THE POWER OF THE WORD (The President’s podcast) – #13: Rahela Hojnik Kelenc, Nataša Horvat, Franci Kek

The President hosted Rahela Hojnik Kelenc, Director of the Lendava Adult Education Centre, who has been leading numerous programmes for more than two decades focused on social activation, education, and digital literacy for the Roma. She presented several projects aimed at empowering women within the Roma community, programmes for improving reading literacy and digital inclusion, and highlighted the importance of cooperation between the local community and Roma families.

Nataša Horvat, a Roma activist, Roma municipal councillor in the Municipality of Lendava, and a long-time advocate for education among the Roma, also shared her views. In the conversation, she described her personal journey, the importance of education as a key to equality, and her experiences in confronting prejudice and stigmatization.

The third guest was Franci Kek, former adviser on Roma issues at the Municipality of Novo mesto, who provided a first-hand account of the situation in the Dolenjska region. He shed light on the challenges faced by the majority population in coexisting with the Roma and the difficult security situation in the Southeast region, and spoke about the need to change social measures and find a balanced approach between prevention and enforcement.

The guests emphasized that successful coexistence requires more than legislative changes – above all, it requires cooperation and trust, the values on which we can build a shared future.