Annual Meeting

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The Gypsy Lore Society Annual Meeting and Conference on Gypsy Studies

Gypsy Lore Society meetings are held on an annual basis and are rotated among different US cities and other countries. Meetings typically include presentations of recent research, discussion sessions, exhibits and films. Gypsy Lore Society members receive discounts on meeting registration fees.

Recent conferences have been held at

• Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA (2003)

• Belgrade, Serbia (2022)

• Bratislava, Slovakia (2014)

• Bucharest, Romania (2018)

• Budapest, Hungary (2002)

• Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic (2021)

• Academy of Sciences of Moldova, Chișinău, Moldova (2015)

• Florence, Italy (1999)

• Glasgow, Scotland (2013)

• Universidad de Granada, Spain (2005)

• Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal (2010)

• Graz, Austria (2011)

• Istanbul, Turkey (2012)

• University of Helsinki, Finland (2009)

• University of Manchester, England (2007)

• Newcastle upon Tyne, England (2004)

• University of Cyprus, Nicosia (2017)

• University of Iceland, Reykjavik (2019)

• São Paulo, Brazil (2023)

• Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden (2016)

• Tucson, Arizona, USA (2006)

• Washington, DC, USA (2000, 2008)

Complete list of Annual Meetings and Conferences

2024 Annual Meeting of the Gypsy Lore Society and Conference on Romani Studies

Gypsy Lore Society conferences are among the most significant annual scholarly events devoted to Romani Studies worldwide. Each year the event takes place in a different country, and is organised by the Gypsy Lore Society in cooperation with local academic institutions.

General Information

The 2024 Annual Meeting of the Gypsy Lore Society and Conference on Romani Studies is scheduled for September 25th -27th 2024 and will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria. The conference is organised on behalf of the Gypsy Lore Society by the Balkan Ethnology Department, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The Ethnographic Institute with a Museum was established in 1949 when the Institute of People’s Studies (1947) was merged with the National Ethnographic Museum (1906). The institute (now named Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) conducts research, educational and applied activities in the fields of ethnology, folkloristics, cultural and social anthropology, ethnomusicology, ethnochoreology, art studies, and museology. Research is carried out in a Balkan, European, and global context ( https://iefem.bas.bg/en/ ).

The conference will be held in person. 

Preliminary Program

The conference preliminary program is posted here.

Venue, Travel and Accommodation

The 2024 Annual Meeting of the Gypsy Lore Society and Conference on Romani Studies is scheduled for September, 25 th - 27 th . The conference is organised on behalf of the Gypsy Lore Society by the Balkan Ethnology Department, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria.

Venue of the conference

The conference will be held in Sofia at Park Hotel Moskva . The opening session will take place at Europe Hall (350 seats), Park Hotel Moskva, 25 Nezabravka Str., Sofia, 1113.

Please see this brief orientation guide!

The easiest way to reach Park Hotel Moskva,located at 25 Nezabravka Str, is by underground (metro). From Sofia Airport, Terminal 2 you will need to take the yellow Metro Line 4 and get off at the „Joliot-Curie“ station. (Shuttle transfers are available between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 from 7 am to 7 pm). You can buy a ticket for a single trip (1.60 leva/ 0.82 euro) using your Credit or Debit contactless card (or a digital card uploaded to their NFC mobile wallet) on an onboard/metro gate reader. In case of a late arrival at the airport, please keep in mind that public transport is available till Midnight. You can also use the official taxi operator Yellow! available on a specified spot in the Airport area. We recommend to have cash for the taxi service. The price to Park Hotel Moskva should not exceed 30 leva.

Do not hurry to exchange money at the Sofia Airport before you pass the border control. You can buy Bulgarian leva in the bank offices in the terminals lobby. If you arrive during the night, we recommend you to buy not more than 100 leva (app. 50 euros)

Accommodation

We suggest you book a room at Park Hotel Moskva, a 3-star hotel, where a discount has been negotiated for the participants in the GLS Annual Meeting and Conference.

Accommodation requests should be sent to: marketing@parkhotelmoskva.net (please indicate that you are participant(s) of the Gypsy Lore Society conference). NOTE: Rates are valid upon availability for reservations made by 11th August 2024.

Please see the preferential prices below:

The price includes: 1 night stay, breakfast, tourist insurance, tourist tax and 9% VAT.

Park Hotel Moskva is located next to one of the most beautiful parks in Sofia – Borisova Garden. Approximately 20 min. walk through the park will lead you straight to the city center. Also, you can use the subway to reach different tourist sites in the central part of Sofia, railway and bus stations, as well as other points in the city.

