The Council of Slovak Roma (RRS) held its first constituent conference in Kosice, Slovakia on January 25. According to chairman Frantisek Gulas, the new organization has about 15,000 members and wants to work with the government to fully integrate the Roma in Slovak society. Politicians have proposed the establishment of an Office for Romany Affairs to be set up in Kosice in 2004, responsible for training social workers and implementing other projects to benefit the Roma community. RRS hopes to work closely with other Romany advocacy organizations.
