Date of implementation: September 2017 – ongoing

Partners: OSCE Mission to BiH

Primary Objective: To challenge negative stereotypes about BiH’s Roma community

The Roma have faced discrimination and persecution throughout Europe for centuries, with prejudice against them having been woven into the social and cultural fabric of Europe. Despite their position as one Europe’s largest ethnic minorities, Roma are not given a proper platform to combat the negative perceptions people have about them, thus, PCRC created the “On the Margins” project give them a space where their voices can be heard. The portraits and personal testimonies presented as part of this project stand in stark contrast to widely held Roma stereotypes and challenge the viewer to reexamine his or her own viewpoints about this diverse community. When non-Roma individuals begin to reexamine their own beliefs and behavior toward the Roma, they then sow the seeds for a wider cultural and behavioral shift that can lead to a more inclusive society for all.

Produced with support from the OSCE Mission to BiH and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the concept for “On the Margins” was developed around several core documents, including the Council of Europe’s “Dosta! Toolkit Against Anti-Gypsyism”, the OSCE Mission to BiH’s “Special Report on the Status of Roma in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, UNICEF’s “The Status of Roma Children and Families in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, reports by the World Bank in BiH, and the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination in BiH.

In the interest of providing opportunities to young, local talent, PCRC commissioned up-and-coming Bosnian photographers Armin Durgut, Aldin Fafulović, and Vedran Živković to tackle the project alongside two international photographers, Mirko Pincelli and Brad Hobbs.

Since 2021, lessons and stories from the On the Margins project are included in the teaching manual on “Holocaust & Peace – Lessons from the Past for the Future” for teachers and educators in BiH and Western Balkans.