Jožek Horvat - Muc from Murska Sobota

From the time immemorial on, the Roma, a nation from the Middle East, have lived as nomads and as a people without their own homeland, although they were always seeking it in their dreams. The more they were searching for it, the further away they found themselves from their dreams; dispersed among other nations they were losing contact with their original culture and language. Among Roma, who decided to bring back a part of their dreams into their life is excelling Jožek Horvat - Muc. Although in the environment, wherefrom he is coming the respect was paid primarily to the experiential education, he nevertheless took his own way. He attained a profession; at the scouts he learnt many useful skills and how to act as a guide, he was also a football coach and a referee as well as instructor of the karate martial art. He acquired the culture of the volunteerism as a member of work brigades, where he was awarded for several times. He studied Roma studies in Vienna and became lecturer of the gipsy language. Yet all this years of learning were not just an objective for its own sake. Jožek Horvat - Muc has already from his childhood on encountered prejudices and for that reason he decided to dedicate his efforts to improving the Roma's image and their social standing within society. Due to the fact that up to that day there was no one teaching the gipsy language he went, to serve the good of his people, abroad and became a teacher. Where the educational routes were not in place he created them on his own: he founded the scout division Green Oak and a Kyu Karate Club, he is an animator in culture and the founder of the first Roma theatre group in our country and he is also an author of theatre plays and a stage director. He is assisting in creating the radio programme »60 minutes for Roma« and the television programme called »The Roma Outlooks «. He manages the language courses and workshops at home and abroad. He nurtures the gipsy language as an editor of various publications and as an organiser of the International Roma Camp. He is president of the association Romani Union, which he founded in 1992, he is promoting the increased cultural self confidence and openness of the Roma community to the outer world and by the same token also the improved acceptance of the Roma in society.