Our current newsletter is about those who do well. About those involved in changing the lives of the less fortunate.

One of the goals of The ‘PROMA – Promoting the integration of Roma women’ project is to identify the good practices related with the integration of Roma women through education.

Here are some good practices from Romania, Spain, Greece and North Macedonia.

Good practices – Romania

AEC (Alternative Education Club) by Policy Center for Roma and Minorities Foundation:

AEC is located in one of the poorest and roughest neighbourhoods in Bucharest, Ferentari. Volunteers work with Roma children from the neighbourhood on a constant basis: they tutor them and help them with their homework, they listen to their problems and to their families’ struggles, and they engage their parents and all the community to various events and non- formal activities: football, dancing, theatre.

Suroritate by E-Romnja

The program is meant to support Roma girls to graduate school by offering mentorship and financial support. The program is effective, as it addresses some of the challenges faced by Roma girls (need to receive encouragement, to increase self- esteem). It offers positive role models (as the program includes talks given by Roma women successful in their fields)

Good practices – Spain

Mujeres gitanas y nuevas tecnologías (Roma women and ICT) by Fundación Vodafone and Fundación Secretariado Gitano

Bringing ICTs closer to Roma women and implementing workshops focused on job search, e-health, educational resources online and empowerment (through gender equity). Roma women between 16 and 40 years old have had the opportunity to improve their ICT skills, as well as to learnt how to look for a job online and how to apply for it.

Experiencias Profesionales para el Empleo (EPES) Program by Roma Women Association FAKALI and financed by Andalusian Employment Service of the Regional Ministry of Employment, Training and Self-Employment of the Andalusian Regional Government

This program allows people looking for employment to undertake paid internships in local companies, thus improving their skills and employability. 60 people (which represents 40% of the total program) have been hired. This is especially relevant if we take into account this took place during the 2020 Pandemic.

Good practices – Greece

Women back to school (2006) by Housekeeping School of Xanthi (Oikokyrikí Scholí of Xanthi):

As part of the project,Roma teenagers received: basic literary and numbery skills, vocational training on hairdressing, tailoring, cooking.. Some women managed to generate income based on their new skills.

Empowering Romani parents to support upbringing and education of their children by ‘Step by Step’ NGO:

Brief description of the practice: The project carried out training and workshops for teachers and parents, involving mainly women (190 women out of 300 participants). The participation of Romani women/mothers in workshops for empowerment in parenting has not significantly changed their level of education but has contributed to increase their aspirations regarding the education of their children (girls in particular) that is where the change starts.

Good practices – North Macedonia

Raising awareness about the position of Roma women and available remedies by Drom NGO, Kumanovo

The project focused on applying anti-discrimination legislation to the compound marginalization of Roma women. The project began with field research about Roma girls and women in Kumanovo’s three Roma settlements, gathering a total of 400 responses. Among the key findings of the research was the fact that Roma women in Kumanovo are worse off than their male counterparts in terms of both education and employment.

Situational analysis of the state of Roma women on the labor market and utilization of active employment measures and services by HERA – Association for Health Education and Research

Roma women advocating for equal employment  opportunities  by providing insight into the existing national and local employment policies, programs and measures and their levels of utilization by Roma women in Skopje, as well as a view of the existing institutional support for their work integration.

Many thanks to all Roma organizations and Roma women from Romania, Spain, Greece and North Macedonia who were kind enough to take the time to answer the questions in our research.