European Youth Campaign for All in One Society 2011 by ternYpe International Roma Youth Network

International Roma Youth Network

annual

report

2011 1

Introduction:

1. Introduction 2. Foreword by President of European Parliament 3. ternYpe – International Roma Youth Network 4. ALL in ONE society campaign 5. Antigypsyism 6. International activities 7. Member organizations and youth actions © ternype 2011 ternype@romayouth.com www.ternype.eu www.romayouth.com Fotos: members of ternYpe

ternYpología for Youth Empowerment

ternYpe – International Roma Youth Network and its member organizations have gained a considerable experience in youth mobilization and empowerment on local, national and international level all around Europe in the last 7 years. Although ternYpe is an international youth network, the focus of our work is on local, regional and national level, where the member organizations work for the realization of our mission, especially by empowering and mobilizing Roma youth in grassroots structures and networks on a voluntary basis. Nevertheless, the international level constitutes a platform of exchange and learning, as well as cooperation with other youth organizations. Each spring and fall ternYpe meets for a big networking meeting and General Assembly hosted by one of the member organizations in order to exchange experience, strengthen cooperation, and to discuss the vision, strategy, development and challenges of the network. TernYpe has always been convinced that it is necessary to bring Roma and non-Roma youth together to take responsibility in society to build trust and mutual respect. By working together we want to strengthen the intercultural dialogue between young people and fight against prejudice, racism and discrimination. Intercultural learning is lifelong learning. The diversity of our members and of our experience is at the same time the strength of our network and partnership. The year 2011 and the ternYpe European Youth Campaign for ALL in ONE society After our successful year 2010, characterized by the European Roma Youth Summit in Cordoba and the campaign “Be Young! Be Roma!”, as well as the international youth seminar to commemorate the Roma Genocide in Auschwitz, the year 2011 was mainly dedicated to the ternYpe European Youth Campaign for ALL in ONE society. The ternYpe campaign stands up for mutual respect and responsibility of ALL in ONE society. We stand up against extremism, antigypsyism, racism, stigmatization and discrimination in Europe. During this year many actions took place on grassroots level all around Europe.

This booklet was published with the financial support of the Youth in Action Programme, ERGO Network and Open Society Foundation Slovakia. This work programme has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of information contained therin.

This publication This publication gives an insight into some of our actions and experiences, which were realized in 2011. The booklet shows a selection of activities from local, regional, national and international level. We hope this gives inspiration and ideas for all who share our mission and principles to create space for young people to become active citizens. Although a publication can hardly tell all the stories, the experiences, journeys and challenges, which we faced in 2011, we hope that the publication stimulates thoughts and discussions. December 2011 ternYpe – International Roma Youth Network

Charlemagne Youth Prize 2011 The ternYpe project “The Roma Genocide - Young Europeans commemorating the Extermination of the Roma during the Holocaust” was selected as one of the 27 national winning projects for the European Charlemagne Youth Prize. Hundreds of young people from all 27 Member States of the European Union took part in the competition with projects which demonstrated exemplary European spirit. About the “Roma Genocide” project On August 2nd, 2010 about 80 young Roma and non-Roma activists met in Auschwitz to commemorate the victims of the Nazi regime in the so-called “gypsy camp” at Auschwitz / Birkenau. The event under the auspices of the Polish Minister for Equality Elzbieta Radziszewska was organized by the International Roma Youth Network “ternYpe” together with the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE and the regional administration of the region “Malopolska”. On the night of August 2nd to 3rd 1944, 2897 elderly people, women and children, the remaining Sinti and Roma of the so-called “gypsy camp” (“Zigeunerlager”) at Auschwitz-Birkenau, were murdered in gas chambers. On this day we remember the countless people who were persecuted and murdered as “gypsies” under the Nazi regime. Since 2010 ternYpe has brought young Europeans together of different cultures and backgrounds to commemorate the extermination and persecution of Roma . As part of the commemoration event about 35 young Roma and non-Roma from 10 countries met for a four-day seminar. In addition to interviews of eyewitnesses and a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial, the program included various discussions about the Holocaust, the backgrounds, the mechanisms of exclusion, racism and antigypsyism, with a special focus of its importance for the present. The seminar tried to raise the critical thinking of young people to strengthen their civic courage, social engagement and responsibility in society.

European Charlemagne Youth Prize “The European Charlemagne Youth Prize” aims to encourage the development of European consciousness among young people, as well as their participation in European integration projects. The Prize is awarded to projects undertaken by young people that foster understanding, promote the development of a shared sense of European identity, and offer practical examples of Europeans living together as one community. www.charlemagneyouthprize.eu

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The Network

ternYpe - International Roma Youth Network was founded in January 2010 and unites different Roma youth organizations from Albania, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Slovakia, Spain and Poland. ternYpe already prepared its strategy 2011-2013 based on ternYpe principals: empowerment, mobilization, self-organization and participation, which was elaborated through the significant contribution of its member organizations and was adopted in summer 2011.

Members • Roma Active Albania • Youth Network for Development, Bulgaria • Amaro Drom e.V., Germany • Romaversitas Hungary • Roma Onlus, Italy

• Regional Roma Educational Youth Association, Macedonia • Roma Student Organization Harangos, Poland • Roma Education Centre, Slovakia • Ternikalo, Spain

Principles of ternYpe – International Roma Youth Network Empowerment and mobilization Empowerment and mobilization of young Roma is one of the key priorities in the mission of ternYpe. We want to support the youngsters, as individuals and as a group with all its diversity, to strengthen their identity, to develop their own vision and to realize their dreams. We are searching for new tools to encourage and enable young people to become active citizens, and to influence changes in their communities, as well as in their societies. Youth participation Having a voice is essential for participation and active citizenship and is necessary to ensure a democratic society regardless of social class, gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. There is a great need to include a youth dimension in the policies and programs for Roma and in general, which are developed based on a mutual dialogue between young people, policy-makers and public administrations. Self-organization We strengthen self-organization of Roma youth as one of the core principles in order to organize ourselves into structures such as community-based groups, networks, platforms that promote the responsibility and also use and promote the resources of the community. Intercultural dialogue and common efforts of Roma and non-Roma One of our main goals is to bring Roma and non-Roma youth together to take responsibility in society to build trust and mutual respect. By working together we want to strengthen the intercultural dialogue between young people and fight against prejudice, racism and discrimination. Intercultural learning is lifelong learning. The diversity of our members and of our experience is at the same time the strength of our network and partnership.

English We are a network of youth and youth associations, which creates space for young people to become active citizens through empowerment, mobilisation, self-organisation and participation. We believe in the common efforts by creating trust, and mutual respect between Roma and non-Roma youth.

Macedonia Ние сме мрежа на млади и младински асоцијации кои креираат место за младите луѓе да станат активниграѓани за зајакнување, мобилизација, самоорганизирање и учество. Ние веруваме во заеднички напори за креирање на доверба и заедничко почитување помеѓу младите Роми и не-Роми.

Germany Wir sind ein Netzwerk von Jugendlichen und Jugendorganisationen, welches das Ziel verfolgt, jungen Menschen durch Empowerment, Mobilisierung, Selbstorganisation und Partizipation Raum zu schaffen, um aktive Bürger(inn)en zu werden. Als junge Roma und nicht-Roma übernehmen wir gemeinsam Verantwortung in der Gesellschaft für Achtung und gegenseitigen Respekt.

Albania Ne jemi një rrjet të rinjsh dhe shoqatave rinore, i cili krijon hapësirë për të rinjtë, që të bëhen qytetarë aktivë nëpërmjet fuqizimit, mobilizimit, vetë-organizimi dhe pjesëmarrjes. Ne besojmë në përpjekjet e përbashkëta, duke krijuar besimin, dhe respekt të ndërsjellë mes të rinjve romë dhe jo-romë.

Spain Somos una red de jóvenes y asociaciones juveniles que pretende crear espacios para que los jóvenes se puedan convertir en ciudadanos activos mediante la habilitación, la movilización, la auto organización y la participación. Creemos en el esfuerzo común para la creación de confianza y respeto mutuo entre los jóvenes gitanos y no gitanos.

Bulgaria Ние сме мрежа от младежи и младежки асоциации, която създава възможности за младите хора да станат активни граждани чрез овластяване, мобилизиране, самоорганизиране и участие. Ние вярваме в общите усилия чрез създаване на доверие и взаимно уважение между ромската и не-ромската младеж.

