expected in March 2023.

Programme Culture

Programme Culture emphasizes support of cultural activities of minorities in the contemporary arts, inclusion and cultural heritage of minorities (including Roma and Jewish cultural heritage). Thanks to this programme, the new Memorial to the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in Bohemia will be supported by EUR 1,5 million. The project will start in 2021 and it shall be completed by April 2024. Besides the building of the memorial, the project involves exhibition and educational programme prepared in cooperation with Norwegian Falstad Centre.