1. 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

2. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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…

7. 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;

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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