Hungary Egyének és ifjúsági szervezetek hálózata vagyunk, mely teret enged a fiataloknak, hogy önszerveződéssel, és valós részvétellel aktív állampolgárokká válhassanak. Hiszünk a közös törekvésekben, melyekkel bizalmat és kölcsönös tiszteletet teremthetünk roma és nemroma fiatalok között.

mission I NTE R NATI O NAL

Poland Jesteśmy młodzieżową siecią organizacji, która tworzy miejsce dla młodych ludzi, aby mogli stać się aktywnymi obywatelami poprzez inicjacje, mobilizacje, samoorganizacje i uczestnictwo. Wierzymy, że wspólnym wysiłkiem możemy budować zaufanie i wzajemny szacunek pomiędzy młodzieżą Romską i nie-Romską.

Slovakia Sme sieťou, ktorá združuje mládež a mládežnícke organizácie. Vytvárame priestor pre mladých ľudí, aby sa stali aktívnymi občanmi prostredníctvom preberania zodpovednosti, podnecovania záujmu a aktívnej účasti na živote komunity. Veríme, že spoločným úsilím zvýšime dôveru a vzájomné porozumenie medzi rómskou a ne-rómskou mládežou.

Italy Siamo una rete composta da giovani e da associazioni giovanili che crea spazi perché i giovani possano diventare cittadini attivi attraverso l’empowerment, la mobilitazione, l’autorganizzazione e la partecipazione. Crediamo nell’impegno comune, attraverso la creazione di fiducia e rispetto reciproci tra giovani rom e non rom.

Goals of the campaign

All in One

European Youth Campaign for

• •

society

The ternYpe European Youth Campaign stands up for mutual respect and responsibility of ALL in ONE society. We stand up against extremism, antigypsyism, racism, stigmatization and discrimination in Europe. As young Roma and non-Roma we want to take responsibility and show through our commitment and activism that intercultural dialogue and mutual respect between Roma and non-Roma are real and possible.

• • • •

Mobilization: to mobilize a team of young Roma and non-Roma in each country to become active and to engage for the campaign Capacity-Building: to learn new methods of campaigning against racism, stereotypes and discrimination and to strengthen the capacity of ternYpe members in such actions Responsibility: to open space for more youth leaders to take responsibility for ternYpe actions on national and international level Visibility: to make our youth work on local, national and international level visible; to promote a positive image of Roma and role models for young Roma Participation: to raise the voice of Roma youth, to promote their active citizenship and to create a forum of discussion with political and societal stakeholders Creating a framework: The ternYpe European Youth Campaign shall help to create a framework and visibility for all actions in the year 2011 on local, national and international level.

Background of the campaign: • Challenging stigmatization and the negative perception of Roma The situation of Roma youth puts in doubt not just the prosperous, tolerant and peaceful future of Europe, but it puts under risk the potentials and the future of a huge group of young people! With 12 million Roma living in Europe, Roma do not just constitute the biggest ethnic minority in Europe, but also one of the youngest communities, with over half of the population being under 25 years old. Roma are European citizens. Nevertheless, they face structural discrimination and marginalization and are not accepted as equal citizens. Prejudices and stereotypes are widely spread and remain often unquestioned in the media, in politics and in society. Many young people have difficulties with their cultural background because of the ongoing experience of discrimination. We can see a strong mechanism of self-stigmatization. Many other young people who manage to successful move forward, feel forced to deny their identity and never invest their capacity for their community. Young people have the right and responsibility to shape their own presence and future; however, the majority of Roma youth lacks the space to articulate the Roma youth issues. Striving for a better life for ALL in ONE society, we have to stress that not Roma are the problem, but their marginalization, discrimination and bad social situation. This campaign intends to promote a positive image of Roma as active citizens and to strengthen the Roma voice in order to stand up against discrimination and stigmatization. • Rise of extremism, racism and antigypsyism Extremism, racism and antigypsyism is a problem of ALL in ONE society. We are strongly concerned about the current rise of extremism, racism and antigypsyism in many European countries: In the past years many Roma were killed in hate crimes, schools remain segregated, high politicians use Roma as scapegoat, governments do not take equal responsibility for their Roma citizens and racist and extremist parties became part of government bodies. This reminds us of the importance of Holocaust and Human Rights Education. We have to strengthen young people to develop a critical thinking and activism against populist, racist and extremist political movements.

National and international campaign •

•

Launch: The national campaigns were launched around the “International Day for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination” (March 22nd) and the International Roma Day (April 8th) with press conferences, press releases and local events. National campaigns: Between April and October 2011 a wide range of local, regional and national campaign activities in all countries constituted the core element of the campaign, which included debates,youth meetings and seminars, public and creative actions, living library, forums of dialogue, exhibition, media, film screenings and much more. International campaign actions: ternYpe also realized the campaign on international level. On April 8th, ternYpe joined the demonstration in front of the European Roma Platform under the Hungarian Presidency in Budapest. On August 2nd, ternYpe hold a commemoration ceremony for the Roma Genocide in Auschwitz with the Polish Minister for Equal Opportunities. From September 7th to 11th, ternYpe participated in the II Youth Convention on Volunteering of the European Youth Forum in front of the European Parliament in Brussels. Last but not least, ternYpe brought the campaign to the Roma Youth Conference of the Council of Europe and co-organized a creative youth demonstration in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg against the current extremism and racism against Roma in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Hungary.

The Framework of the campaign Preparation and capacity-building •

•

Campaign development: In October 2010, the campaign was developed in the General Assembly and networking meeting in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, Slovakia, and a Campaign Working Group with an international coordinator and 8 national coordinators was established. Meeting of national and international coordinators: A two day lasting meeting of the Campaign Working Group was held to discuss coordination, shared responsibilities, timeline, financial management, visibility, documentation and the learning and evaluation component. Training-course for youth leaders: Over 35 youth leaders met in March 2011 in an international trainingcourse in Bratislava, Slovakia, to develop campaign actions, to learn and make use of creative and artistic methods and to stimulate the motivation of the participants to take initiative and action. National preparations: All ternYpe members hold their own preparatory meetings to develop a campaign action plan, to identify local, regional and national partners and to strengthen the common visibility in the youth movement and in the media.

Conclusions: Positive message to show: “Alternatives are Possible” We concluded that as ternYpe we do not just want to make the public aware of the problems, such as stereotypes and social exclusion of Roma, but we want to show solutions and alternatives. We offered a space for Roma and non-Roma youngsters to stand for mutual respect and cooperation in order to convince the public with positive messages that alternatives are possible. Local networking to build active grassroots groups During this campaign we have proved that the strengthening of the networking on the local level is essential to have youngsters participating in such activities. We need to have strong grassroots groups to have a voice, to perform, to organize street actions, and to mobilize many young people through trust, friendship, critical thinking and our common mission. We believe in youth participation, and engage other youngsters to become active and to raise our voice.

Sharing experience and evaluation •

•

Platform of sharing experience and middle evaluation: End of May the national campaign coordinators and active youth leaders met in Barcelona to exchange experience about the first campaign actions and the concepts and to realize a middle evaluation. Moreover, they organized a big campaign event with workshops, performances and creative actions in the “Primavera Kalo” Roma festival in a public square of Barcelona. Working meeting on antigypsyism in Europe: In August ternYpe organized with ERGO Network a working meeting on current antigypsyism in Europe with 40 participants from 11 countries. The workshops focused on antigypsyism in the media, in daily life and the growing extremism and hate speech for example in Hungary. Furthermore, the seminar enabled participants to share experience and practices as youth activists and youth organizations. Closing of campaign and final evaluation: In the beginning of November about 40 youth leaders from all ternYpe members met in Rome, Italy, for a closing event and final evaluation of the campaign. During 4 days they shared concrete experiences, which they gained during this year, discussed stories of success and failure and identified positive approaches and methods to continue the work for the mission of ternYpe.

Encounter of exchange and learning among youth activists We experienced that encounters on regional, national and international level were very important to exchange our experience, and to learn from each other. We shared our stories of success and failure; we supported and motivated each other, and we were happy to see our open group growing with many new people from around Europe. Capacity-building and empowerment Capacity-building and empowerment constituted an important part of our campaign work. We realized that we need capacity-building for the knowledge to create powerful messages and actions, to create grassroots networks, to strengthen our critical thinking for real alternatives and to motivate many young people to join us. This empowerment gave us the confidence to raise our voice. New forms of protest and action We realized quickly that we could surprise people with our ternYpe philosophy and mission, with our positive messages and with our surprising forms of protest and actions, such as street theatre, music, silent protest, free hugs, debates, creative protest, street actions and creative events. We were able to cross borders, and people listened, discussed and participated with us.

