2015 Phiren Amenca Annual Report

Phiren Amenca

ROMA-GADJE DIALOGUE THROUGH SERVICE

annual report 2015

a network of Roma and non-Roma volunteers and voluntary service organizations creating opportunities for

NON-FORMAL E D U C A T I O N

,

DIALOGUE AND ENGAGEMENT,

CHALLENGE STEREOTYPES in order to

AND RACISM 2

Phiren Amenca

ROMA-GADJE DIALOGUE THROUGH SERVICE

annual report 2015

Krúdy utca 2. Fsz.7.

1088, Budapest, Hungary Rue de Fiennes 86 1070, Brussels, Belgium Email: info@phirenamenca.eu

phirenamenca.eu

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Table of Contents 1. Network Developments.........................................................8 2. Voluntary Service...................................................................10 The Voluntary Service Program........................................ 10 Voluntary Service with Phiren Amenca........................... 12 The Program in 2015. . ......................................................... 12 Selected Placements Volunteering for Change – EVS with ERGO in Brussels, Belgium.................................. 13 Be Responsible, Be Green! – EVS with Nevo Parudimos in Milcoveni, Romania.................................... 13 Voluntary Service with the Phiren Amenca Coordination Team in Budapest, Hungary...................... 13

3. Education & Training in Voluntary Service...........................19 Volunteer Seminar Concept............................................. 19 Regional Seminar on the Volunteering Experience.................................................. 19 Spring Seminar: “Volunteering for Remembrance”............................................................ 20 Phiren Amenca Study Session on Youth Transition through Voluntary Service..................... 22 PUTREN LE JAKHA – OPEN YOUR EYES to Antigypsyism!. . ............................................................... 24 Volunteers’ Seminar December....................................... 25

4. Educational Program.............................................................30 A Europe of Diasporas. . ..................................................... 30 Mind your Language!........................................................ 31 Intercultural Learning with Migrants and Minorities – Exchange Organizations Exploring a New Dimension... 32 Roma Youth Conference 2015.......................................... 32 Roma Youth Action Plan................................................... 33 The Meeting of the Extremophiles: Phiren Amenca Seminar on Intersectionality and Alliances in Voluntary Service.................................. 34 Declaration of the Roma Youth Conference 2015.......... 36

5. Remembrance Education on the Roma Genocide............43 The Roma Genocide – Recognition by the European Parliament in 2015................................ 44 Remembrance Working Plan............................................ 44 Roma Genocide Survivor and Young Roma Activists Meet Members of the European Parliament.... 45 The Uncanny X-Chavalem - Ultimate Roma Youth Exchange on Pop Culture and Scy Fi and May 16, the Romani Resistance Day........................ 46 2nd of August – Roma Holocaust Commemoration in Komárom, Hungary....................................................... 50 Acting for Roma Genocide Remembrance – German-Hungarian Youth Exchange in Berlin................ 52 Romani Resistance – Roundtable Discussion and Training................................ 53

6. Special Events and Thematic Programs...............................54 Capacity-building of Roma Organizations..................... 54 Volunteering – Citizens’ Tools for Roma Participation.... 54 So Keres, Europa?! – Changemakers Movement............ 58

7. Advocacy and Partnerships..................................................70 Partnerships & Cooperation................................................70 Protestant Church Day (NGO Fair).....................................70 Phiren Amenca Contributes to European Education Policy on European Education, Training and Youth Forum 2015. . ....................................... 71 Ecumenical Voluntary Service Organizations of EDYN Meet in London........................... 72 Challenging Stereotypes and Antigypsyism in State Institutions...................................... 73 ERGO Annual Platform Meeting....................................... 74 Media Visibility.. ................................................................. 74

8. Structures.................................................................................75 9. Financial Report......................................................................78

1. Network Developments 2015 has been a successful year with several key moments for the development or our network. We organized our first large-scale youth event ‘So keres, Europa?!’ in the European Youth Capital 2015, Cluj-Napoca (Romania) with the strong involvement of our former volunteers. Over 300 young people joined the biggest solidarity march with Roma in Romania in history against forced evictions, organized in cooperation with the evicted communities, and received attention on national and international level.

The Hungarian Roma band Parno Graszt even changed the lyrics of a song to the title of the event and contributed to the creation of a spirit that social change is possible with solidarity and joint engagement.

The voluntary service program is stable with a high number of Roma and non-Roma volunteers participating in our programs and we could include new placements in our programs. In addition, quality issues in voluntary service have been pushed forward in a study session on the transition of young people through voluntary service, which we were able to organize in cooperation with the Council of Europe. The spring seminar for volunteers in Romania, co-organized by our member organization Nevo Parudimos, has been crucial for the development of a long-term Remembrance Working Plan.

The second Youth Conference on Antigypsyism, organized by FAGIC in Barcelona, is an example how successful concepts developed by one member organization can be adapted and multiplied within the network. All seminars are organized with the support of former volunteers, thereby creating a multiplying effect and a long-term impact. The connection of local volunteering and international voluntary service is another indicator for the sustainability of our programs.

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The board has set a focus on the strategic development of the organization and decided to choose each year annual priorities in order to keep a clear focus in our programs.

Priorities 2015 1. Annual theme: Volunteering for Roma Participation (activities, white paper, research) 2. Enlargement of the network (membership/partnership) 3. Recruitment campaign for Roma volunteers 4. Platform of former volunteers

Priorities 2016 1. Annual theme: Focus on antigypsyism (campaign, trainings, local actions, white paper) 2. Quality in voluntary service (continuation of study session and guidelines) 3. Working Plan on Remembrance in voluntary service (new placements, activities) 4. European visibility and advocacy of the network (Youth Event in European Parliament)

March 2015, The Phiren Amenca Board of Directors

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“

It is great to see the volunteers, how they become much more self-confident during their voluntary service and that they would still like to be engaged in our work after their service.

Marietta Herfort

EVS coordinator RGDTS – Phiren Amenca Hungary

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2. Voluntary Service The Voluntary Service Program We believe that volunteering is a powerful tool for social change, as volunteers dedicate their time and energy to contribute to society. Based on national and international voluntary service programs, the Phiren Amenca network creates opportunities for young Roma and non-Roma to live and engage in local communities and projects for up to one year contributing to the daily work of organizations in any social field. Placement themes may include youth and sport activities, social inclusion, arts and culture, environment and human rights. In exchange for their engagement, the volunteers can benefit from an unforgettable life experience, intercultural learning, non-formal education, and new language skills.

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Voluntary Service with Phiren Amenca Phiren Amenca voluntary service placements offer various learning and service opportunities with the aim to challenge stereotypes and racism as the root causes of social exclusion and marginalization of Roma. As Roma and non-Roma, we want to create a mutual dialogue and equal opportunities for all young people in our societies, especially through giving equal access to voluntary service. Phiren Amenca network supports and encourages volunteers in this learning experience through seminars on intercultural learning, Roma history and cultures, civil rights activism and empowerment, as well as discrimination, mechanisms of exclusion, antigypsyism and racism today.

Voluntary service organizations in the Phiren Amenca network are European and North American non-profit bodies sending and/or hosting these young adults, and providing support such as mentoring, on-arrival, mid-term and pre-departure seminars, pocket money, room, board, language support and insurance.

The Program in 2015 In 2015, over 50 volunteers, Roma and non-Roma from 10 countries, participated in the Phiren Amenca program in placements in 15 countries. While the program is based on a stable number of hosting placements of our member organizations, each year a few specific projects allow young people to realize their services with new partners. In 2015, a few new placements were opened and new partners started to host volunteers, like in Belgium, Macedonia, Croatia and Slovakia. Moreover, in the last year, one of our Romanian member organizations, Nevo Parudimos Association, developed a diverse profile of voluntary service placements around their region, including in their new own youth camp, where a big number of volunteers can engage.

The projects are mainly financed by the European Voluntary Service of the European Commission, by the French “service civique�, by the German voluntary service program, or by selffinanced programs.

