Guaranteeing the Right to Education for Roma Children in Selected European Cities

ended

The objective of GUARANTEE is to promote children’s right to education by preventing school dropout and promote transition to secondary/vocational schools and by deconstruction of harmful stereotypes and mutual understanding between Roma and non-Roma youth. Leisure activities for teenagers that support their educational forthcoming and promote team building between Roma and non-Roma youth will serve this purpose. Knowledge transfer between professionals and exchange of good practices will be facilitated. Action research will be conducted. Lessons learnt and best practices will be analyzed, documented and distributed. The core target groups are teenagers belonging to the minority as well as to the majority population at the transition from elementary to secondary school. The teenagers need to be encouraged in their self-esteem and self-discipline, in order to successfully complete elementary school and take a self-confident decision on their further career. Regular joint activities of Roma and non-Roma youth will support their social competences and to critically question stereotypes. Professionals (social workers, sports trainers, pedagogues) will be addressed, as well as parents who decide on the future education in the best interest of their children. GUARANTEE is carried out in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, hosting the largest Roma population in Europe and Dortmund, Germany, hosting a significant Roma population. The contexts differ in their political, institutional and societal environment. This allows for an in-depth analysis of the impact of context factors on the implementation of a measure designed to improve Roma children’s access to education and mutual understanding with the majority population. Thus, lessons learnt and conclusions drawn from the accompanying research will contribute to the elaboration of practices that are transferable to other locations and member states within the European Union. Objectives The main objective of the proposed project is to promote the children’s right to education by: 1. Preventing school dropout and promote transition to secondary/vocational schools 2. Supporting the deconstruction of harmful stereotypes and mutual understanding between Roma and non-Roma youth 3. Facilitating knowledge transfer and peer-to-peer training of professionals through mutual learning and exchange of good practices 4. Conducting action research, analyze, collect and disseminate lessons learnt and best practices Activities - Combined sports & learning program for children from 6th grade (11/12 years) to 9th grade (14/15 years) - Facilitate knowledge transfer and peer-to-peer training of professionals - Conduct action research, analyze, collect and disseminate lessons learnt and best practices Type and number of persons benefiting from the project - 200 parents of teenagers - 100 girls and boys between the age 11-15 years - 50 professionals in education, sports, social work etc - NGOs, regional organisations and municipalities all over Europe Expected results 1. Parents of teenagers will have been reached with information and support concerning their kids’ education career in Dortmund and Plovdiv. 2. Girls and boys between the age 11-15 years will have participated in the sports& learning program in Dortmund and Plovdiv. 3. Professionals in education, sports, social work etc. will have been trained in a human rights based approach to education and will have exchanged with their colleagues on successful methods of educational support. 4. NGOs, regional organisations and municipalities all over Europe will have benefited from the examples and the outcomes from GUARANTEE for implementation in their own sphere. Type and number of deliverables to be produced - 2 human rights trainings - 2 exchange events for knowledge transfer and exchange of experience - sports and learning activities for girls and boys in Plovdiv and Dortmund - 1 Handbook / guide for practitioners