ANTIGYPSYISM as a part of europea n history and todays everyda y life

Antigypsyism is a complex social phenomenon which occurs in most visible form through hate speech, physical violence, exploitation, and structural discrimination. Antigypsyism can be found not only through abstract racial categorization, which postulates the inferiority of Roma, but also through straight-forward dehumanisation. It is based on negative stereotypes towards Roma and other groups, who experience antigypsyism. Even the rare cases of sympathetic portrayals seem to depict Roma as at best childlike. But it is important to state that those stereotypes do not have anything in common with the real life values or identity concepts of Roma. Antigypsyist thoughts arise in the middle of society. All societies need different reference points to create an “own” in dissociation from an imagined “other”. The post-colonial scientist Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak has called this process “othering”. The European Roma population “serves” as an important reference point for the construction of a national population. Each nation strengthens their national identity through weakening other groups. Having a weak group to refer to reminds the “majority” of being “better” than the Roma. The situation of Roma did not develop naturally by itself, but it is a result of a long history of institutional racism and exclusion. We find the roots of antigypsyism in the 16th century. Shortly after the first, comparatively friendly welcome in Europe, the situation began to change. The local workmen and guilds thought their income and monopoly were threatened and thus tried to get the unwanted competitors out of their way by all means. Violent attacks against Roma and so called “Gipsy Hunts” are documented since 1711 (documents from the Holy German Empire) as well as anti-Semitic pogroms, violent attacks against Roma have been part of the European history ever since. This situation culminated in the mass murder of the European Roma and Sinti during World War II. The Germans and their collaborators killed more than 500.000 Roma and Sinti. But until today there is hardly any recognition for this part of European history - as recent events in Hungary, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and other countries proof. Violent attacks all around Europe have to be seen only partly as results of the economic crisis caused tension, but as a long history of antigypsyism. The current violent events should be seen as a strong statement about European society and they tell a lot about the missing civic courage to stand up against racism. National myths are essential parts of people’s identity. Referring to these myths political leadership is able to correct or modify the national image and to influence public thinking. As a result of marginalization Roma had only rare access to education and a public voice. Roma never had their own chronic writers and they never belonged to the political elite – this is why they lost the chance to influence their own historical image.

Stigmatization, self-stigmatization: “All societies will always stigmatize some conditions and some behaviours because doing so provides for group solidarity by delineating “»outsiders« from »insiders«.”(Gerhard Falk) Stereotypes and prejudices do not change because of rational arguments or statistic results, they change if social circumstances change the living conditions and so the images of the stigmatized group. Stigma is a Greek word that in its origins refers to a kind of mark, that was cut or burned into the skin in order to visibly identify somebody as blemished or morally polluted person. If somebody belongs to a group, which is judged and labelled by the major society – as “them” or as “the other” connected negative attributes, than it is not easy to escape the vicious circle by saying “I don’t fit into your box”. The youngsters, who do not have access and opportunities to change the screenplay of their life often decide to go against the group, which they belong to. They internalize the stigma and apply negative stereotypes towards their own group. Thus, people who became successful and respected by the majority, often want to leave their “shameful” roots behind, and do not want to be recognized anymore as members of a stigmatized group. This is true for many Roma. Our network tries to support youngsters through strengthening their own individual identity, and self-esteem. We want to give them space to take responsibility and to change the “glasses” of majority in their own way.

International actions Networking Meeting in Slovakia 2010

During a ternYpe Networking Meeting in Nove Mesto nad Vahom (Slovakia) in October 2010, the 20 representatives of all ternYpe organizations elaborated the message and framework of the ternYpe European Youth Campaign for ALL in ONE Society. The General Assembly gave the mandate to a newly established Campaign Working Group with an international coordinator and national coordinators to run the campaign during the whole year 2011. Moreover, the Networking Meeting enabled the participants to have a closer look into the situation in Slovakia and to get to know the practices of the ternYpe member Roma Education Centre, especially in its youth club connected to a local school with many Roma children. In the local Roma community we organized meetings with young families and youngsters to share and discuss about the situation, about needs and interests, before we hold an international football tournament altogether. Last but not least, a meeting with Klara Orgovanova (ex Plenipotentionary of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities) about the situation of Roma youth in Europe rounded up our encounter.

Training-Course on Creative Campaigning in Bratislava, March 2011 Plenty preparations were necessary on national and international level in order to get the ternYpe campaign started. After a few-day lasting meeting of the national and international campaign coordinators, 40 participants from all around Europe came to Bratislava to learn new and creative methods how to bring our campaign message out to the public, how to make our slogans attractive, to open the hearts of people through creative and artistic tools and to make people think about stereotypes. We developed slogans and tools, flash mobs and street actions which we could realize at home. After several days of workshops and practice, we realized a street action and performance in the centre of Bratislava, highlighting the importance of cooperation and mutual understanding between Roma and non-Roma.

April 8th – European Roma Platform meeting in Budapest While the ternYpe campaign officially started on international level on April 8th, the Hungarian EU Presidency invited national governments, the EU, international organizations and Roma civil society representatives for the 5th Roma Platform to Budapest, in order to discuss about the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies. In front of the Hungarian Parliament, ternYpe organized with other civil society organizations a protest, requesting the EU and Member States to condemn anti-Roma violence, threats and racist rhetoric. Moreover, ternYpe prepared with the other youth networks FERYP and Pakiv a statement, which was delivered inside of the Roma Platform, asking for a greater participation of Roma youth and for the recognition of crucial Roma youth issues and interests. Last but not least, ternYpe followed its spirit and humour going to the streets of Budapest to offer free hugs, talk to people, play with children and to use the time for discussions about politics and youth participation. It took a lot of courage and strength to deal with some negative experiences. After one of our activists gave a free hug to a smiling nice looking young man, the man said: “Wow! But you don’t even smell like a Gypsy!” But a couple of minutes later a lady told to one of our volunteers who helped to carry her bag: “I wish I would have grandchildren like you!” So we felt satisfied knowing that we challenged the perceptions of many people.

Networking Meeting and Festival „Primavera Kaló” in Barcelona, May 2011

“As young activists in Roma communities, we want to raise public awareness of our involvement as active citizens and equal actors in society. We expect among the EU, its member states and other relevant stakeholders to establish a channel of communication with youth and include a youth dimension in their programmes and policies, and Roma youth are ready to make valuable contributions. Policies and programmes should be developed based on a dialogue between young people and policy-makers. Roma youth must be involved in decision-making processes in order to strengthen their voices against discrimination and stigmatization and to create positive images of Roma. Having a voice is essential for our active citizenship and participation, and to this end we want to be part of the consultation process concerning our futures as European citizens.” from: letter of the Roma Youth Networks to the 5th Roma Platform organized by the Hungarian EU Presidency

At the end of May 2011 ternYpe gathered for several days with 40 participants from all member countries in Barcelona for a middle evaluation of the ternYpe campaign and for a networking meeting regarding our strategies of empowerment, mobilization and participation of Roma youth. Besides the adoption of a strategy for 20112013, ternYpe welcomed RROMA Regional Roma Educational Youth Association from Macedonia as new Associate Member. Moreover, ternYpe meetings were held with the city of Barcelona, the government of Catalonia and a Spanish Member of Parliament regarding the issues of young Roma. On May 28th 2011 the first edition of the Roma Youth Festival “Primavera Kalo” took place in the Plaça del Sol in Barcelona and was organized by Ternikalo XXI in the framework of the ternYpe “ALL in ONE campaign”. The objective of the festival was to give greater visibility to Roma youth, promote a positive image of Roma youth as as active citizens and to promote and strengthen the confidence of Roma identity. In the words of Israel Ramirez, president of Ternikalo XXI , “We are a new generation, and despite the great problems of racism or education from which we still suffer, the most educated Roma generation in history. Now we start to auto-organize and we want to change the discourse from victimization to participation, mobilization and empowerment of the youth.” In this event, Roma and non-Roma came together and created the different activities that took place during the day - street actions, theatre, painting workshops, henna tattoos, games and more.

