In the letter itself, the President of the IRU Zoran Dimov says:
Thank you organizers for giving me a chance to share some words with all of you. It is such an honor for me to be part of this event, where we cherish our hard work through the years.
The IRU is the only global Roma organization. We are representatives of all Roma people. At this moment the IRU already has special IRU delegates in 55 countries. In the IRU organization the term "Roma" also includes Sinti/Manush, Calé, Kaale, Romanichals, Boyash/Rudari, Travellers, Yenish, “Gens du voyage”, as well as other groups and all persons who identify themselves as Roma. The IRU protects global cultural rights, Roma identity and valuable traditions of Roma. We are proud that the rich Roma culture is well known and appreciated.
Prior to Covid-19 pandemic, the Roma have been informal Roma entrepreneurs and livelihoods have been based on the informal economy, such as street vendors, informal recyclers, day laborers, musicians and other artists. The Roma have tried to maintain their modest standard of living under overwhelming economic pressure, without a minimum income, and have tried to act despite the risk of Covid-19 infection.
But in times like this we can see who was there for the people in need. In times like this we can finally tell that the hard work has paid off. These people, Valenzuela Family, Jovanka and Rodrigo Valenzuela have done so much for our culture and because of that we are proud, and Sao Paulo is also proud. I am so happy that today we are celebrating culture, history and rituals to our people, that we are together united as one, because that’s the way we can achieve our goals. This is an amazing opportunity to unite everybody and with this party we create job opportunities, publicizing projects that includes cultural awareness, dancing, cooking and crafting workshops, and many more so we can grow together stronger.
Thank you for your support the city of São Paulo and selfless help and congratulatons on the prize.
Mr. Zoran Dimov, President of the International Roma Union - IRU
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