Signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation with the University of São Paulo
On April 16, 2025, our institute signed a memorandum of cooperation with the University of São Paulo, specifically with the Laboratory of Studies on Ethnicity, Racism and Discrimination (LEER). The aim of this cooperation is to promote the development of science and research, the application of new scientific knowledge in practice, the presentation, popularization and dissemination of scientific knowledge, as well as the development of domestic and international scientific cooperation and communication.
The memorandum includes coordinated approaches in areas of common interest between the Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (IESA SAS) and the Laboratory of Studies on Ethnicity, Racism and Discrimination at the University of São Paulo—covering scientific research, organizational, legislative, editorial, promotional, and educational activities, as well as other spheres of shared intent.
This cooperation did not arise out of nowhere—it is the result of long-term preparation and joint activities, particularly in the field of Romani studies. Our collaboration began more than thirteen years ago, when Prof. Elena Marushiakova served as a co-supervisor of the PhD dissertation of Marcos Toyansk (PhD thesis: “O associativismo transnacional Cigano: Identidades, diásporas e territórios”), which he defended at the University of São Paulo in 2012.
Today, Marcos Toyansk Silva Guimarães is the head of the Romani Studies department within LEER and a member of the Board of Directors of the Gypsy Lore Society.
Over the years, our cooperation has continued through mutual invitations to academic events and the exchange of scholarly outcomes. In 2018, Prof. Elena Marushiakova and Prof. Veselin Popov were invited as keynote speakers at the international conference Estudos Ciganos: Perspectivas Históricas, Representacionais e Espaciais / Romani Studies: Historical, Representational and Spatial Perspectives in São Paulo.
This collaboration culminated in the major Gypsy Lore Society Congress held in São Paulo (October 3–6, 2023), co-organized by both institutions and attended by several of our institute’s colleagues. A report on the conference, along with photos from the event, was published on our institute’s website.
Our next meeting will take place at this year’s Gypsy Lore Society conference in Paris in September. We also expect the arrival of Matheus Alvim, a student from the University of São Paulo, who will join our institute for a specialization stay.