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Selected Placements Volunteering for Change – EVS with ERGO in Brussels, Belgium Since September 2015, ERGO Network hosts its first EVS volunteers from Romania and Hungary. Carmen Tanasie and Atanas Stoyanov are both engaged in the publicity of the network, as well as supporting the organization of meetings, debates and cultural events. The volunteers take an active role in the preparation of the participation of the Phiren Amenca International Network and ERGO Network at the European Youth Event 2016 in Strasbourg, France.

About the hosting organization: ERGO (European Roma Grassroots Organizations) Network wants to achieve equal opportunities for Roma in their societies and encourages them to take an active role in accomplishing respect for their rights as equal citizens. ERGO Network connects organizations that share the conviction that Roma can and should participate as active citizens in their own societies. To overcome the discrimination and stigmatization that are root obstacles to their equal participation in society, ERGO Network supports civic empowerment, mobilization of Roma at grassroots level and leadership at all levels of society. www.ergonetwork.org www.romareact.org

Be Responsible, Be Green! – EVS with Nevo Parudimos in Milcoveni, Romania Marabu Youth Camp in Milcoveni has opened in 2015. Already in the year of its opening, this placement gave the opportunity to five volunteers from Portugal, France, Italy and Spain to learn more

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about the environment and to promote an ecological lifestyle and alternative agriculture. Besides gardening and taking care of the animals, the volunteers organized events in Milcoveni and in Resita, to give information about possible ways of volunteering on local and international level, and to share their experiences in the camp, as well as to promote environmental protection for young people.

About the hosting organization: Nevo Parudimos Association is a non-profit, apolitical organization, which was founded in 2008 by a group of teachers, Roma activists and Roma students from Caras-Severin-county, in the south-west part of Romania. The aim of the Nevo Parudimos Association is to decrease the economical, social, educational and cultural differences in society.

Voluntary Service with the Phiren Amenca Coordination Team in Budapest, Hungary Since 2013, the Phiren Amenca coordination team in Budapest involves two EVS volunteers each year. After the volunteers left in the end of August 2015, Maxim (from Ukraine) and Angela (from Romania) arrived to Budapest, to contribute to the work of the organization. Additionally, Phiren Amenca hosts one volunteer per year from the USA through the Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA).

The volunteers are responsible to update the website, work on visibility, especially about promoting voluntary service, organizing workshops, small events and seminars as well as visiting local organizations and communities to give information to young Roma and non-Roma people about Phiren Amenca and about European mobility programs.

We believe our organization gives an opportunity to learn more about their realities and to learn ways and methods how to

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challenge stereotypes and racism – tools that they can use when they are back in their home countries.

The reasons for a voluntary service in our office are diverse.

In the case of Maxim, his reasons for getting involved in Roma activism were more personal – he was born in a big Roma family.

His whole life, he has been happy and proud of his heritage, but when he became a teenager, he started to notice and feel people’s reactions when they found out he was Roma. As soon as they heard he was Roma, they would imagine him in terms of the stereotypes they knew.

This shows again the importance of this one-year service for the volunteers, in their personal development, self-confidence but also in a longer mission of the network, to challenge stereotypes, racism and antigypsyism.

EVS with Nevo Parudimos in Milcoveni, Romania

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elena volunteer

M

y name is Elena and I am twenty years old. I come from Germany and currently I am studying Medicine at the Martin Luther University in Halle.

During my last year in school, I decided to apply for a voluntary service in Romania and to do something completely different, instead of going to study directly.

It was important to me to do something for others, to contribute to society and not only to care about myself. I especially decided to go to Romania, because I am half-Romanian and I wanted to get to know this country, its people and its cultures and languages as a resident and not as a tourist.

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“

I think that many people do not see and realize how much discrimination and racism are part of our daily lives.

I worked in an afterschool program for Roma children in a little Village called Mera about 14 km outside of the Transylvanian town Cluj. We picked up the children from school and had lunch together. Afterwards we did the homework and tried to help each child with his or her individual difficulties. After finishing the exercises for school, we played together and did some crafts. Supporting the children with their homework was the most important part of our work, because often their parents could barely read and write and could not help them. The Diakonia also offered a possibility for parents to learn step by step to read and write.

I gave my best to teach “my” children and it was a pleasure for me to work in this project, which will hopefully give them a better chance in society.

Beside the great time with the children, one of the most important experiences during my voluntary service was the seminar with Phiren Amenca in Milcoveni. Our first seminars in Germany and Romania always dealt with the topic of working with children, but we never had a seminar that prepared us for working in a Roma community. All of us three volunteers knew almost nothing about the history, the way of life and the discrimination this ethnic minority has to face all over Europe.

This Seminar gave a completely new knowledge and sense to our voluntary service, because we learned to see many things from another point of view. We got to know Roma of our age and other youth activists and could talk and share our experiences. The topic of the seminar was ‘Volunteering for remembrance’. In Germany, the Second World War and the Holocaust are an important part of education, but I was shocked, when I realized, how little I knew about the Roma Genocide and how late it was recognized by Germany and the EU. During this seminar, I learned how important it is to look behind the behaviour of people, to try to understand their stories and their reasons from their perspective. It developed my ability of empathy and this is my biggest gain of my voluntary service.

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I think that many people do not see and realize how much discrimination and racism are part of our daily lives. It is frightening that stereotypes are still so deeply rooted in modern society. That is why it is even more important to challenge these stereotypes and the roots of racism. It needs the dialogue and cooperation across borders and nations to defend the central idea of the European Union: openness, respect, diversity, freedom, peace‌ My voluntary service had a strong impact on me and changed my attitude of thinking. It widened my horizon, encouraged my values and helped me to find out more about my aims and myself.

It also challenged me and gave me the chance to meet so many interesting people from all over Europe.

Currently, I do not have the time to work regularly as a volunteer, because my studies take a lot of time. I hope and would like to continue to take part in seminars and youth events and to find a way for social engagement while studying. During my voluntary service, I also saw the discrimination of my children and their families in the medical sector. One of my aims is, after finishing my studies and qualification, to work in an organisation like “Doctors without borders� and to provide medical assistance, where it is needed the most.

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3. Education & Training in Voluntary Service Volunteer Seminar Concept Each spring and fall, in cooperation with member organizations, Phiren Amenca hosts a one-week seminar for current volunteers, volunteer candidates and former volunteers from around Europe.

The seminars focus on the exchange of experience and on Roma history, antigypsyism, discrimination, stigmatization, xenophobia, identity and culture; globalization and migration; as well as youth engagement, empowerment and Roma initiatives in Europe.

Additionally Phiren Amenca organizes preparatory seminars and small-scale weekend seminars for volunteers, especially for volunteers from the region (Central-Europe).

Besides the importance of the preparatory seminars, we realized the importance of bringing together volunteers for a few days to reflect on their experiences. We believe that is very important to bring together our volunteers from Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and even from Ukraine – where the volunteers are mainly working with Roma communities – not just to give them space for reflection but also to give them more information and knowledge about the situation of Roma in their hosting placements and tools to challenge stereotypes and racism in their every-day life.

Regional Seminar on the Volunteering Experience From March 13 to 15, 2015, volunteers from all over Europe and the United States gathered in the office of Phiren Amenca. After the introductory activities, on the first day they focused on the history of Roma, discrimination and bias in Europe. In the evening, they visited the opening of the exhibition ‘Roma Body Politics I – No Innocent Picture’ in Gallery8, where the historical prejudices of Roma people were presented by portraits of famous Roma scholars, public figures and intellectuals. As most of the participants were non-Roma who are working with Roma communities, on the second day participants focused on the topic of becoming an ally. It was an important part of the seminar, because in order to 19

support someone effectively, there is a need to understand how to build up a relationship and unite with a group.

Besides these subjects, there was also time to talk about specific challenges in the placements, which was important in order to feel less alone with problems but also to find solutions together.

The Phiren Amenca volunteers Kristell Caballero Saucedo and Tina Heise organized this seminar as a follow-up of the fall seminar 2014.

Spring Seminar: “Volunteering for Remembrance�

The spring seminar 2015 brought together 40 youth leaders, workers, multipliers, trainers and volunteers from over 13 different countries during a six-day lasting seminar in Oravita, Romania.