The Roma Genocide project, August 2011 On the night of August 2nd to 3rd 1944, 2897 elderly people, women and children, the remaining Sinti and Roma of the so-called “gypsy camp” (“Zigeunerlager”) at Auschwitz-Birkenau, were murdered in the gas chambers. On this day we remember the countless people who were persecuted and murdered as “gypsies” under the Nazi regime. Nevertheless, knowledge and recognition of the extermination of Roma during the Second World War is still very limited - especially among young Europeans, including the Roma. In order to promote the knowledge and understanding of the fate of Roma during the Nazi regime and reflect on its importance for the present, International Roma Youth Network ternYpe initiated the “Roma Genocide” project in 2010. In 2011, ternYpe brought again young Europeans of different cultures and backgrounds together to commemorate the extermination of Roma in the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. From July 31st to August 3rd, ternYpe organized an International Youth Seminar in cooperation with OSCE-ODIHR and the regional administration of the region “Malopolska”, which brought together 70 Roma and non-Roma youngsters from 10 European countries. The aim of this seminar was to look into the perception and awareness of the Roma Genocide among the youth today, to meet with Holocaust survivors and visit the Auschwitz museum, gain knowledge about the genocide of the Roma, debate about the Holocaust education and raise the critical thinking about the Holocaust and its meaning today. On August 2nd, the participants of the International Seminar held a commemoration seminar for the murdered Sinti and Roma under the Nazi rule. Young Roma and non-Roma expressed their thoughts and feelings and ternYpe especially drew attention to the fact that the Polish Parliament recently decided to proclaim August 2nd as the official Roma and Sinti Genocide Remembrance Day. After the commemoration days in Auschwitz a working meeting on current issues of antigypsyism in Europe was held from August 3rd to August 6th, organized by ternYpe and ERGO Network. The program included various discussions about the Holocaust, the backgrounds, and the mechanisms of exclusion, racism and antigypsyism, with a special focus on its importance for the present. The participants of the meeting worked in three working groups that concentrated on antigypsyism in the media, cases of daily antigypsyism and how to deal with it and will discuss the current examples of racism and antigypsyism in the European countries. The current rise of racism against Roma - in many European countries, as well as the still existing prejudices and stereotypes in the media, politics and society remind us of the importance of Holocaust and Human Rights Education. With the number of survivors and witnesses steadily declining, the role of the younger generation in remembering the horror of the Holocaust and the genocide against Roma and drawing lessons for the present becomes even more important. We, therefore, hope that this international seminar will be established as an annual educational event for young people to engage them in the fight against the current intolerance and racism.

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TernYpe in II Youth Convention on Volunteering in Brussels, September 2011 12 ternYpe – International Roma Youth Network participants from all member organizations joined the II Youth Convention on Volunteering from September 7th-11th in Brussels, the biggest event organized by the European Youth Forum which was hosted by the European Parliament in the framework of the European Year of Volunteering. During 3 days ternYpe was present with an information tent in the V-Village in front of the European Parliament, organized two workshops with different international youth organizations and presented the ternYpe European Youth Campaign for ALL in ONE society. The event was organized by the European Youth Forum, the biggest platform of youth organizations in Europe, which works for the empowerment of young people and for their active participation through representing and advocating their needs and interests towards European Institutions, Council of Europe and the United Nations. ternYpe participant Karolina Mirga from Poland concluded: “It was the first time that ternYpe was present in such a mainstream European youth event. TernYpe visibility reached out to many people who did not have any clue about Roma or Roma youth self-organizations, including many people of the European Parliament.” Even in this crowd of experienced volunteers and youth organizations, the ternYpe youngsters were visible through creative street and campaign actions.

Closing the campaign and networking meeting in Rome, November 2011

Participants of Roma Youth Conference in Strasbourg against hate, violence, racism and the silence of governments, September 2011 TernYpe participated with 10 people, who represented all member organizations, in the Roma Youth Conference, which was hosted between September 26-30th by the Council of Europe. The conference brought together 50 representatives and youth leaders of Roma youth organizations and young Roma in order to discuss needs and challenges of Roma youth and youth organizations, to exchange experience in youth work and to develop guidelines for a Roma Youth Action Plan (RYAP) of the Council of Europe and beyond for 2012-2013. Being concerned about the current rise of extremism, racism and anti-gypsyism in many European countries, and particularly about the unbearable increase of violence and hatred in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary and other places across Europe, the participants of the Roma Youth Conference mobilized in a protest to draw attention to these alarming developments. On 28th September 2011 the group organized a solidarity event in front of the European Parliament and Council of Europe with the Roma in those countries.

In November 2011 we reached the official end of the ternYpe European Youth Campaign for ALL in ONE society. In a final meeting with 40 international participants in Rome we shared our experiences, looked into good and bad practices in our campaign work and wrote our lessons learned and conclusions of the campaign. The ALL in ONE campaign has become a great tool of capacity building and networking connecting all levels of our work. Learning from all the different local stories from around Europe has become a great inspiration to continue our work in the future. Besides the final evaluation of the campaign, we continued our networking process to develop a Strategic Action Plan, and to reflect about our national and international work in the past year. During one day our local host organization Roma Onlus brought us in small research groups to different kinds of „Roma camps” (in Italy called „Campi Nomadi”) which was a shocking experience for all about the current reality of segregation and discrimination.

Visit to “Campi Nomadi” The groups to the “Campi Nomadi” in Rome were led by volunteers of Roma Onlus who had friends or family in the camps and thus were very familiar with the situation and not perceived as strangers. Afterwards our visit to the camps all youth leaders came together to speak about their impressions and also to share some thoughts: “The new part of the camp is a totally controlled area: people were telling us that guards with arms and dogs control the camp and that there were several cameras around. The first thought coming into the mind to some of our group members was related to a visit to Auschwitz during the Roma Genocide project. Some group members had the impression to face a modern update of antigypsyism and shared the fear that this camp might become a model for other countries. In the discussions with youngsters in the camp, they shared their needs and fears. There is a need to for a common space for activities for youngsters and the need for contact between inhabitants inside and outside of the camp. People feel isolated and stigmatized and expressed the need to improve education of their children.”

www.raa.al

Capacity-building

through debating

Albania Roma Active Albania

Roma Active Albania is an experienced organization aiming at the mobilization and empowerment of Roma people. We are actively lobbying and advocating Roma issues at local, national and international level. RAA is specialized in addressing Roma issues, conducting analysis and developing new methods and strategies to tackle the exclusion of Roma people in Albania and Europe. RAA supports networks and groups with special emphasis on women and youth. RAA coordinates two regional networks in the region of Fier and Korça. The vision of RAA is to contribute to empowering Roma to come together in a grassroots Roma movement, which will change position of Roma by fighting against exclusionary mechanisms. Moreover, RAA plays a key role in the ERGO (European Roma Grassroots Organization) Network, and is actively involved in the Decade of Roma Inclusion. “We live under the same sky” On March 22 we organized our first activity named “We live under the same sky” in the centre of Korca in south-eastern Albania, aiming to attract the attention of the people, on the fact that we are all equal. We brought together 23 young Roma and non-Roma volunteers to promote the international day against racism. After two days of training, including discussions on how to fight stereotypes and discrimination and about the mission and message of “ternYpe”, we realized our street actions in the public. During the action we were dressed in black and white uniforms, to catch the eye of the people and to remind them that the world is not like this. In this activity we used dance in the street, shared pamphlets, engaged in street painting and recorded public opinions. Approximately 50 by passers stopped and got involved in the activity. They had short discussions with the volunteers on issues concerning Roma origin and Roma inclusion.

We live under the same sky

Training with the youngsters: Capacity-building through debating In order to raise the capacity of the young Roma and non-Roma to be able to debate for their rights, we organized a training for youth leaders. The methodology of this training was based on team work and collaboration through simulation games. By doing this we wanted to raise the collaboration between Roma and non-Roma youngsters. Our overall aim was to mobilize young people to be active citizens. Youngsters were separated in two groups in order to discuss about the Roma issues and to share experience of discrimination and how to defend their rights. In the end of this training the youngsters got to know each other and through debating they learned new facts and background information about the situation of Roma in Albania. Some became interested to collaborate and to take part in other activities. In order to fight stereotypes and discrimination we want to strengthen this kind of encounter and mobilization. Essay Competition A lot of youngsters took part in an essay competition with creative essays about the topic “My best friend a Roma”. When we announced a call for contributions on our facebook page, a lot of youngsters became interested to take part and asked a lot of questions about the criteria of this competition. They sent their essays by email and we posted them on facebook, where the public voted on the essays by clicking the “like” button. At the same time a jury of professionals assessed the essays and selected three winners.