For more information about Park Hotel Moskva, please see the following link: https://www.parkhotelmoskva.net/about-the-hotel/?lang=en

As a second option for accommodation we suggest the InterContinental Sofia, a 5-star hotel, located in the heart of the capital city Sofia. A discount has also been negotiated for the participants in the GLS Annual Meeting and Conference.

For more information about InterContinental, Sofia Center, 4 Narodno Sabranie Sq., please see the following link: 

https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/us/en/sofia/sofco/hoteldetail

For reservation at the preferential prices, please use the link below:

Sofia, 25-27 September 2024, Bulgarian Academy of Science 

Breakfast is included.

Rates are valid upon availability for reservations made by 11th August 2024. Cancel free of charge 30 days before arrival date.

Also, you can find different accommodation options at https://www.booking.com/ .

Please note that participants must organise their travel to Sofia and accommodation individually.

Other information:

If you still have not received an acceptance or rejection letter, please contact the Academic Committee at gypsyloreconference2024@gmail.com

If you need a Letter of Invitation for the Visa, please contact the Organisation Committee as soon as possible at: gypsyloreconference2024@gmail.com  

Registration

Conference registration is now open. Registration closes 31 July 2024.  Earlier registration will be helpful to the organizers.

To register, complete the registration form.

Use this form to register for the September 28th excursion as well.

Conference fees

Conference fee payment will open on 5 August 2024 and will close 31 August 2024. Detailed information on how to pay the conference fees and excursion will be sent to all registrants by 4 August 2024.

The conference fees will be:

Gypsy Lore Society members, EU 150.00

Non-members, EU 220.00

One-day excursion: EU 30.00

This is the approximate price of transport services to Kyustendil and back to Sofia. The price will depend on the number of registered participants for the excursion. Each person will pay for the meal individually.

New Gypsy Lore Society members as well as current members pay the Gypsy Lore Society members’ fee for the conference. To join the Gypsy Lore Society click here.

We look forward to welcoming you in Sofia in September 2024!

Tour

A post-conference tour to Roma communities is offered for September 28th. Please if you intend to attend save the additional day in your travel schedule. You can register for the tour using the registration form. The excursion cost is EU 30.00. You will pay for the excursion along with your conference fee.

If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at: gypsyloreconference2024@gmail.com

Open Panel Abstracts

Two open panels have been accepted for the conference. Click here for details of the open panel. Abstracts for those open panels should be sent by the deadline of 15 April 2024, the same deadline as for individual paper abstracts. Applicants should submit their abstracts to the organizers with a copy to the conference email (gypsyloreconference2024@gmail.com). Applicants must specify in their proposals that they are applying for a specific open panel. 

Important Dates

Deadline for submission of open panel proposals: 15 March 2024

Deadline for submission of papers and pre-arranged panel proposals: 15 April 2024

Deadline for the confirmation of contributions accepted for 2024 GLS Conference: 15 May 2024

Financial Aid

Gypsy Lore Society

Through the generosity of its members, the Gypsy Lore Society will award two stipends of $500 each to eligible in-person participants or eight awards of the conference fee to remote participants.

Applicants should currently be enrolled in a PhD program or those up to three years past completion of their PhD  requirements.

Their conference papers should be accepted.

They should not have received aid for meeting attendance from another source.

Gypsy Lore Society members will receive priority.

Applicants should send a letter of application to the Gypsy Lore Society treasurer, treasurer.gypsyloresociety@gmail.com, by 30 May 2024. The letter should indicate your school and program and what other sources of aid are available to you.

Conference Academic Committee

Tatiana Zachar Podolinská, DSc, Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology at Slovak Academy of Sciences, President of the Gypsy Lore Society (Slovakia)

Elena Marushiakova-Popova, PhD, Professor, Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology at Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovakia)

Vesselin Popov, PhD, Professor, Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology at Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovakia)

Hristo Kyuchukov, Professor Dr. Habil., University of Katowice (Poland)

Magdalena Slavkova, PhD, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Bulgaria)

Yelis Erolova, PhD, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Bulgaria)

Lilyana Kovacheva, PhD, Vice President of the Gypsy Lore Society (Bulgaria)

Marcos Toyansk, Senior researcher, SESC/University of São Paulo (Brazil)

Conference Organising Committee

Magdalena Slavkova, PhD, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Bulgaria)

Yelis Erolova, PhD, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Bulgaria)

Vanya Ivanova, PhD, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Bulgaria)

Plamena Stoyanova, PhD, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Bulgaria)

Behrin Shopova, PhD, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Bulgaria)

Lilyana Kovacheva, PhD, Vice President of the Gypsy Lore Society (Bulgaria)

Julia Popcheva, PhD candidate, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Bulgaria)

We look forward to welcoming you in Sofia in September 2024!

Future Meetings

Watch this space for updates on coming meetings.

Conference Photos

Photos from past conferences.