The project aimed at capacity-building of Roma and non-Roma youth leaders and multipliers, as well as their youth organizations Volunteering for Remembrance | Photo by Nihad Nino Pusija

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in their work on remembrance, Holocaust and human rights education in order to challenge stereotypes, antigypsyism and racism.

The project raised the awareness of the Roma and non-Roma participants about the remembrance of the Roma genocide, and it developed the skills and tools of youth leaders and youth workers to improve their educational practices on grassroots level around Europe. The project facilitated an exchange of experiences between youth organizations, and created a series of followup activities. The seminar was organized by Phiren Amenca, in cooperation with our member organization Nevo Parudimos.

Publication One result of this spring seminar is a publication which introduces the method called the ‘Museum of the Roma Holocaust’ that was developed for the purpose of the seminar. It describes the aims, objectives and provides detailed guidelines for practitioners on how to prepare, implement and evaluate the activity. The second part of the publication gives an overview of different ways for followup: ways to adapt the method, initiatives that originated in the activity. The appendix includes handouts and links to further useful resources. The publication is available on our website. Printed copies can be obtained in the Phiren Amenca Coordination Office upon availability.

Volunteering for Remembrance | Photo by Nihad Nino Pusija

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Phiren Amenca Study Session on Youth Transition through Voluntary Service The “Phiren Amenca Study Session on Youth Transition through Voluntary Service” brought together volunteers at different points in their year of voluntary service, former volunteers who have already experienced the transition to autonomy and/or a job, mentors and coordinators – all stakeholders who play an important role in the journey of a young volunteer.

This study session was the third one our network has organised in cooperation with the Council of Europe. It has been a key event in the network’s goals of creating opportunities for non-formal education, dialogue and engagement to challenge stereotypes and racism, and it set a strong focus on improving the quality or our programs.

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The study session further enhanced co-operation and learning among member organisations and external partners supported the further engagement of our volunteers and former volunteers, supporting our platform of strengthening their role as multipliers and promoters of voluntary service and engagement.

It was crucial for us to develop strategies together and reflect on the quality of our programs together and to strengthen our cooperation. We see it as a pilot activity, from which we hope to develop best practise and recommendations, which will also be useful for other organizations. This study session started a process of reflection and evaluation in the participating organizations and offered the opportunity for a transfer of knowledge and skills between the organizations and towards local communities.

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‘PUTREN LE JAKHA’ | Photo by Irina Spataru

PUTREN LE JAKHA – OPEN YOUR EYES to Antigypsyism!

In 2014, Romano Centro organized the first International Roma Youth Conference on Antigypsyism in Vienna. As it was a very successful and efficient event, our network decided to continue the conference and organize it every year, involving the members and volunteers of the Phiren Amenca Network. In 2015, FAGIC took the responsibility to organize ‘PUTREN LE JAKHA’ in Spain and bring together 50 current and former volunteers, youth leaders, multipliers, trainers and activists from six different countries for a five-day lasting exchange from November 9 to 15, 2015, in Barcelona.

The aims of the seminar were to raise the awareness and activism to challenge antigypsyism, discuss their ideas, initiatives, activities and open questions concerning this topic; to develop tools for local actions and campaigns and to engage in a public action for Roma rights during the seminar.

The participants organized a press conference to share the message through the Spanish media to the society: we all have to take steps and efforts to challenge antigypsyism in Europe.

This is not only the responsibility of the Roma organizations and the Roma youth, but all of us should act to achieve this mission equally. The press conference, organized by the participants of the seminar, was a great success with great media coverage. The

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public event in La Mina on the next day involved the local Roma communities and gave space to participants to share their results and messages of the week.

Volunteers’ Seminar December In December 2015, 12 volunteers - serving in Hungary and Romania - came together in Budapest for four days to share and reflect on their experiences, learn about the present and past situations of the Roma, and discuss how to continue being advocates through their service and beyond. The seminar aims were to raise the awareness and youth activism to challenge stereotypes, and antigypsyism, as well as to support the work of young Roma and non-Roma volunteers as they engage to tackle discrimination and promote inclusion in diverse voluntary service placements across the region.

During the seminar, participants could share their task and roles, experiences, successes, difficulties and needs during their services, as well as they could learn more about the situation of Roma in Hungary, Romania, Ukraine and the US, get more information about the Roma Holocaust and engage in an online campaign on December 10 to promote Human Rights. ‘PUTREN LE JAKHA’ | Photo by Ioana Spataru

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angela volunteer

H

ello, my name is Angela Ionescu. I was born in Petrosani, a city located in the East of Romania, which is the entrance to the Retezat National Park where two percent of the population is Roma and I am Roma myself. I am 27 years old and my educational background is in Management and Political Sciences. My main interests are in human rights education, media and campaigning. I have worked with several NGOs and I have been involved in projects that support community organizing

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“

I chose to make my EVS with Phiren Amenca for their democratic beliefs and for the power of initiative they offer to volunteers.

and structural projects for Roma. In 2015, I decided to be part of an international network to develop myself and to gather new knowledge about challenging discrimination and racism, but also to improve my ideas in my antidiscrimination journey.

Why did I choose Phiren Amenca? Some of the most important experiences I have made so far were related to developing a bigger knowledge about my identity as Roma through the seminars, conferences and trainings. I discovered people from all the countries wearing the same nation like me and this is how I grow my identity. I chose to make my EVS with Phiren Amenca for their democratic beliefs and for the power of initiative they offer to volunteers. I would call them trust builders that bring people together for important causes to support communities on the one hand and on the other hand work with Roma and non-Roma. I chose to do my voluntary service in Budapest, because it has an interesting history and it is a lovely city. But of course it was also because the Phiren Amenca team is based here and I chose to be part of it and learning from them.

My first meeting with Phiren Amenca was in Strasbourg, France, where I participated in a training on combating antigypsyism through education. It was the presentation of the final version of the manual Mirrors. Mirrors aims at combating the negative image of Roma and presents positive aspects but also encourages Roma and non-Roma working together. One of the most interesting aspects for me is that the activities affect participants directly, which makes the manual a powerful tool to combat antigypsyism.

In one of the activities, I had the role of a politician, which was difficult for me, because I could not help the Roma community.

In the end, I had the chance to visit the Council of Europe for the presentation of Mirrors and a caricature exposition of Roma leaders that was showing role models. Combating antigypsyism is not easy, especially in Romania where Roma were enslaved for 500 years. Prejudice and discrimination persist still there and anywhere else in Europe.

In November, I participated in Putren le Jakha – Open your eyes

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to antigypsyism. Considering the fact that Roma in Spain suffer from discrimination in the media, one aim of this conference on antigypsyism was to get positive media attention. I was part of a public event, in which we showed a theater play on cases of discrimination nowadays. In a press conference, where local and national journalists were invited, young Roma talked about our vision of Roma in the media and how stereotypes could be challenged.

We also organized a flashmob in the center of Barcelona. The most interesting thing for me during this week was to be part of the superheroes workshop. There, I chose my superpower, which made me think that whatever the differences between humans are, people should not forget that accepting people of all kinds should not be a barrier. I strongly believe that peoples’ hate

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comes from the fear of the unknown and that is why they choose to hate instead of receiving minorities as human beings. The world that we should all try to create is a world full of acceptance where we all have to understand and accept that we are different.

In my voluntary service, I also get to know different parts of Hungary. Recently, we visited the region of Tokay for one day to share our experience as volunteer to teenagers, who are engaged in combating antigypsyism. It was interesting to discover their opinion about Roma. Phiren Amenca is creating opportunities for volunteers to dedicate their time and energy to contribute to society. It offers the chance to put our ideas into practice through our own projects. Currently, together with Maxim Flora and Charlotte Flynn, we are developing a project that is called ‘Spin the Wheel’. It will take place in Ukraine in 2016 and it is designed mainly for youngsters who want to become activists and fight against discrimination towards Roma. Our role is to present our experiences as activists and to introduce them to new tools of campaigning through non-formal education.