Albanian Roma Youth Congress “The youth, this force which toppled the Berlin wall in November of 1989, will now break down the wall of discrimination and stereotypes.” This was the message that young people expressed during the “First Congress of Roma Youth”, organized by “Roma Active Albania” on April 15th 2011, which attracted more than 200 young people from Tirana, Durres, Korca, Fier, Pogradec, Vlora, etc., as delegates, representing Roma youth in those cities. “We are part of the society of this country; we are that force which will contribute for Albania to join the European family, “said Erion Xhaibra, one youth representative from the city of Durres. Mr. Adriatik Hasantari, director of “Roma Active Albania”, at the opening of the congress, said that discrimination against the Roma minority, and also of young Roma is present in different shapes. Refusal to enter bars, with the claim of reserved seats, sitting in the desks at the end of a classroom, staying at the corner seat in the bus, treatment as second class citizens, families forced to flee their homes, are phenomena that make youngsters to feel discriminated and excluded. This situation has created a vicious circle that holds back the integration of the Roma community. For this reason this congress has a special importance as the young Roma with the support of other young people, have joined voices in a single force, to break this vicious circle and to bring progress in the Albanian society. The Roma community leaders, Ms. Meleqe Rrenja and Mr. Latif Kazanxhiu, emphasized the importance of youth involvement for minority advocacy and integration. This congress is an outcome of several years of integration efforts of the Roma community; efforts also to become actively involved in the Albanian society. The congress was also attended by representatives of the EU delegation in Albania and of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, which showed high interest in the event and encouraged the youth for their achievements. The congress aimed for the approval of a resolution developed by young people. This resolution addresses the priorities defined by the youngsters about inclusion and participation in decision-making processes, in order to improve the living conditions of the Roma community as a whole. The resolution also submits specific requirements related to strengthening youth activism and the strengthening of the Albanian youth in general. The resolution shall be sent to relevant institutions at central and local levels. The congress took place in the frame of the campaign “Thank you Mr. Mayor! Local partnership for Roma Inclusion”, which aims to increase the inclusion of Roma through local partnerships. This campaign is part of the campaign “Roma-REACT” - make Europe an equal place for Roma, which is initiated by ERGO Network. It is supported by the European Commission and aims to develop and implement concrete steps to reduce discrimination against the Roma community and creating a social climate more positive toward Roma.

Resolution of the 1st Albanian Roma Youth Congress The participants of the First Congress of Roma Youth in Albania, representatives of the Roma Communities and Organisations from different districts of the country gathered today, on 15/04/2011, in Tirana, Considering that the rights of Roma are human rights which under international conventions such as, UN Convention on Human Rights, the Convention on civil and political freedoms, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, are undeniable, inviolable and inalienable, and must be applied without discrimination; Recognising the obligations of the Republic of Albania, in the framework of the European Union integration, to align its legislation with the European one, toward the prohibition of discrimination on racial or ethnic reasons, and equal treatment of people; Taking into account the implementation of “Strategy for improving the living conditions of the Roma minority”, approved by Government decision number 633 dated 18/09/2003. 1. Alarmed by the violations of human rights particularly against the Roma community; 2. Concerned about the difficult living conditions of our community in different regions of the Republic of Albania; 3. Concerned also about the non-inclusion of the Roma community, especially the Roma youth, in the development of current policies; 4. Aware of the contribution given to the development of Albanian society, and in full knowledge of the work being done by the Roma community; 5. Convinced that the situation of the Roma community should be improved as an integral part of Albanian society, and as a condition for Albania’s integration into the European Union; 6. With the belief that living between cultures is achieved by promoting cooperation and cultural interaction between Roma and non Roma, with particular focus on youth; 7. With the belief that integration of the Roma community in society comes with the participation of Roma community in decision making at both central and local level;

We appeal to different actors, domestic and international, especially the local and central government, civil society organizations and the Roma community organizations to: 1. Continue with their commitment the work to meet the goals set forth by the “Decade and Roma Inclusion 2005-2015”, the “Strategy for improving the living conditions of the Roma minority,” as well as the conditions for Albania’s EU membership; especially by a. Increasing the level of inclusion and integration, especially of the youth, in decision-making pro cesses at local level; b. Improving continuously the living conditions; c. Improving general education and vocational training, at all levels and the Albanian education system, based on inclusion; d. Improving health and social services for the Roma community, where a special part occupies the advisory services for reproductive health and primary care; e. Promoting employment through effective training of young Roma and the development of comprehensive policies for employment incentives, such as micro loans, advice, etc; f. Involving in social schemes and health care in accordance with Albanian legislation in the respective field.

10. 11.

12.

13.

Provide better information for Roma communities, about the various facilities and the special services offered by central and local governments, paying particular attention to the importance of young Roma. Improve further the system of registration at the registry offices for the Roma community, working moreproactively and closer to the base of this community. Attention should be given to registration of youth and young families. Encourage and support various activities like seminars, trainings and roundtables for the Roma community, aiming to increase capacity and capabilities of organizations and individuals, especially youth of our community, to be actively involved in society, as well to ensure the participation in those activities of non-Roma, in order to combat prejudices and change stereotypes. Expand the space in various inter-sectoral strategies for Roma youth, and improve information on the implementation of these strategies at central and local levels. Tirana on May 15th 2011.

2. Strengthen the role and position of Roma women, especially young women, through the promotion of gender equality within and outside the community, legal aid and other forms of support. 3. Take measures to eliminate discrimination and segregation of Roma community members in employment, educational institutions, through awareness raising, training and further training of staff in schools, reaching an improvement of teaching conditions. 4. Strengthen the application of laws against discrimination, especially in employment, through awareness raising and taking appropriate measures. 5. Undertake awareness campaigns for public administration at central and local level on non-discrimination of Roma and the legal responsibilities that come from it. 6. Undertake awareness raising campaigns for employees of institutions of law enforcement and the judiciary system, in order to eliminate prejudices and stereotypes towards Roma community. 7. Improve the school curricula on civic education in order to combat prejudice and stereotypes about Roma community, to include as complete as possible knowledge about the rights we enjoy, as well as the respective legislation for non-discrimination. 8. Encourage initiatives to preserve the values of Roma culture as integral to the cultural diversity of Albania, and especially music, ethnography, folklore, etc, in order to avoid assimilation and loss of those values. 9. Work specifically with young Roma for their full integration into the Albanian society, especially in terms of employment and education.

Bulgaria Youth Network for Development

www.ynd-bg.org

“Youth Network for Development“ is a non-governmental youth association founded in 2007 by a group of active and motivated Roma and non-Roma university students. The main goal of the NGO is to change exclusionary processes like segregation and the lack of participation of the Roma youngsters on local level. Our mission is to create opportunities for young Roma and non-Roma to become active citizens, and their voice to be heard through common efforts. The YND team consists of young Roma and non-Roma students. For the last two years the activities of the association included more than 200 youngsters from 15 different locations in South-Western Bulgaria. Currently the association supports the activities of 6 self-organized initiative groups on local level in the whole region. In the future we would like to enlarge and strengthen our organization’s network on national level. YND supports young people in participating in different international events.

III. Art Workshop and Happening In August, a big group of Roma and Non-Roma youngsters between 15 and 26 years met in the mountain area Predel, to participate in an artistic experience with music, dance, theatre and art. They shared problems and challenges concerning their local realities regarding respect and tolerance. Those problems and challenges were presented by means of art. The participants used artistic methods, supported by three professionals, to represent themselves as youngsters that stand up for respect and responsibility. The outcomes were presented in two municipalities in street actions with public performances, including different dance styles like: multicultural dance, Indian, Oriental, HipHop and Rap. Although there was a great audience and high visibility, we struggled with the local authorities, which wanted to control and influence the message of the action regarding multicultural understanding and did not give an open space for youngsters to present their ideas, thoughts and activism.

