Building capacity for Roma inclusion at local level SUPPORT OF ROMACT FOR ADDRESSING EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF ROMA AT LOCAL LEVEL IN BULGARIA Building capacity for Roma inclusion at local level Liliya Makaveeva NPO of ROMACT in Bulgaria

ROMACT start in Bulgaria - October 2013 31 municipalities from 17 regions signed agreements for participating in ROMACT by September 2018 4 wait for approval from October 2018

ROMACT process takes about 20 months in a municipality 31 CAGs established with about 500 Roma involved as core members 31 ROMACT coordinators appointed by mayors 28 taskforce established

22 approved by Local Council decisions 29 updated JAPs: 22 approved by Local Council decisions 7 approved by Mayors 4 will be proposed to LCs in October-December 2018

Identified educational needs & issues in JAPs: 29/31 – low educational level of Roma 28/31 - irregular visit and dropout of school of Roma children 27/31 - low parenting capacity and difficult communication with Roma parents 25/31 - (functional) illiteracy of Roma students 25/31 – poverty of families and do not know Bulgarian 27/31 Lack of early development opportunities for Roma children = do not attend kindergarten, can not pay the fees, can not provide children with appropriate clothing…

Some of the goals set to address these needs by the municipalities: Providing equal access to quality education for children and students from vulnerable ethnic minorities, including Roma; Enhancing the access of Roma children to kindergarten and preschool; Improving the communication with the parents;

12 munic appointed educational mediators 29 out of 31 involved in ROMACT municipalities have taken different actions to fulfil these goals: 12 munic appointed educational mediators 27 munic - additional classes in Bulgarian and other subjects 25 munic- extracurricular activities to increase the interest of students and support of parents 29 munic - Improve educational environment (Repair and equip the schools and kindergartens; a new kindergarten built in “Nadezhda” neighbourhood in Sliven); 3 munic – cancelled the kindergarten fees – Tundzha, Nikola Kozlevo and Isperih

Support provided by ROMACT: Expert consultation on spot – for the last 6 months – over 20 Trainings - over 120 teachers, municipal staff, social workers Project consultation- over 30 projects Facilitation communication with the community and stakeholder coordination Participation of Roma community in the needs assessment and prioritisation CAG supports access of teachers to families & children

Some challenges: The projects are short term and activities, which aim at changing the attitudes, relationships cannot really bring change about. The calls for proposals are not really integrated or do not respond to the identified needs Trend to elaborate projects that fit the guidelines, and not the local needs