My experience during my EVS is growing every month. My learning process started with Hungarian lessons and continues with learning about antigypsyism, human rights education, nonformal education, and it is an ongoing process. Phiren Amenca creates connections between Roma and non-Roma who can build something together for a common aim.

In the future, I plan to develop more projects using all the information that Phiren Amenca offered me. I encourage more young people to take this EVS opportunity, because it is not just an EVS – it changes the perspective on life.

We live in a society where racism and injustice are hard to combat, but I believe in the set of ideals (Democracy, Rights, Liberty, Opportunity, and Equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success. Ethically we should live in a society like this, practically it depends on us, and how we stand for what we want. We should all be aware of our society and should grow by doing good things with respect for each other. I support my nation now while I am young with the hope that discrimination will be less strong in the future.

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4. Educational Program A Europe of Diasporas A Europe of Diasporas is a European project and a new network to promote Diasporas in Europe, started in cooperation with Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS) and Phiren Amenca. Europe has inherited a mosaic of identities, with more than 90 historical cultural groups on the continent, to which many more have been added over the last century. Some of these groups are European Diasporas: they span several countries, or indeed the entire continent.

We believe that Diasporas are a resource for our European societies. This project aims to find ways to develop and promote that resource as a contribution to Europe. The European network creates a space of meeting and cooperation between activists, educators and thinkers dedicated to the vision of building solidarity and common advocacy. The project naturally involves

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communicating together the results of the project to others in their networks, to the wider European public as well as towards policy-makers at European level. Three seminars take place in the course of this project (two seminars were in 2015), leading to one major European conference in May 2016. The first seminar in Paris was an initial exploration, around the notion of identity. It also set the agenda for the rest of the project. The second seminar in Budapest focused on exchange around issues relating to heritage, its preservation and remembrance.

Mind your Language!

The study session ‘Mind Your Language’ was organized in cooperation of the Youth Peace Ambassadors Network, YEN | JEV | MHE | JCEE and Phiren Amenca. It aimed at promoting recognition and respect towards the minority/regional languages in the communities of the participants. During that week – between April 19 and 26, 2015 – space was created for discussing the issues of the preservation of minority/regional languages and diversity in Europe. In the study session, participants shared personal stories and realities, challenges and practices, and learned about the tools and instruments to work on the subject.

Judit Ignácz, Phiren Amenca board member represented Phiren Amenca in the preparatory team of the study session, which gave us a unique opportunity to raise awareness about the situation and the importance of the Romani language in Europe.

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Intercultural Learning with Migrants and Minorities – Exchange Organizations Exploring a New Dimension The Study Session ‘Intercultural Learning with Migrants and Minorities – Exchange organizations exploring a new dimension’ took place from February 8 to 15, 2015 at the European Youth Centre in Budapest, organized by the European Federation for Intercultural Learning in partnership with the Council of Europe.

The project was a meeting and mutual learning point between three networks: Phiren Amenca, VYRE and EFIL/AFS. The program was constructed following the logic of the project objectives: from getting to know the people and present organizations, through exploring some of the issues they deal with and methods they apply, leading to developing ideas and concrete plans for future cross-organizational partnerships and projects at local, national and international level.

The general approach assumed a high level of peer-to-peer learning, sharing and content generating from within the group, putting the participants in ‘expert roles’ on the work of the organizations they represented. A number of possibilities for longterm cooperation were identified, from local, through national, up to international level, particularly specific action plans involving synergies between work with minorities/migrants and youth exchanges. Besides these outcomes, it is important to highlight that the study session gave us a great opportunity to create a long-term cooperation between the organizations.

Roma Youth Conference 2015 The second Roma Youth Conference took place from October 19 to 22 at the European Youth Center in Budapest. The conference has been organized by the Council of Europe and prepared with the support of the representatives of the Informal Contact Group* of the Roma Youth Action Plan (RYAP). The main aim of the conference was to evaluate the achievements of the past implementation of the action plan but also to try and increase the effectiveness of the initiative, and to develop stronger partnerships between Roma young people, Roma youth networks and organizations, other international organizations and the Council of Europe. The conference brought together 100 Roma and nonRoma representatives from the Council of Europe countries.

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The Roma Youth Action Plan (2011-2015) was an important outcome of the first Roma Youth Conference, which was organized in 2011 in Strasbourg by the Youth Department of the Council of Europe.

In the second Roma Youth Conference besides the evaluation of the RYAP, participants could also give suggestions to the priorities and development before the second phase of the RYAP, as it continues as well in 2016 and 2017. During the conference participants in a joint declaration (see p.35) created their recommendations to the Special representative of the Secretary General for Roma Issues and to all relevant EU Member States to involve Roma Youth as a priority into their National Roma Integration Strategies and other relevant national policies. *The Conference was organized by the Youth Department of the Council of Europe and by the members of the Informal Contact Group (ICG) of the RYAP - the Phiren Amenca International Network, ternYpe Roma Youth Network, FERYP - Forum of European Roma Young People, European Youth Forum, Advisory Council on Youth and by the representatives of the ROMED/ROMACT Program. Besides the already mentioned ICG members some others, the Open Society Foundations, the Roma Education Fund, the OSCE - ODIHR, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) were also part of the Conference, as well as the European Commission were also present.

Roma Youth Action Plan Roma Youth Action Plan was born in 2011 as a response of the Council of Europe to two types of challenges: the ones faced

by Roma young people in European society and to the absence of Roma youth issues and concerns in the policies and programs of European institutions.

The plan aimed to increase the capacity of Roma youth organizations, to strengthen the identity of young Roma, to strengthen human rights and human rights education, and to combat discrimination and antigypsyism.

Between 2012 and 2015, Phiren Amenca organized various study sessions in cooperation with the Council of Europe in the framework of the Roma Youth Action Plan, including a study session on antigypsyism, and on intersectionality and gender, as well as a National Human Rights TrainingCourse on Human Rights Education for Roma youth leaders in Hungary.

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The Meeting of the Extremophiles: Phiren Amenca Seminar on Intersectionality and Alliances in Voluntary Service In Biology, an eXtremophile is a creature that lives under impossible circumstances. For us an eXtremophile is a person who is facing different forms of discriminations and is fighting them. The term has been taken into a new context by Vicente Rodriguez aka Magneto.

In the first week of December 2015, 23 young eXtremophiles from eight European countries came together in Berlin to share their experiences on intersectionality and alliance-building.

This project emerged as a follow-up to the study session on intersectionality in 2014 and as a project developed by Tina Heise during her internship in the Phiren Amenca office. After learning how different forms of discrimination intersect and (re)produce specific patterns of exclusion, we looked at our own organizations.

How do power structures shape our decision-making? And who does what kind of work? We shared and developed ideas how to Photo by Ioana Spataru

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implement an intersectional perspective by figuring out the needs of the community, building alliances with other NGOs to fight multiple discrimination and using the learned tools and methods.

Mirrors In 2015, the Council of Europe has published ‘Mirrors – Manual on combating antigypsyism through human rights education’, written by Ellie Keen. The publication offers background texts on antigypsyism and human rights, as well as methods to use in non-formal education activities with young people.

Download:

https://w w w.coe.int/t/dg4/youth/Source/Resources/Publications/2015 _ MIRRORS_combat_antigypsyism_thru_HRE.pdf

Photo by Ioana Spataru

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To the Council of Europe – Youth department To the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Roma Issues

Declaration of the Roma Youth Conference 2015 We, more than 100 Roma and non-Roma participants from 30 countries, representing Roma youth organizations, stakeholders and networks at the 2nd Roma Youth Conference (October 19th-22nd 2015 in Budapest), acknowledge the efforts of the Council of Europe and its Youth Department towards Roma youth empowerment, active youth participation and towards combating antigypsyism by creating the first Roma Youth Action Plan in 2011. We also acknowledge the investment of funds and time that went into creating a number of comprehensive tools for that purpose, such as the publications Mirrors, Right to Remember and Barabaripen.

During the conference, we evaluated its positive impact though as participants we express our continued concern about the neglect of a number of important aspects by policy makers when it comes to Roma youth inclusion.