I. Youth Seminar on Identity and Multicultural Realities in Bulgaria Thirty young Roma, ethnic Bulgarians and Muslims took part in a youth seminar in Blagoevgrad, one of the key ALL in ONE Society campaign activities in Bulgaria. The main goal of the seminar was to raise the awareness about identity and the multicultural realities in Bulgaria, as well as racism and xenophobia in Europe. YND wanted to strengthen the understanding of the youngsters of who they are, and of how to tackle their problems. We reflected on identity and values, and how to strengthen the understanding and respect for the diversity between cultures. Other main issues during the two-day seminar were negative phenomena, such as discrimination, antigypsyism and stigmatization. The participants learned about the ternYpe campaign and got engaged in street actions, which received a lot of public attention and positive feedback. II. Engagement and volunteering: “Clean it. Make it colorful and beautiful” In Simitli over 20 young Roma and Non-Roma organized themselves to develop and engage in some voluntary activities for their community. In the activity “Clean it. Make it colorful and beautiful” the local volunteers cleaned the town garden and children playground in the center, whitened, painted and rearranged it. There is a wall, which had been tarnished by graffiti, but during the activity the youngsters painted it with the EU Member States flags. The message was that being colorful is beautiful and diversity is something positive. While working in the town garden and in the playground, all participants were wearing t-shirts in different colors with the logo of the Campaign All in One Society and of YND. Local citizens noticed and appreciated the voluntary activity, which really changed the face of these central places, and made them much more pleasant. The young volunteers showed that they can contribute to positive change.

Germany Amaro Drom

www.amarodrom.de

A “Amaro Dromâ” is an intercultural self-organization of young Roma and non-Roma which was established in 2006. Our main focus is the socio-cultural youth work, the strengthening of self-initiative, mobilization, networking and self-esteem of young Roma and their political and social participation. As young Europeans we actively want to contribute to society for more acceptance and respect, mutual understanding and inclusion. Amaro Drom currently involves the two regional youth associations Amaro Foro (Berlin), and Terno Drom (Northrhine-Westfalia), and works in close cooperation with the national German youth organization “djo-Deutsche Jugend in Europa”. Flash mob, balloons and signatures for “Alle Bleiben” at the Protest Church Day From June 1st to 5th, the Protest Church Day attracted over 200.000 visitors who came from Germany and abroad to Dresden. ternYpe youth joined Projekt Roma Centre Göttingen and Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste to collect over 3000 signatures against the deportation of Roma refugees to Kosovo, to make the voice heard of the campaign “Alle Bleiben” (All stay) and to make the ternYpe All in ONE society campaign visible. We spread campaign materials like postcards, and organized a flash mob and a street theatre. In a huge action we filled up balloons with helium and attracted wide attention of visitors, especially when we sent hundreds of balloons into the sky.

All in One in the state Parliament in Düsseldorf Young Roma and non-Roma from the region of Northrhine-Westfalia organized a regional youth meeting in connection with a visit to the state Parliament in Düsseldorf to meet some political representatives. This initiative was launched by Terno Drom in close cooperation with the German Youth in Europe djo-LV NRW and took place in the frame of the ternYpe campaign “All in One”. In the workshops, the young Roma were strengthened in their identity and their political and social understanding. In particular, they had the opportunity to develop their own ideas, to strengthen their empowerment and to learn more about the work of the Parliament. Terno Drom is a Romanes word and means “Young way”. Terno Drom is a multicultural youth organization of Roma and non-Roma, which cooperates closely with Amaro Drom. It promotes international understanding and encourages young Roma to self-determined participation in social life. Our work focuses on education, elimination of discrimination and empowerment. ALL in ONE celebration around “Herdelezi”Roma festival in Berlin In the afternoon of May 7th, Amaro Drom with his newly formed local association “Amaro Foro” attracted over 1000 people, including several hundred Roma families from different communities, to the 3rd ”Herdelezi” Roma Festival in Berlin Neukölln. Coming originally from Southeast Europe, and bringing together Muslim tradition and the Christian custom of St. George’s Day (Djurdjevdan), the Herdelezi spring festival is now one of the most important dates in the calendar, especially for Roma. Together with 30 Roma and non-Roma youngsters from eight European countries (AL, MK, SRB, PL, ES, CZ, SK, RO) we prepared during 8 days an international theatre and artistic performance in the project “Don’t worry! Be Gypsy!”, which was put on stage with other dance performances and several concerts. The festival was accompanied with a Living Library and thematic discussions on Roma history and antigypsyism in the Rroma Aether Klub Theater, as well as with information stands about ternYpe and our local work, which opened more information and personal conversation between visitors and our volunteers.

Hungary Romaversitas

www.romaversitas.hu

Our mission is the training as well as the financial, moral and intellectual support of talented Roma students enrolled in higher education institutes and, through this, the promotion and the practice of equal opportunities. The program is the first initiative of its kind in Hungary. The direct beneficiaries of the Romaversitas program are Roma studying in higher education institutions in Hungary. Students who apply and are accepted to the program receive the following: 1) A monthly scholarship; 2) Comprehensive skills training: teacher support, academic mentor, seminars; 3) Language training. Romaversitas maintains constant contact and provides continual support to students throughout their time at university, to help them graduating, and ultimately to succeed in securing a professional job. Their success will enable them to be proud advocates for their community and ambassadors who help raise awareness of the issues, problems and potential of all Roma. Youth Festival SZIN - ternYpe Szeged The ternYpe group of Szeged participated in the SZIN (Szegedi Ifjúsági Napok – Youth Days of Szeged) Festival between 24th and 28th of August 2011. This Festival is the most famous youth festival in Hungary where we organized a lot of actions and programs. On the first night when we moved in to the festival’s place, we just called people’s attention by making music. One of our most important actions was called „I’m a Gypsy! Do you wanna talk?” Several youngsters positioned in different places of the festival area offered to talk and listen to people who were attracted by this slogan. We encountered some proactive people with a negative opinion. Even right wing skinheads took part in the discussions challenging our tolerance and openness. It’s very ironic but at the end of the conversation they still seemed to hate Roma but they started to like „us” instead… Many other festival visitors also used the possibilities to talk with the youngsters. The ternYpe principles are our principles - Roma and non – Roma people bounded by deep friendship. So we really do believe in the phrase of „All in ONE”.

RACISM is

SENSELESS and

HATRED is

HARMFUL for

EVERYONE „Please come and visit us again!” – ternYpe Miskolc On October 26 the ternYpe group in Miskolc organized a great action together with Romaversitas students. We used street actions, as we learned during the first Roma Youth Summit in Cordoba, like giving free hugs and talking to the people on the street. At the same time a famous and respected Hungarian Roma writer taught about the importance of learning in a segregated elementary school. We also talked with many Roma children and some of them treated us as kind of role models and asked us to visit them on a regular basis. After the street actions we had a great public discussion in a café about the current political situation of Hungary. The most important elements of the day were: that we could involve more people into our work, and that we strengthened the ternYpe team of Miskolc. „Racism is senseless and hatred is harmful for everyone”, ternYpe Pécs Every year, there is a Holocaust commemoration at my high school. This year, I felt honored when my teacher had chosen me to give a speech about the Holocaust. I was telling that I felt sorry for the fact that many people do not know about the Roma Holocaust and that this tragedy is not mentioned in many history books. It’s not a well-known thing that through the Nazi era many Roma people were killed. Even many students of my school had never heard about this. As a non-Roma student, I wanted them to realize that racism is senseless, and that hatred is harmful for everyone. Some Roma university students of the ternYpe team in Pécs visited my school, and talked about the support of Romaversitas which enabled them to follow a university career. I hope that these steps lead towards a more open-minded society and I will do my best to continue the work in our group. (by Enikő Tóth)

Italy Roma Onlus

www.romaonlus.it

Romà Onlus is an NGO established in 2008, based in Rome and composed by both Roma cultural mediators and non Roma people. Our method is active participation. Our mission is to promote aspects of Roma culture and skills, to enhance Roma history and traditions, to fight every form of discrimination and to enhance the interaction between Roma and non-Roma. Our aim is to support the integration process of the Roma community through projects and activities directed towards the empowerment of Roma and Sinti in different fields such as: education, cultural awareness, social and cultural mediation, support to employment. Romà Onlus devotes a large part of its efforts to long-term empowerment practices such as schooling support and tutoring aimed to improve the access to higher education and the creation of space for youngsters of Roma and non-Roma background. Romà Onlus is a founding member of “Federazione Romanì” (Italian Romanì Federation) and a founding member of ternYpe (International Roma Youth Network) and a member of RGDTS – Phiren Amenca. International Roma meeting with the Pope in the Vatican A group of youngsters of Romà Onlus took part in the international meeting between Roma people and the Pope in Vatican City in Rome in June 2011. A self-organized group of youngsters from different Italian cities participated at the event promoting the message and aims of the ALL in ONE campaign. Our activity interested many people in the community, and also many stakeholders engaged in the civil society. The event gave the group of youngsters the opportunity to gather and communicate the message of the campaign to Roma people coming from all over the world and to important members of the Catholic Church.

