Associazione 21 luglio (Association 21 July)
Associazione 21 luglio is an independent not-for-profit organization committed to the promotion of the rights of the Roma and Sinti communities in Italy, mainly through the protection of children’s rights and the fight against any form of discrimination and intolerance.
OUR ACTIVITIES
Research and monitoring
Associazione 21 luglio’s research department produces reports on a regular basis that contain data and information on the living conditions of Roma and Sinti in Italy. With our reports we monitor and we speak out against any form of discrimination, segregation and violation of human rights caused by local and national policies. Housing, health, security, education and legal status are among the main issues considered.
Advocacy
Research is the basis of the Association’s advocacy actions. We present our reports to institutions and political decision makers, we organize visits in the “camps” with members of the Italian Parliament and European authorities, we draft recommendations, we disseminate letters and public appeals, we prepare reports for the United Nations. The aim of our advocacy strategies is to influence change in the political measures which produce ethnic marginalization.
Web and media monitoring
The Observatory 21 luglio constantly monitors media, blogs and websites across Italy that could disseminate discriminatory messages or incitement to racial hatred towards Roma and Sinti. Following the analysis of every single case, the Observatory, when needed, can put into practice a corrective action by sending a letter of injunction to the subjects involved and informing the competent agencies.
Legal actions
When necessary, the Association undertakes legal actions related to situations of violations of human and children rights and incitement to racial hatred. The Association evaluates pleas to the judicial authorities even in cases of discriminatory behaviors perpetrated through the media and the web.
Awareness-raising activities
Associazione 21 luglio conducts activities to raise awareness of human rights violations and promotes positive models and experiences, in order to eradicate widespread preconceptions and stereotypes linked to Roma and Sinti in Italy.
Projects
The Association’s education department implements projects aimed towards the development of the social rights of children and adolescents livibng in conditions of disease and social fragility. Another crucial activity is the organization of training classes addressed towards young Roma human rights activists, with a particular focus on the participation of women.


Per aiutarci a diffondere l’appello “Il diritto all’alloggio non si sgombera” sono disponibili i materiali da scaricare.
“Anime Smarrite. Il piano degli sgomberi a Roma: storie quotidiane di segregazione abitativa e di malessere”.
Presso la segreteria dell’Associazione 21 luglio è possibile richiedere il cofanetto (libro+DVD) del documentario ideato e diretto da Massimo D’Orzi. Narra la storia di un viaggio fra le comunità Rom della Bosnia ed Erzegovina che, iniziata con l’obiettivo di documentare il presente, ha finito per assumere i caratteri di un film storico. “Un viaggio con l’intento di capire di più riguardo queste comunità, con la certezza di affrontare un qualcosa, trovandosi di fronte però, qualcosa di completamente irrazionale, come la storia, la vita, la cultura degli zingari”, come lo definisce lo stesso ideatore e regista, D’orzi. Il film racconta, in un gioco di primi piani e chiaroscuri, un viaggio attraverso uomini, donne, bambini appartenenti al popolo Rom. Un popolo per noi ancora oggi misterioso e sconosciuto, oggetto di discriminazioni e violazioni dei più basilari diritti umani. Il libro contiene, oltre alla ricostruzione della genesi del film da parte del regista, i contributi inediti ed eccezionali del regista Silvio Soldini, del critico cinematografico e documentarista Fabrizio Grosoli, dell’intellettuale e scrittore bosniaco Professor Predrag Matvejević, della giornalista Silvia Angrisani e della montatrice del film Paola Traverso. Da non perdere.