Antigypsyism remains and is an even greater challenge in today’s Europe. We express our deep concern about the rise of antigypsyism, the anti-Roma rhetoric and the violent attacks against Roma in Europe. The recent riots of far right activists in Germany, the forced evictions of Roma in France, laws supporting a segregated school system in Hungary, discriminative legislation, and Holocaust denial are all symptoms of a rising racism throughout Europe. This is not only among the general population but also at the national and international administration level. There is a lack of knowledge among the majority of society about Roma

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history, culture, antigypsyism, and the Roma Genocide that took place during World War II. This lack of knowledge needs to be identified and recognised as an important reason for these recent developments. Following the recognition of the 2nd August as the European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day on April 15, 2015, we call upon the member states of the Council of Europe, to adopt the resolution of the European Parliament.

We therefore demand the inclusion of these topics into educational curricula. We also want to see the recognition of the advocacy work being done in this field by Roma youth organisations and the important role they have on the local, national and international level, in order to achieve societal change.

The increasing wealth divide and exclusion of the poor as a result of the European economic crisis have worsened the situation for Roma. Social and economic exclusion still represents the biggest challenge for Roma youth participation and results in political and cultural exclusion as well. This in turn leads to marginalisation and discrimination in all fields of society. Roma youth are the youngest minority in Europe and strive for economic empowerment and participation. We insist that all necessary measures are taken and funded in order to encourage their economic and educational efforts and enable their transition into national labour markets.

We want to see Roma youth entrepreneurship highlighted and promoted as an important aspect that could, not only contribute to economic empowerment but also strengthen the path of social inclusion and active citizenship of young Roma. Studies have shown that diversity enhances productivity and innovation and thus also improves the national economy.

It is still evident that many Roma young people are suffering from multiple discrimination that hinders their participation as citizens of their countries and members of their societies; this concerns LGBTQIA+ Roma, Roma girls, Roma migrants and Roma with disabilities. They are still being ignored by both national and international policy makers. As an example, we recommend taking into account the recently published Prague Declaration which names important aspects and offers relevant expertise on

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the question of Roma LGBTQIA+ across Europe.

We call on the Council of Europe, its Youth Department and to the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Roma Issues: To improve the good practice of Roma youth involvement in processes of policy making.

To improve the coordination of policies concerning Roma youth among European institutions and stakeholders and to improve the communication between these institutions.

To integrate Roma youth expertise into decision-making structures.

To invest in strengthening the capacity and structures of Roma youth organisations.

To enable the monitoring of policies being implemented by setting up a constant working group consisting of Roma youth and evaluating the measures of the Roma Youth Action Plan.

To call upon the European Union and its member states to put Roma Youth as a priority into the National Roma Integration Strategies, as well as to call all European institutions to fight against antigypsyism and to end discrimination against Roma.

We encourage the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Roma Issues and the Joint Council on Youth to emphasize the importance of double mainstreaming – including Roma issues in youth policies and youth issues in Roma policies.

We also ask for assurance that the needs and demands of Roma Youth are the core criteria for all measures of the next Roma Youth Action Plan. Under these conditions it will be our responsibility as Roma youth to ensure that the Roma Youth Action Plan creates a visible impact.

We demand the return to the values that have enriched Europe.

These values such as solidarity, respect for diversity and human rights need to be continuously and consistently respected. The

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European society can only be powerful if it has a strong Roma youth. Therefore, all relevant policy measures have to be done, by, with and for the Roma Youth in respectful and equal cooperation with the majority society.

Budapest, 22.10.2015.

On behalf of the participants of the 2nd Roma Youth Conference: ternYpe International Roma Youth Network Phiren Amenca International Network FERYP – Forum of European Roma Young People

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josé volunteer

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y name is José Fernández and I come from a town right in the middle of Andalusia (Spain) called Lucena. I am 27 years old and I have a background in History, Social Sciences and Education, with a special interest in political and social movements. In the past, I have been participating as a volunteer in several organizations and NGOs working in diverse fields like Roma, Human Rights, and Environmentalism. I am doing my European Voluntary Service (EVS) in Amaro Drom in Berlin.

Amaro Drom is an intercultural youth self-organization of Roma

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“

I consider it really necessary that we raise our voices to create our own narratives challenging stereotypes and racism.

and Non-Roma doing socio-cultural youth work, strengthening the self-initiative, mobilization, networking and self-esteem of young Roma and their political and societal participation. I am mainly working with the ‘Dikhen Amen’ team, which is a project aiming at empowerment and raising awareness about antigypsyism from the perspective of young Roma. The aim of the project is to create educational materials to fight racism against Roma based on the experience of young Roma, giving them the opportunity to become multipliers conducting trainings and workshops.

As soon as I arrived at the project, I started to get into the team little by little and suddenly a day came when I realized I was working as a real member of the team. So far, I have been doing several tasks: organizing events like the ‘Bundesjugendkonferenz’ where more than 100 youngsters gathered to discuss issues like Roma history, identity, feminism; facilitating workshops on the Roma Genocide, Roma History or Racism and multiple discrimination; accountability for events organized by Amaro Drom; supporting the Public Relations team; working at the project´s webpage; helping to develop activities for our seminars and conferences…

I was interested in participating in the Dikhen Amen project for several reasons. As I mentioned before, my educational background is in education. Working in a project like this one allows me to put into practice some of the knowledge I have acquired before and more importantly, it gives me the opportunity to learn many new things that will be quite useful in my professional and personal life. In my opinion, this project combines perfectly some aspects, which I find particularly interesting, like education and political activism and that is why I like it a lot. Being part of the Dikhen Amen project allows me to exchange a lot of experiences, stories and realities with other people, to enrich my knowledge and raise my awareness about certain topics I was not familiar with before.

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One of the most interesting learning experiences I had so far is related to refugees and deportations. After knowing many other Roma from other parts of the world, reading, and participating in seminars, I realized that one big similarity that all Roma groups in the world share with each other, is the persecution by the mainstream society. But this persecution can be even harder if you, besides being Roma, have a migrant background. Since I arrived in Germany I learned about a particular issue that some Roma are facing here: deportation. We have a case in our organization, where two young Roma boys, whose parents came from Kosovo, but the children were born and living here all their lives, suddenly got deported. The reason is that the German authorities changed the laws and declared the Balkan countries as “safe countries�.

Therefore, they cannot claim the refugee status. It does not matter if you have born here, have your family here, friends, school‌ they can send you to a country that you do not know, where you do not speak the language or not have a place to live. This totally shocked me.

Challenging stereotypes and racism is a crucial issue for me. The vast majority of narratives that exist in society related to Roma and other minorities are created from the perspective of the powerful and not by ourselves. We are living in a society where racism is institutionalized. This makes social participation difficult for those who are not in powerful positions. Therefore, I consider it really necessary that we raise our voices to create our own narratives challenging stereotypes and racism. At the same time, it is really important to take an active role in our society and become subjects who can participate in every aspect of the environment in which we are living. That is why I think that the mission of Phiren Amenca, programs like EVS, youth exchanges and seminars are important.

They give us the opportunity to participate in our society, to take an active role and let us have a voice. Consequently, they can challenge racism and stereotypes.

After I finish my EVS I am not quite sure about what is coming next, I have some options in mind, but I am quite sure that I will continue working with projects on the topic of antigypsyism, antiracism, and human rights.

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5. Remembrance Education on the Roma Genocide “I did not know about my history. I did not know about me. I needed someone from the outside, from Budapest, to tell me about me! After I learned about the Roma genocide, I talked with my mother and father and asked “What happened in Transnistria, at the Bug?” And I was surprised to hear that my grandgrandmother was there with her brothers and she gave birth there to my grandmother.”