Participation in the literature festival “Torre di Libri” On July 16th, we participated in the literature festival “Torre di Libri” promoted by the Italian Diaconia Valdese in Torre Pellice, the main city of Valdese church in Italy. The event included the participation of important writers, poets and journalists. We took part in the festival with a public talk to introduce the book “Tastes and Flavors of Roma Tradition“, realized by a group of Roma and non-Roma youngsters in the framework of the ALL IN ONE campaign. The book is the result of a research process initiated and implemented by the youngsters about Romany traditions, tales and food. Because of the relevance of food in the Italian culture, Romà Onlus decided to promote Roma culture through traditional Roma food coming from different Roma communities. During the debate the message of the campaign and the positive aspects of Romany culture were promoted through Romany food, music, tales and dance. Campaign debate and promotion in the Sapienza University The group of young promoters of the Italian ALL in ONE campaign organized one day of presentation and distribution of the campaign materials in Sapienza University. With its 130.000 students Sapienza University is the largest European university and the oldest of Rome’s three state-funded universities. The youngsters went in different faculties and talked to the students. They distributed the leaflets and postcards of the campaign and explained the message and aim of the campaign to the public. The feedback was very good and the students were very interested. For many of them this was the first direct contact with Roma issues, and they asked the youngsters many questions about Roma, in particular about Roma youth, ternype and the message we are promoting.

Macedonia RROMA - Regional Roma Youth Educational Association www.romassn.blogspot.com

RROMA as an informative educational centre and supports young Roma from the north-east region of the Republic of Macedonia. Our work promotes opportunities for personal development and integration, as well as active citizenship and self-inclusion through strengthening youth work and political engagement of young Roma. Young Roma are promoters of positive values and actors in the creation and implementation of public policies, which address multiethnic issues. Regional Roma Youth Educational Association (RROMA) is a youth organization which works with creative tools to empower and mobilize youngsters, to support their personal development and integration in society. Through youth activism we create positive examples for our community. We believe that youth can take part in the decisions we make! Not tomorrow! Today! RROMA works on education for their members in different fields: human and minority rights, lobbing and advocacy, campaigning, research, media, local activities, youth policies, strategic planning and much more. But, the most important thing is that for all of that we are using the creativity of young people.

We believe that youth

can take

AIDS

doesn’t know about Discrimination ... Protect yourself!

Staying Alive Festival 2011 in Kratovo: The Regional Roma Educational Youth Association (RROMA) organized the Staying Alive 2011 festival as part of the awareness campaign “Aids doesn’t know about Discrimination ... Protect yourself!”. Interesting is the fact that RROMA is the first Roma NGO worldwide receiving support from the MTV Staying Alive Foundation to run this campaign. The youth created and participated in a first flash mob in Kratovo. A frozen town installation and a fashion show with young children and RROMA girls showed the multicultural background of Macedonia, as well as we spread the message “Aids does not know about Discrimination ... Protect yourself!” to strengthen the consciousness about health issues regardless of culture and ethnicity. The youth performed a little sketch for the audience and the young band Mambo Brass Kocani, as well as other local bands and DJs helped in creating a wonderful atmosphere. ROMA-lution: Our way of empowerment: The aim of the project was to develop the capacity of 20 young Roma girls from Vinica, Veles, Kocani, Stip and Berovo by providing them training in the field of new media, creative action research including questionnaires on topics such as early marriages and the importance of education for change. Having conducted a research in the five communities about those topics, the girls produced a documentation about the issues of education and early marriages, which was presented to the public in order to initiate a public debate. Using RROMA’s active girls as role models we talked with other Roma girls about the issue of early marriages, the importance of education and other problems. It was also positive to hear that after an early marriage, some of the girls found their way back to the education system and even became university students.

part in the

decisions we make!

Not tomorrow!

Today!

Poland

Roma Student Organization Harangos

www.harangos.pl

The Roma Educational Association “Harangos” was created in June 2004. The organization brings together young Roma and non-Roma students and activists. The members come from various fields, such as education, art, sociology, international relations, or journalism and are interested in working with the Roma community. Harangos gives emphasis to the formal and non-formal education of children and youngsters. We want to reduce the participation gap between Roma and non-Roma youth through education and mobilization. In order to improve the overall situation of Roma, especially youngsters, we work with various governmental organizations and the civil society. We want to challenge negative stereotypes and prejudices against Roma and be a role model for youth activism. aROMAtherapy – campaign launch on April 8th The first day of the “aROMAtherapy” campaign was the International Roma Day, the of 8th of April. Members of Harangos prepared organizational matters like designing posters, invitations, music, materials and the program. The event took place in the heart of Market Square in Krakow. The location was great – as many by passers joined us. We opened a dialogue through creating a dialogue between Roma and non-Roma, expressing the culture in a creative way, enabling access to information, statistics, artistic creativity and presenting Romani poems and Romani fairy tales. We invited elderly and youngsters in order to create the contrast and also dialogue among generations. People were interested in our living library; children adored the children’s corner which offered face painting and a playground. The feedback has been very positive, people expressed the need of such encounters and our initiative surprised many participants positively.

Open Air Picnic in Krakow On the 1st of May, RSO Harangos with Jesuits priests from Krakow, organized an Open air Picnic in one of Krakow’s parks. The event was open for all who wanted to join and get closer to the Roma people and their culture. In the park we organized an exhibition of traditional Romani clothes and artifacts and the Romani Click exhibition – pinhole photography prepared by Romani children from different settlements. Street musicians’, a concert and a huge barbecue were also part of the activity. During the picnic, people had a chance to talk and to initiate discussions about the situation of Roma, to exchange opinions about culture, and also to spend a really nice time together. The day was filled with interactive games, debates and fantastic spirit of all participants. The main purpose of this meeting was to create space for Roma & non Roma to learn to accept their differences, to learn from each other and to spend a great time together. Debate with school children and youngsters in Czarna Góra The meeting was organized mostly for and with school children and youngsters. We mainly focused on the theme of tolerance and integration between Roma & non-Roma youngsters. After few integrating games, we launched very interesting discussions about differences and common values, tolerance and racism and in very open manner in order to create space to exchange experiences. With older youngsters we have discussed the problems of stereotypes and mechanism of stigmatization – which was quite difficult subject, as we did not want to target the Roma youngsters as “victims” so through examples of other cultures – also Polish - we tried to analyze the stereotyping mechanisms in society. Learning that the campaign which they are part of, is taking place in 8 other countries in Europe at the same time, gave them the feeling of being important.

Slovakia Roma Education Centre

www.mladez-ocr.sk

The members of the non-governmental organization “Roma Education Centre” are young Roma and NonRoma, volunteers and professional youth workers from Slovakia. Our mission is to facilitate communication and understanding between Roma communities and the majority and to support mobility, civic participation and empowerment of Roma and non-Roma youth on local, national and international levels. We believe in creating a common good based on trust and mutual respect between Roma and non-Roma youth. TERNYPE campaign „All in One“ on festival „People from the house of Roma“ in Banská Bystrica The 10th edition of the festival „Ľudia z rodu Rómov“ (People from the house of Roma) was realized on August 12th-13th in Banská Bystrica. The festival offered many actions about Roma culture like concerts and workshops. Main organizer was the Cultural Association of Slovak Roma. ROMA EDUCATION CENTRE participated in the NGO village where many NGOs presented their work in different fields. We presented TERNYPE and our mission and goals. We also made our TERNYPE campaign “All in One” more visible in Slovakia. We used art as a tool how to communicate with people. This event also created space for Roma youth, because they took the main responsibility for the festival presentation. Anyway this festival was not only a great opportunity for presentation, but also a way how to get in contact with others. Roma youngsters from Roma Education Centre invited people to interesting workshops about human rights problems and how to use new artistic style “video art performance” in campaigns. The great end of event was the hanging up of the ternYpe, the Roma and the ALL in ONE campaign flag on the highest tower in the historic centre.

