Roma Children Leading the Way: Active Participation for a Brighter Future

forthcoming

The project targets Roma children especially girls to develop meaningful civic engagement and democratic participation at EU national and local levels. The project establishes sustainable child-led participation mechanisms across four local communities: Uzhhorod (Ukraine), Zvezdara (Serbia), Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Evrotas (Greece). The project is coordinated by OlamAid e.V., an internationally operating humanitarian organization. The project aims to enhance Roma children's democratic participation so their voices can shape public decision-making processes. For this purpose, it develops enduring child participation mechanisms and strengthens Roma children's civic education and advocacy abilities while building a Cross-European children's network, reducing digital barriers, and improving local institutional capacity. The work plan consists of five work packages. WP1 focuses on project management activities including coordination and monitoring functions and risk management responsibilities. WP2 concentrates on result dissemination activities and long-term sustainability efforts. WP3 builds a nationwide Roma children's network and diverse digital means and channels which helps them to participate at local level and join EU-level participation platforms. WP4 improves the capacity of children and participating organisations through inclusive trainings, digital modules and toolkits. WP5 establishes Civic Labs and Children's Councils in four local communities while generating child-led shadow reports and facilitating structured policy dialogues between children and municipal authorities. Expected results include the creation of sustainable participation structures in the target communities along with increased civic skills and advocacy confidence among Roma children. Furthermore, it develops sustainable cooperation with local municipalities, and accessible open-source resources that support the long-term continuation and replication of the project model.