Andra Bahor

former Phiren Amenca volunteer

Photo by Ludowig Versace

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The Roma Genocide – Recognition by the European Parliament in 2015 The Roma were among the primary victims of the Holocaust based on the Nazi ideology of “racial purity”, leading to severe discrimination, persecution and genocide in concentration camps, mass shootings and other forms. An estimated 500.000 Roma were killed during the Roma Genocide of World War II. As on August 2, 1944 the Nazis killed the remaining 2897 Roma women, men and children in the “Gypsy Family Camp” in Auschwitz, we remember this day as the Remembrance Day of the Roma Genocide. Previously, on May 16, 1944 the Roma successfully resisted the murderous actions of the Nazis, which many Romani organizations recently started to remember as the ‘Romani Resistance Day’. Due to the lack of recognition of the fate of the Roma under the Nazi Regime, the Roma Genocide was often referred to as the “forgotten Holocaust” which seems still valid. It was not until 1982 that the government of West Germany officially recognized the Roma Genocide. In 2011, the Polish Parliament passed a resolution for the official recognition of August 2 as a remembrance day, which was followed in 2014 by Croatia. April 15, 2015 marked a historical moment. The European Parliament voted with an overwhelming majority to finally adopt a resolution which recognizes “the historical fact of the genocide of Roma that took place during World War II” and concludes “that a European day should be dedicated to commemorating the victims of the genocide of the Roma during World War II.” Of huge importance is the fact that this resolution also “underlines the need to combat anti-Gypsyism at every level and by every means, and stresses that this phenomenon is an especially persistent, violent, recurrent and commonplace form of racism.” www.2august.eu

Remembrance Working Plan In 2015, we have started to build up a Remembrance Working Plan.

The aim of this plan is to build up an international remembrance voluntary service and internship program for young Roma in

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Holocaust-related placements. The main focus of the program will be to spread knowledge about the Roma genocide, its ongoing effects today and the relevance of the topic for young Roma today in terms of identity, activism and social position. Additionally, the program aims to go beyond this by facilitating alliances between different minorities, in particular Roma and Jewish, with the aim to learn from each other’s experiences and histories.

The program focuses on non-formal education on the Holocaust and encourages the young participants to learn and reflect on the topic, as well as take an active role in society in order to challenge current forms of racism, antigypsyism, antisemitism and other forms of discrimination. We have started approaching possible placements in this year and will develop this idea further in 2016.

Roma Genocide Survivor and Young Roma Activists Meet Members of the European Parliament In April 2015, 40 Roma youth activists from around Europe and 90-year old Roma Genocide survivor Raymond Gurême met the Members of the European Parliament Soraya Post, Damian Draghici, Barbara Lochbihler and Péter Niedermüller in Brussels.

Participants could address the importance of the recognition of the Roma Genocide and August 2 as Remembrance Day, as well as to stress the capacity and role of young Roma in their communities and the need for investment into Roma youth structures. Raymond Gurême, who survived the Roma Genocide during WWII and fought in the French Resistance, shared his testimony, as well as the unresolved incident from September 2014, where he was brutally beaten by French police officers in his own home. The Working Breakfast and the three-day lasting conference was organized by ternYpe International Roma Youth Network in cooperation with ERGO Network and Phiren Amenca on March 14-17, to present the practices and conclusions of the Roma Genocide Remembrance Initiative 2014 to the European Parliament, European Commission and international stakeholders.

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The Uncanny X-Chavalem - Ultimate Roma Youth Exchange on Pop Culture and Scy Fi and May 16, the Romani Resistance Day The Uncanny X-Chavalem (Ultimate Roma Youth Exchange on Pop Culture and Scy Fi) was a project that aimed to set a precedent in the area of creative mobilization and empowerment of Roma youth. More than 40 Roma and non-Roma youth from Germany,

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Romania, Spain, Poland, Austria and Hungary had the opportunity to participate in the exchange that took part in Hungary from May 8 to 17, 2015. The young people had the unique opportunity to study the history of the Roma community in the world of popular culture, comic books, books and science fiction films. They were able to develop a critical understanding of the history and the impact of the Roma people on the mainstream mass culture. Through debates, living role games,

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films, literary analysis and various activities we encouraged young people to develop complex thoughts about their own situation, and invited them to develop creative responses to our common problems and needs. We hope in this way we promoted their individual empowerment and through this experience contributed to the process of emancipation of the Roma communities in Europe.

On May 16, a public event was organized by Phiren Amenca at Mรกtyรกs square in the center of the 8th district in Budapest, raising awareness about May 16, 1944, when the Romani women and men interned in the concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau resisted and fought the Nazis that intended to exterminate them.

With this event, we aimed to increase public knowledge about the resistance and its importance for the present.

Together with young Roma from Hungary, the participants of the international exchange had the opportunity to raise their voice, to pay tribute to the victims of hate crimes, claim recognition and make themselves heard through pop culture on the open stage.

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2nd of August – Roma Holocaust Commemoration in Komárom, Hungary Phiren Amenca commemorated the Roma Holocaust on August 2, 2015 in the Csillagerőd (Star Fortress) in Komárom, Hungary. In that fortress in 1944, thousands of Roma were collected from all around Hungary, before they were deported to other concentration camps. It was a special honor for us that Bandi bácsi, who was imprisoned in this fortress in Komárom during his childhood, was also present in our commemoration.

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With this event, we wanted to pay tribute to the Roma who were victims of the Holocaust, as well as to the victims of the violent attacks Roma in Hungary between 2008 and 2009. With a photo exhibition by Balåzs Turay, the photographer who documented all trials* - we payed tribute to them and made these cases more public, in order not to happen again! *Hungary’s supreme-court has rejected on the January 12, 2016 the appeals of three men sentenced to life in prison for a series of attacks against Roma in which six people were killed and several injured. Their driver in some of the attacks is already serving a 13-year prison sentence.

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Roma Holocaust Commemoration in Komárom, Hungary

Acting for Roma Genocide Remembrance – German-Hungarian Youth Exchange in Berlin From October 18 to 25, 2015, Phiren Amenca in cooperation with International Bauorden Germany and Documentation and Cultural Center of German Sinti and Roma gathered 30 young Roma and non-Roma from Hungary and Germany for a youth exchange in Berlin in the framework of the ‘Acting for Roma Genocide Remembrance’ project. The participants had the opportunity to work together in two art groups throughout the week that focused on the topic of the Roma Genocide and present-day discrimination and racism. The drama group created a performance with the title ‘Wir sagen NEIN!’ (‘We say NO!’) directed by Nedjo Osman.

The other group was working on an art installation, the title was ‘Liberté - Temporary liberty statue for European democracy’ inspired by Tony Gatlif’s movie ‘Korkoro’ and Erwin Wurm’s ‘One minute statues’. André Raatzsch and Era Trammer lead the art

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workshops where the participants created photos and video performances related to the history and every day experiences of Sinti and Roma.

The theatre play and the art installation were presented in the Theatre im Aufbau Haus (TAK) with around 70 spectators on October 24, the anniversary of the inauguration of the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe Murdered under the National Socialist Regime.

Romani Resistance – Roundtable Discussion and Training

Tom Lantos Institute and Phiren Amenca organised a roundtable discussion on November 27 in Budapest on ‘The Role of Remembrance in Creating Dialogue and Reconciliation between Roma and majority society in Hungary’. Invited speakers were Dollin Holt, a researcher and Péter Heindl, a lawyer and history teacher, who coordinates a ‘past-researcher’ group in small villages in Hungary (in Bicsérd and Gilvánfa). The aims of the discussion were the relation between remembrance and reconciliation, moreover it was discussed how collective memory can be a tool to fight against stereotypes and discrimination, and the role of official commemoration ceremonies.

This event took place in the framework of a three-day Roma youth training (between November 27-29, 2015), where participants came together to improve their skills to collect testimonies from survivors, witnesses and their descendants.

The training was part of a research, education, remembrance project, titled Roma and Resistance during the Holocaust and its aftermath.

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6. Special Events and Thematic Programs Capacity-building of Roma Organizations Phiren Amenca offers a platform of learning and quality development through various means, including the annual Networking Meeting, the volunteer seminars, and the coordination office based in Budapest. This includes capacity-building resourcing and advice to partner organizations to set-up voluntary service programs, to access the EU Erasmus+ program, to get EVS accreditation and manage the administrative requirements of the EU program, to develop a quality support plan for volunteers, and a long-term voluntary service strategy for the organization. The Phiren Amenca coordination office undertakes regular site visits with its member and partner organizations in order to strengthen cooperation within the network, giving support and services to both organizations and volunteers directly. In 2013, Phiren Amenca implemented the yearlong project, ‘Capacity-building of Roma organizations in Voluntary Service’ with the support of Open Society Foundations.