Concert and street actions against racism among young people Members of the organization CESPOM from Lucenec in cooperation with Roma Education Centre from Nove Mesto nad Vahom and Zdruzenie mladych Romov from Banska Bystrica organized a one day public event consisting of street actions, music performances and art workshops on the main square in Lucenec. Young people used colors, music instruments, singing and dancing to fight against racism and extremism. In the middle of the main square young people built a paper sculpture of a Roma woman and painted it. Young Roma and non-Roma people promoted together the message of the ALL in ONE campaign, and a positive image of Roma youth. The whole event was carried in the spirit of cooperation between Roma and non-Roma to the public and also to the local city council and elementary schools which supported the event. Special guests were the music band Rotor 25 and American artist Katalin Papp, who supported the workshops. Workshop about Roma culture and youth work for high school students in Slovakia During May 2011 we prepared two workshops for high schools students in Prešov and Banska Bystrica, who study social work or who are interested in the work with Roma youth. Workshops were prepared by Roma Education Centre and by a non-formal group of young Roma who live in one of the biggest Roma districts in Slovakia – Lunik IX. By using methods of non-formal education we presented one day of a young Roma person who lives in a segregated community. Afterwards we discussed together how to help Roma youngsters to realize themselves, how to involve them to the already existing youth structures, and how to empower them and how to support their self-organization. We presented also a Big Brother – Big Sister program based on the individual mentoring of Roma youngsters by high school students which is a good possibility for volunteers who are interested in becoming active concerning Roma youth work.

Spain

Ternikalo XXI: Associació de Cultura Gitana Jove www.ternype.eu/spain-ternikalo-21

Ternikaló 21 is a Roma youth organization established in 2010 in Barcelona. Ternikaló 21 wants to create spaces of stimulus for the Roma youth, helping them to transform into active citizens, strengthening their self-esteem and personal skills. The objective of Ternikaló 21 is to increase the participation of the Roma youth in all the areas of society. Through empowerment, participation, mobilization and self-organization it is possible to built mutual trust and respect between Roma and non-Roma, increasing their interaction with each other. Through our projects and actions we stimulate the development and the self-esteem of the Roma youth, contributing to their greater empowerment. We create spaces where the youth can participate, discover their own skills and learn how to work with youngsters of different cultural backgrounds, helping them to become active citizens. Street actions and music concert in a public square in Barcelona We arranged a music show in a public square in Barcelona and different workshops and street actions. Through dance, theatre and music we used the public and common space to share our conception of youth work and our vision about the Roma related issues with the citizens of Barcelona. We used street concerts as a resource to invite people to participate in the different activities that our organization provides and we distributed flyers and information about the current situation of Roma in Europe. Short public speeches focused on the importance of mutual respect and cooperation between Roma and non-Roma for constructing a better society for everybody.

Meeting with representatives of the Cataluña government We organized a meeting with politicians of the Catalan government. We visited the Barcelona City Council and we invited people from different Roma and non-Roma organizations to talk about mutual respect and understanding the core topic of the ALL in ONE campaign in Barcelona. We met with the politician responsible for Roma policies in Cataluña and we also underlined the increasing importance of the youth participation in the existing democratic structures. Photographic course and exhibition We organized a photography workshop in Barcelona. Equipped with digital cameras and accompanied by a professional trainer, young Roma of Barcelona have been able to create a photographic account of their realities. In a subsequent exposition we invited the public to reflect on those realities and of the social situation of many young Roma in their neighborhood. The pictures were used as tool to spread the idea of mutual understanding and mutual accountability concerning inclusion of Roma youth in all the mechanisms of society, as well as to lobby for equal opportunities.

Short public speeches focused on the importance of mutual respect and cooperation between Roma and non-Roma for constructing a better society for everybody.

Personal statements: “The most important impact ternYpe activities had on me, was that they changed my mind. I feel that we or even I as single person can do something. We have a different philosophy of work than other NGO’s. In other NGOs people say: “You cannot do this, you cannot do that”. But here people give me the feeling that I can do this and I can do that. It is not about being perfectly prepared or having studied, it is just to practice and have the will to do it.” Vicente, Spain

“All in One Society was an incredible great beginning of local youth activism with the use of international, modern methods and approaches and participation at local level in many different ways. This time we didn’t feel like a separate, uncertain youth group, but as an empowered and really mobilized team. The TernYpe mission, spirit and knowledge have equipped us as a team, with motivation to mobilize as much as possible youngsters, with different ethnic background, from the grassroots, to show our ideas to the society and to initiate good practices to bring better results for the personal life and development not only of the Roma youngsters, but of the non-Roma as well.” Maryana, Bulgaria

“TernYpe gives me a lot of friends and contacts, networking, the opportunity to meet new people, also to gain experience and to help me to be part of something bigger so through this way I can change something. It also helps me to cooperate with other people that have the same feeling that I do. I do not like it, I really love it.” Juraj, Slovakia

People know nothing about the Roma so they use stereotypes, mostly negative. During the events we made, people had the opportunity to talk with Roma people, to see books written by the Roma, to see material artifacts made by them, to listen to music played by Roma musicians etc. - they could see that Roma have an interesting culture, and also that they live like them. It is also necessary to do workshops about tolerance and racism with young Roma. In consequence of their discrimination in everyday life they can be ashamed to admit that they are Roma. So, it is important to make Roma and non-Roma understand that DIVERSITY IS A VALUE, RATHER THAN A NECESSITY. Dorota and Edyta, Poland

“TernYpe gives me a lot of opportunities and space to be myself. To be yourself and to use the space is really important, and I use this opportunity to raise my voice.” Merdjan, Germany

“For me the campaign was useful for many reasons. First of all I gained more experience and understood how we can act as Roma. It is not easy but we have a duty to work for our own Roma community. In the future I will continue to try to make a slogan that unites all Roma and non-Roma.” Roberto, Italy

“We analyzed the political situation in several ternYpe member countries and where we found common points, we tried to share about our planned activities and ways of consulting with political figures. For us it was crucial to keep the message pure and simple, but we don’t want to be recognized anymore as some cute and sweet youngsters. We have thoughts and ideas to share as a contribution!” Boglárka, Hungary

“The most significant result for me is the transmission of what I gained from my European participation as a young leader to the really grassroots and the Roma and nonRoma youngsters. During the campaign the TernYpe mission was acknowledge as our local mission and national mission; not only that, but local Roma and non-Roma, older leaders, institutions and local authorities trusted our team.” Maryana, Bulgaria

“We already know through which channels to reach our target group. It’s a result of a long process. We are patient with ourselves. During the campaign we became a strong team and we don’t do just serious work with political messages, but also support each other as friends.” Julianna, Hungary

„I participated on the Roma Youth Conference in Strasbourg as one of the ternYpe representatives. It was an important experience, because I have a more clear picture now about the rhetoric and working methods of Europe... I could transfer this new knowledge into my work at home, and we started to analyze the Hungarian National Roma Strategy and the Guidelines of the Roma Youth Action Plan. If we identify the missing but needed elements, we can work more focused.” Károly, Hungary

„The Roma self-government of my city was skeptical at the beginning when we started with the campaign. They didn’t believe in us and neither in the people. Now we can use the cultural center to organize political roundtables, exhibitions from the drawings of „kindergarten students”. And you know what? The space is arranged by the self-government! The old leadership started to respect us. So my conclusion is that ternYpe has to become the network of networks. A common conclusion of the Campaign Working Group was that we have to continue the support in each country for setting up more youth groups with the same message.” Richárd, Hungary

“During the campaign we had great progress with the participants, even thought it was a real challenge. Young people who have never gone out of the region, nor participated in any civil or social initiative, now had the full support of their families and of the community, so that they were allowed to take the opportunity and participate in the activities of the campaign. Now we have to continue and not only to keep the motivation of those who already participated, but to bring more Roma and non-Roma together for positive causes. We all believe that the living of All in One Society is the reality, but it is our mission to make it real with respect, mutual understanding and tolerance among all human beings.” Nevena, Bulgaria

ternYpe is a network of youth and youth associations, which creates space for young people to become active citizens through empowerment, mobilisation, self-organisation and participation. We believe in the common efforts by creating trust, and mutual respect between Roma and non-Roma youth. www.ternype.eu