EduRom. Promoting the access of Roma to LLP, VET and employment through familiy education in Primary Schools Coordinating Organisation ROMANI ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN DROM KOTAR MESTIPEN Barcelona (Spain) Tel web: Lifelong Learning Programme. KA1. Roma Multilateral project European Platform for Roma Inclusion. June 27th 2013

Drom Kotar Mestipen. From grassroots work to international networking Drom Kotar Mestipen was created in 1999 by a group of Roma and non- Roma women from very different levels of education, ages and origins. Our objectives are: Encourage and facilitate equal access of Roma women and girls in all areas: education, social and labor. Overcome the triple exclusion that Roma women suffer: for being women, for being Roma and for having low academic education. Work to achieve that the voice of the Roma women is heard and disseminated within her community and in society as a whole.

GRUNDTVIG GOLD 2009: Inclusive teaching material for Adults: the Roma PROJECT COORDINATOR - DROM KOTAR MESTIPEN Barcelona, SPAIN

Our older dream… October, 2010 The voices of the Other Women (Without university degree) Debates and contributions were oriented to find solutions: WHAT IS ALREADY WORKING IN OVERCOMING DISCRIMINATION AND EXCLUSION AMONG ROMANI WOMEN? I International Roma Women Congress: the other Women

300 women from 16 countries debating and reflecting on our own dreams in Education, Employment and Romani Feminism

________Outputs of the Congress Conclusions Romani Declaration of Barcelona European impact of all outputs and common projects

ROM-UP! The inclusion of Roma through quality successful educational experiences ROM-UP! aim was to create an International Romani network aimed at raising awareness of the successful educational experiences that have already been scientifically proven to be effective in the promotion of the social integration of Roma children and all the students in general, in terms of pursuing educational success

Background Rom-up! Project. The Quality Evaluation Group formed by roma representatives, educative actors and authorities representatives selected with the project Consortium, the family and community education as on of the eleven successful educational experience in order to improve the educative situation of roma children in Europe Previous research projects such as Include-ed have mentioned family education as a successful practice for the social and labour/scholar inclusion of both non-academic adults and their kids. The grassroots roma women expressed not only in the international congress but also in other discussion spaces the demand to participate in family education courses in order to improve their children educative results The EduRom project wants to carry out and apply at local level with European impact, actions already demonstrated successful through research studies and the recommendations done previously by international scientific community to raise participation and attainment levels of Roma students in general education and VET.

Challenges to overcome through the project to improve Roma key competence skills through family education courses in primary schools facilities in order to impact also in their children academic results to encourage the non-formal and informal learning validation of Roma to facilitate their access to LLP, VET and employment to work against school failure and early school leavers in Roma community, bringing primary schools and Roma families closer to each other, promoting the participation in school of families and all the community

Objectives The Projects main aim is wide the access of Roma community to LLP, VET and employment through the acquisition of key competences and impact in at the same time in the Roma children academic success. To improve skills in Roma families creating adult learning spaces in the primary schools facilities To encourage the non-formal and informal learning validation of Roma to facilitate their access to LLP, VET and employment. To work against school failure and early school leavers in Roma community, bringing primary schools and Roma families closer to each other and promoting the participation in school of families and all the community. To create referents of success of family education and Roma school participation for other countries To create a network of primary schools and parent associations to promote and implement family education courses and school participation of Roma families in more schools

Context where it will take place The project will be implemented in: Spain (Romani Association of Women Drom Kotar Mestipen) Ireland (Pavee Point Travellers and Roma Centre) Czech Republic (NGO Slovo 21) Greece (Roma Women Association of Drosero Elpida) Bulgaria (Center Amalipe) Romania (Roma Women Association For our children) With the collaboration of primary schools Addressed to grass roots and non academic roma families that have children in primary schools

Main activities and actions 6 family education courses in six different countries with a minimum of 15 roma people per course Common framework and strategy and a guide about how to implement the courses. Key competences in family education report Family assembly to define contents of the course, learning interests and needs, calendar, schedule… Search for volunteers to carry out the courses (mainly belonging to the community) Compulsory training for all volunteers on AE, Roma community and key competences Develop the courses with a bimonthly follow up assembly with families and monitoring meeting with volunteers Awareness raising campaign at European and national level where the European Parents Association will contribute and play a key role to promote and disseminate the project experience to other schools and European countries. We will organize national seminars at the end of the project. FIRST YEAR

Main activities and actions Promote the access to VET, LLP and employment. Giving advise and information on the different educative, training and employment possibilities after the end of the courses and accompanying through the whole process of validation. Improve of the participation of roma families in school. Report Barriers and challenges to Roma family participation in schools. (two communicative discussions groups with roma families and with teachers and other educative members) Implementation of a plan agreed by school and roma families of activities and development to improve and promote Roma families school participation. All the schools will celebrate the International Roma Day among others activities Creation of the EduRom network. We will design a leaflet to disseminate it. A guide will be the tool to support and accompany new schools on the process of implementing family education and school participation. Finally through a European magazine the members will exchange opinions and experiences. Lobby strategy to impact in the current educational policies based in a policy paper that will collect all the project contributions SECOND YEAR

Main strengths The project is based in the recommendations of previous research projects and the international scientific community The project pretends to implement and transfer to other countries a successful educational action that has proved before to be effective to improve the educative inclusion and results of roma children The project consortium: formed by six national/regional organizations that works directly with Roma community, an expert organization in the field of adult education, an institute for quality development in schools with expertise in disseminating project findings in the field at a European level, a public administration institution and a Research centre as associated partner. The project is based on the direct demand from grass roots romani women The grass roots roma community (target group) will have an active role in all the project phases and in all the debate and discussion project spaces. It will assure the impact an success of all the products, activities and results produced in the project

Sustainability and transferability The project expects to be the starting point to develop strategies in each European country to engage in family education and promotion of Roma families school participation for both a better social and labour inclusion of Roma families and more attendance, better attainment levels and more inclusion of Roma students. Through the project, successful experiences in the family education and school participation will be developed. These experiences, explained by the Roma families in three products, will act as a positive model of success for other Roma families to engage in similar activities.

Sustainability and transferability The lobbying strategy will assure the impact of the contributions in policies and practices promoted by policy makers, governments, reference organizations and other stakeholders. Through the policy paper the project will offer specific proposals and recommendations to incorporate family education and promotion of Roma families school participation in education policies, in order to achieve a great impact in Roma community educative results

EduRom. Promoting the access of Roma to LLP, VET and employment through familiy education in Primary Schools Coordinating Organisation ROMANI ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN DROM KOTAR MESTIPEN Barcelona (Spain) Tel web: Lifelong Learning Programme. KA1. Roma Multilateral project European Platform for Roma Inclusion. June 27th 2013