In 2015, we focused on building the capacities of Roma youth organizations, the involvement of Roma volunteers and the quality development in an exchange between Roma and nonRoma organizations.

Volunteering – Citizens’ Tools for Roma Participation This project aims to raise a debate about volunteering as the citizens’ key tool for Roma participation, and to strengthen the civic and democratic participation of particularly Roma citizens, communities and civil society organizations in European Union’s

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life, debates and policy-making processes. The project addresses the question how citizens can shape and lead Roma inclusion through volunteering and active citizenship in a bottom-up grassroots movement, and thus lead to a sustainable change in Europe through empowerment of citizens and communities, and strengthening intercultural dialogue. The project strengthens the engagement and participation of European citizens in the construction of values, culture, history and dialogue by embracing Roma minorities as an integral part of an inclusive European society that challenges and overcomes stereotypes, antigypsyism and racism.

The project is based on a mutual partnership of Roma and nonRoma civil society organizations that share a common vision and understanding of empowering communities through volunteering.

A European conference on volunteering for Roma Inclusion gave visibility to existing practices and raised a European debate about the conditions, opportunities and challenges of volunteering and participation in inclusion strategies; consultation meetings, seminars and a closing conference involve citizens, organizations and stakeholders in the relevant debates.

A large-scale Roma Social Forum in the European Youth Capital 2015 Cluj-Napoca has strengthened networking, debates and self-organized citizen platforms of Roma youth and volunteers.

Phiren Amenca has conducted a research on volunteering and voluntary service as tools for the participation of particularly Roma youth, which will be published in 2016.

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SO KERES, EUROPA?!

CHANGEMAKERS MOVEMENT www.sokeres.eu www.facebook.com/sokereseuropa/ #SoKeresEuropa #Changemakers

The Event Cluj-Napoca was selected to hold the title of the European Youth Capital 2015 – A considerable occasion to raise the voice of Roma youth on a European level! Phiren Amenca held a oneweek summer festival from July 12 to 19, 2015 in Cluj-Napoca to create debate, reflection and common engagement of Roma and non-Roma youth activists. We wanted to strengthen the international structure of volunteers, raise the visibility of Roma youth among youth organizations and to share the voice of young Roma within the European Youth Capital and beyond. More than 300 young Roma and non-Roma youth activists and youth leaders from more than 20 European countries came together for a multifaceted program, including workshops, interactions with the local communities and an active public event. In 48-houractions, each workshop group prepared something, among them a flashmob against school segregation, a Museum on the Roma Holocaust, and an exhibition about Roma superheroes.

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Being one of the facilitators of the Stories of Rights and Dignity workshop was very challenging because we wanted to make the best out of our short time, but in the end I was very proud of our participants. Within 48 hours, they created an exhibition from the stories of the evicted Roma families in Pata Rât, by which they brought this shameful case closer to the public.

Orsi Szabó

former Phiren Amenca volunteer and team member

The Process The event has been organized in a long-term preparation process involving Roma and non-Roma youth leaders from many countries. The platform of former volunteers took a great responsibility in the organization and preparation, from logistics to workshop facilitation and building the partnership with the local communities. In addition to the strong engagement of Phiren Amenca and its member Nevo Parudimos, many local NGOs contributed significantly to the process. Therefore, we would like to thank UCTRR, Romano Suno, Asociaţia Comunitară a Romilor din Coastei (Community Organization of the Roma from Coastei), Fundaţia Creştină Diakonia, Go Free and SHARE Foundation, as well as the international partners.

The March The political message of the event focused on constant and growing reality of forced evictions of Roma all over Europe. On July 17, over 500 people – young and old, Roma and Non-Roma – marched from Pata Rât to Strada Coastei to remind the city and its citizens of the evictions from 2010 and to stand up for human rights and dignity. On December 17, 2010, 76 families had been forcibly evicted without adequate notice by local authorities from Coastei Street in the center of the city. No consultation with the affected families took place prior to the eviction and no feasible alternatives to the eviction had been explored. The families did not receive any written or detailed notification with sufficient notice, nor the opportunity to challenge the eviction decision.

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© Fotis Filippou

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Forty of these families were relocated to inadequate housing conditions on the outskirts of the city, close to the city’s garbage dump and a former chemical waste dump, while the remaining families were left without any alternative housing.

The march under the topic ‘The city for the people, not for profit’ was prepared in cooperation with the local communities living in Pata Rât and the workshop they organized at the So Keres, Europa?! Event. Local authorities continue to deny that the forced eviction and the relocation of the families from Coastei Street to Pata Rât constituted a human rights violation, despite the efforts of local activists and international campaigns in cooperation with Amnesty International. The authorities still fail to assume responsibility for the committed human rights violations and find adequate solutions for the situation.

Participants, facilitators and coordinators from ‘So keres, Europa?!’ joined the community in their march from the outskirts of the city to the center. It was a strong march of solidarity to show power to local authorities that communities will no longer silently accept evictions, police violence, hate speech or any form of institutional racism.

Only recently, on December 17, 2015, five years after the evictions, a copper plaque reminding people of the evictions, has been placed in Coastei Street, where the evictions took place.

The Festival The highlight at the end of event was the festival on the last day in the central park of Cluj. The park served as location for the prepared exhibitions. Other groups showed the results of their 48-hour-actions on stage where they performed songs in Romanes and showed their percussion skills with recycled instruments.

Local music and dance groups from the communities were also celebrated on stage. A buffet for participants and community members contributed to the summer celebration feeling.

In the evening, we all enjoyed the concert of the famous Hungarian Roma band Parno Graszt that was with us throughout the whole week – the perfect end of an unforgettable experience.

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Media The media coverage was overwhelming, ranging from local newspapers to international and Romanian national TV. We want to share some selected videos with you.

The Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YyRTShZBaU Sutel TV on the whole event https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls7tkkP4egw The march https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaRofza4BfE Impressions from the festival collected by the Mobile Media Team https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Ilig0qzaI Interview with Elena Garofiţa Rupa and Norbert Iuonaş on the Romanian TV cahannel digi24 (in Romanian) h t t p : // w w w. d i g i 2 4 . r o / M e d i a / E m i s i u n i / R e g i o n a l / Digi24+Cluj-Napoca/Vocile+Clujului/So+Keres+Cluj

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7. Advocacy and Partnerships Partnerships & Cooperation Phiren Amenca maintains strong partnerships with EDYN (Ecumenical Diaconal Year Network), ternYpe International Roma Youth Network, ERGO Network (European Roma Grassroots Organizations Network), Youth of European Nationalities, European Union of Jewish Students, AGBU (Armenian General Benevolent Union), AFS / EFIL (American Field Service / European Federation for Intercultural Learning), Youth Peace Ambassadors, Council of Europe, the European Youth Forum and Tom Lantos Institute.

Protestant Church Day (NGO Fair) Last year, Phiren Amenca participated in the Protestant Church Day in Stuttgart, Germany from June 3 to 7, 2015. At the event, we used an information stand as a tool to raise awareness about the antigypsyism happening still all over Europe.

Through the ‘Wall Free Europe’ photo campaign and conversations, we discussed the human rights issues that Roma communities are affected by daily. We intended to broaden the awareness of discrimination happening in European countries—including Germany.

There was a large range of audience responses that went from anti-Roma attitudes to pro-human rights attitude, willingness to sign petitions, and participate in advocacy through different mediums. However, this event showed us that there are still various audiences that human rights advocates need to reach through their work, and we will continue to use opportunities like the Protestant Church Day to dismantle antigypsyism.

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Phiren Amenca Contributes to European Education Policy on European Education, Training and Youth Forum 2015 Phiren Amenca International Network was invited by the European Commission to contribute and participate in the European Education, Training and Youth Forum on the topic ‘New priorities for European cooperation in education, training and youth’, which was organized by the European Commission on October 19-20, 2015 in Brussels.

