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LIBE II CULT IMCO LIBE I DROI AFCO FEMM JURI
Roman Mazur Mariya Vasylyeva Olia Doroshenko Davit Manukyan Ricarda Pfingstl Lukas Ischlstรถger Julia Matviychuk Selena Sofuoglu
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Little Effort – Big Victory by Mariya Vasylyeva
She steps in the room and everyone is watching her. She asks if there was any homework for today – and nobody answers. She is different, she is not like others. But there is still a powerful will in her head – a will to learn. There are 47,587 Romani living in Ukraine, most of them are residents of Transcarpathia, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Odessa regions. A great problem, which Roma have to face in Ukraine, is segregation that is prevalent in Ukrainian schools. Parents of most students don’t want their children to
study together with the Roma. Therefore, administrations of educational institutions fulfill adults’ requirements and create separate Roma classes and even schools. This, undoubtedly, results in social isolation of Roma kids and causes the unwillingness to continue studies. For instance, there are about 20 segregated
schools in Transcarpathia, most of which are located in old buildings without basic facilities. The discrimination of Roma children in education cannot be denied, however, there are many initiatives and projects that help to find and, actually, find the solution to that immense problem. One of the foremost reasons why Roma kids do not want to go to school is that they simply are not prepared for it. Having no basic knowledge of discipline and hygiene skills, they feel like a fish out of water with other kids. That is why projects aiming to encourage parents to get education were launched. Specifically, there is the project «Spreading the experience of the Centers for parents in Roma communities”, organized in 2013 by the Ukrainian Foundation «Step
by Step». In the initiative, special centres for parents conduct training for the Roma, teaching them how to be good advisers for their kids, be fully engaged in family life and explain them how to create favorable for education conditions at their homes. Such initiative will help to deprive Roma kids of “inherited” unwillingness to study and will prepare children for kindergartens, schools and, hopefully, universities. Another fruitful initiative is “Education for Roma kids” – project, organized by volunteers of movement “Youth for Peace”. Children have their classes every weekend, learning how to write, read and count. They are also taught Ukrainian language and culture and this will ease the process of their integration into Ukrainian society in the future. An important fact about this project is that everyone who wants to help can be involved in it. There is an application form on the official website, in which volunteers state the amount of money they can pay each month for children education. If not providing financial support, anyone can help by bringing to school clothes, books and toys.
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by Olia Doroshenko
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Integration vs. Inclusion by Davit Manukyan “United in diversity” is the official motto of the European Union. Diversity reflected in the identities of the Member States (which were contributed by migrants from around the globe) makes the basis for the EU. In the era of globalisation, the European society is inevitably enriched by the increase in migration processes. They affect European demographics, languages and cultural practices, and Europeans will continually need to adjust to these changes. Unfortunately, some minorities in the EU are facing discrimination, racism and xenophobia. Integration is considered as a solution to this problem, while another viewpoint implies the best resolution to be inclusion and participation that have several noteworthy differences. The integration means “the process by which people who are relatively new to a country become a part of society”, in other words assimilation to existing order in a homologous society. That is why integration is often perceived as a
one-sided process, placing the change only on minorities, who has to catch up with majority demands. To avoid a one-sided assimilation integration is often replaced by terms “inclusion” and “participation” that imply a two-sided process. “Inclusion” is used to describe not only the relation between minorities and majorities but all social groups. Social inclusion is a stated policy goal for governments throughout the EU to enable everyone “have access, use, participate in, benefit from and feel a sense of belonging to a given area society.” If the minority wants to be a part of a big society, it is the one who needs to take measures to meet the “standards”, while others are convinced that the best option for both sides is to be open-minded enough to adapt and exchange cultural and social features and to have more complex and diverse society, while not losing national identity.
A name to remember
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by Ricarda Pfingstl Polish people have heard of Anna Grodzka today, maybe you have not which is why she is worth to be presented. She was the third openly transgender member of a national parliament worldwide, after Georgina Beyer and Vladimir Luxuria. She was believed to be the only remaining transgender member of parliament until Nikki Sinclaire (in office 2009-2015) outed herself in November 2013. Now you might think – positive LGBT news coming from a country like Poland? The strongly Сatholic country is not known to be warmly welcoming the LGBT society, in fact not recognising same sex relationships thus not allowing adoption and samesex marriage is constitutionally banned. Her elevated profile in public life may now work in her favour, and help to break down public prejudices towards transgender people, but she is the first to admit that it has not always been so. Like most transgender people,
explaining to friends and beloved ones that she was transsexual, did not always elicit a supportive response. Moreover, she has experienced hate crimes and abuse. In an interview with David Hudson from the Guardian she answered as follows: «Definitely. I have been through unpleasant situations when I have met people who have shown contempt or displeasure. «Because I am very well-recognised in Poland now, it gives me a lot of opportunity to observe reactions to me, and there are a lot more positive reactions than negative reactions.» Also she is fighting for LGBT rights, she has founded a nongovernmental organisation TransFuzja devoted to the transgender community and advancement of LGBTQ rights in Poland. This shows a great development when it comes to rather conservative countries slowly accepting the LGBT society and taking first steps away from the 2007 openly discussed anti-homosexuality law.
by Lukas Ischlstรถger
12 by Julia Matviychuk
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The six Romes
by Selena Eylul Sofuoglu This is an expression we have all heard at some point in our lives. It is very widely used because it is true. It means that when grappling with a challenging task you must be patient and work through a problem step by step. This is the abstract meaning. However you can take it literally too: taking on the identity of an independent nation is a difficult task because it is not simply about declaring your independence as a nation. All countries need stability and it takes years, even decades to reach and embody. But why stability? Stability generates economic success. For example, in the United Kingdom there has been uncertainty in government because of BrExit and this has initiated many problems for the currency policies and employment. Most important stability will keep a country united. Yet in the UK, there is no unity. The UK is an old democracy unlike the list
of countries that declared their independence from the USSR in the early 90-s. These countries have had little time to instil stability.
ÂŤRome was not
of the World Considering the centralist communist system of the former Soviet Union which was unelected and which was lacking freedom of speech, it is understandable that
built in a dayÂť
15 these Post-Soviet countries now have problems with violations of human rights and censorship of the media because they have had insufficient time and little chance to confront and solve their internal issues. Being that these countries were not independent until 26 years ago and are still dealing with unsolved conflicts However this is not an excuse for oppressive measures and policy. Waiting for these issues to go away on their own is highly unlikely. Therefore, the European Union can provide important examples to these countries through their established democracy. They can offer support and encourage the governments of these countries to move towards stability and prosperity. Perhaps Rome can’t be built in a day. But that doesn’t mean that it will never be built and prevail.
Source: http://www.baltictimes.com/latvian_foreign_ ministry_denies_eastern_partnership_summit_antirussian/