The Forum was a unique event bringing together policy makers, young people, civil society organizations and experts from the education and training sector with the aim of stocktaking and developing priorities for the EU education and training strategy (ET 2020 Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education in Training).

Protestant Church Day (NGO Fair)

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Ecumenical Voluntary Service Organizations of EDYN Meet in London From November 3 to 7, 2015, the Annual Meeting of the EDYN Network was hosted by its British member organization Time for God in London. Phiren Amenca and EDYN are connected by the common mission for quality long-term voluntary services and share a long history together. In 2000, several EDYN member organizations founded the RGDTS Roma-Gadje Dialogue through Service Initiative, which has developed after 15 years into the independent Phiren Amenca network, which brings Roma and non-Roma voluntary service organizations together.

In addition to being able to attend the General Assembly of the Network, this year’s annual meeting gave again the space to Phiren Amenca to present our programs and the development of the last year. Spending several days together was a great opportunity for networking and strengthening the cooperation between the two networks. Working groups focused on training, aiming at putting together the experiences of all organizations on a joint platform, and crisis prevention and management, which began to develop practical guidelines for different cases of crisis.

Ecumenical Voluntary Service Organizations | Photo by Nata Hovorkova

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Challenging Stereotypes and Antigypsyism in State Institutions Phiren Amenca participated in the first international symposium ‘The Role of State Institutions in Overcoming Anti-Gypsyism in Europe – Potentials in Civic Education and Awareness-Rising’ which was held on December 1, 2015 in the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin and co-hosted by the Open Society Foundations, the Schwarzkopf Stiftung Young Europe and the Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma.

The event was a great possibility for networking with MEP Soraya Post and the Open Society Foundation, as well as strengthening partnerships with long-term partners such as ERGO Network, ternYpe and the Documentation and Cultural Centre of German Sinti and Roma.

The panel discussion in the evening showed, that there are still different perceptions of what or how much state institutions can do. But we appreciate this meeting as a good first step for creating a dialogue between state institutions and civil society.

Photo by Thorsten Futh/Redux/laif for the Open Society Foundations

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ERGO Annual Platform Meeting Under the topic ‘Generation of Change? – How to achieve equal opportunities for young Roma, starting now!’ ERGO Network brought together decision makers from the European level and Roma (youth) activists and organizations on the last day of their Annual Platform Meeting in Brussels. The panel discussion in the morning highlighted the challenges, but also recognized the achievements and activities done by young Roma, so that Karolina Mirga concluded that the question mark should be changed into an exclamation mark. The ‘Knowledge Fair’ also invited Phiren Amenca to share the potential of volunteering and voluntary service to challenge stereotypes and racism, as well as create opportunities for the transition of young Roma and nonRoma to autonomy and employment. There was also plenty of time to network and exchange and we have made interesting contacts with organizations.

Media Visibility After a huge media coverage in almost all European countries about the Dikh he na bister – Roma Genocide Remembrance Initiative event in 2014 in Krakow and Auschwitz, we decided to rely more strongly on the media support to our advocacy work and to achieve our mission in challenging stereotypes and racism.

In the last two years, we started to build up a closer relation with the press and media. During our events, we organise press conferences and public events, where the media is always present. We also started publishing press releases about topics, where we think our opinion counts. Our ‘So keres, Europa?!’ event in Cluj-Napoca could become as successful as it was, because even weeks before the program we were present almost every day in local, national and international media. In the Phiren Amenca coordination office, every year we are improving our social media, online and offline media tools to disseminate the work and the uniqueness of our network better. We appreciate the support over the last years of the RomNet Media Foundation and romnet.hu, who always reported about our events and supported us with professional advice.

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8. Structures Members Amaro Drom, Germany CSD Diaconia Valdese, Italy Evangelische Freiwilligendienste (Protestant Voluntary Service), Germany FAGIC – Federación de Asociaciones Gitanas de Cataluña (Federation of Roma Assocations in Catalonia), Spain Nevo Parudimos, Romania Roma Active Albania, Albania Roma Education Centre (Osvetové centrum Rómov), Slovakia Roma-Gadje Dialogue Through Service , Hungary Romano Centro, Austria TOUCH Project Charitable Foundation, Ukraine VISA (L’Année diaconale), France Združenie Mladých Rómov (Association of young Roma), Slovakia Romà Onlus, Italy Romanitin, Romania Terno Drom, Germany

Allied Members and Partners ERGO Network, Belgium/Netherlands Roma National Council, Croatia Roma Youth Center, Macedonia Diocesan Caritas Ostrava-Opava, Czech Republic Center for Community Development Vrastiri, Bulgaria

Board Members Astrid Oelpenich, Juraj Vozár, Daniel Grebeldinger, Judit Ignácz, Adriatik Hasantari

Coordination Office Jonathan Mack (managing director), Marietta Herfort (program manager voluntary service), Quintin Bart (communication), Sára Szilagyi (Roma Genocide Remembrance Initiative and Hungarian program), Mária Nyerges (financial administration), Richard Otterness 75

Volunteers Melinda SzabĂł, Vicente Rodriguez Fernandez, Kristell CaballeroSaucedo, Maxim Flora, Angela Ionescu, Charlotte Flynn

General Assembly Statutory meeting for member organizations, that follows the statutory responsibilities, election of the board, financial report, approval of budget, membership questions, and strategic decisions.

Networking Meeting Each spring Phiren Amenca hosts a three-day “Phiren Amenca Networking Meeting� bringing together member organizations, former volunteers and partner organizations in order to share experiences and practices, and to address annual thematic priorities and quality questions of our work.

Board The board has five members representing the equal partnership between Roma and non-Roma and striving for gender balance and participation of former volunteers. The Board is entitled to set up a coordination office in order to carry out the ongoing business of the association. The Board is responsible for all matters of the association not specifically assigned by law or the statutes of the association to the General Assembly.

Coordination Office Phiren Amenca maintains a coordination office and resource centre for the volunteers and member organizations in Budapest (which is currently the home of RGDTS non-profit kft.).

Platform of Former Volunteers The volunteers are encouraged to continue their engagement even after the service in the platform of volunteers. The selforganized platform of volunteers and former volunteers creates further opportunities for non-formal education, dialogue, and 76

engagement, and strengthens the role of the volunteers as multipliers and promoters of voluntary service. Phiren Amenca builds the capacity of young Roma and non-Roma former volunteers to become trainers of human rights education in its structures.

Phiren Amenca gives a high priority to youth participation and the rights of volunteers within its own structures and work. The platform will meet in the framework of the annual meeting, including the General Assembly.

So keres, Europa!? | Photo Š Fotis Filippou

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9. Financial Report Summary

In 2015 income more than doubled from the previous year, staff costs and program and service output also increased. Phiren Amenca concluded the year with a positive balance.

2014 HUF

2015 EURO

HUF

HUF 33,770

€ 114,475

HUF 81,110

€ 261,645

Activities and Services

HUF 22,820

€ 77,356

HUF 69,113

€ 222,945

Salaries

HUF 10,486

€ 35,544

HUF 8,144.302

€ 26,272

Misc. Fees & Operating Costs

HUF 444

€ 1,505

HUF 2,542.698

€ 8,202

HUF 20

€ 70

HUF 1,310

€ 4,226

Income

(in thousand)

(in thousand)

EURO

Expenses

Year End Result

Note: Phiren Amenca contracts with a professional accountant with official books and financial records submitted to authorities in Hungarian forints (HUF). 2014: € 1 = HUF 295; 2015: € 1 = HUF 310.

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Donors and Supporters Erasmus+ Program, European Commission Europe for Citizens Program, European Commission European Youth Foundation, Council of Europe ICCO-Kerk in Actie Lifelong Learning Programme, European Commission Myers Foundation Otto per Mille, Tavola Valdese Tempus Közalapítvány Stiftung Erinnerung Verantwortung Zukunft (EVZ) and private donors

Audit Phiren Amenca uses the services of a registered accounting service, Flexcont BT, Budapest. Kovács Mária, Budapest, conducts a professional audit. The auditor’s report is submitted in May of each year.

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80 Photo © Fotis Filippou