Roma MATRIX

1. Roma MATRIX All Workstream Meeting - Athens, Greece 28th November 2013 Cath Peart - Roma Matrix Partnership Manager

2. Workstream 0Management & CoordinationActivity 0

3. So Far … • Kick off meeting in Leeds – April 2013 • Workstream 2 meeting in Valencia, Spain – June • Workstream 3 meeting in Tiszodob, Hungary July • Workstream 4 meeting in Varna, Bulgaria September 2013

4. Logo/Templates • Leaflets • Newsletter • Press Releases • TV,Tabloids • Brochures • Partner extranet coming soon! • Website company appointed

5. Workstream 1Research & UnderstandingActivity 13 - Research

6. Workstream 2Redress, Reporting and Support • The first partner meeting held in Valencia in June 2013. • Share experiences of the reality of anti-Roma racism in their countries as well as their plans to improve practice through the Roma MATRIX project. • Discussions regarding the ways racism manifests in different member states • Partners shared and discussed how best to work with Roma • Highlighted the importance of engagement and collaboration at a political level and networking that enables joint work with different organisations.

7. Workstream 2 Activity 1 – Reporting and Care Centres • Meetings to promote Roma Matrix project • Counselling and employment drop-in: counselling services and support for Roma clients in the area of discrimination and redress for racial oppression • Individual counselling for people who have/are suffering discrimination

8. Training • questionnaire circulated to find out what training our networks want: education, equal treatment, antidiscrimination, civil activity, elections, public administration, communication • training sessions and meetings held for people who will work with Roma who are suffering discrimination

9. Leafletscreated for Reporting and Care Centres • Visits to inform Roma people about services on offer • Report to local stakeholders about racism against Roma and experience of the reporting centre • Discussions with workers from the Office of Public Defender of Rights: discrimination case, possibilities and limits of the testing, agreement on the next steps

10. Identification of discrimination issues and potential key-witnesses and community leaders in communities • Writing up reporting cases related to discrimination – serious work is going to take place with lawyers and project managers as decisions need to be made as to how to proceed with each of the cases

11. 25 health mediators in various areas instructed how to collect cases related to discrimination based on ethnic background • Templates: to record cases of discrimination and register individual psychologists

12. Activity 2 – Providing information to Roma about reporting, redress and rights • Sent information about the project to all local administration with a remit on Roma, including social workers operating in camps etc • Talks with Governments and municipalities • Identified Stop Hate UK as contractor to run hate crime workshops across Yorkshire

14. Activity 3 – Improving Redress Mechanisms with Law Enforcement, Judicial Authorities and other Public Authorities • Working with Police Scotland to improve bi-lateral relations between them and local Roma community • Roma Matrix have been asked to be a member of the working group devising an Enforcement, Policing, Information and Communication Plan • Helping the police manage redress mechanisms with the Roma community

15. Helping local and national media to develop a positive flow of information and positive news stories involving the police and Roma • Established contacts with law environment & leaders of Roma. Make direct contact with Roma to break down barriers and prejudices • Training with law enforcement/ judicial authorities/ public authorities to improve redress mechanisms • Consultation meetings with law environment, Roma leaders, elderly and Roma community

16. Activity 4 – Policy, practice and dissemination Networks • Local, Regional & National Networks created to address issues such as Education, Health Employment, Public Policy for Roma • Media professionals, creative people, sociologists, psychologists and Roma people have come together to think about effective campaigns for antidiscrimination & antiracism

17. Seminars held for policy-makers, local and regional authorities, NGOs, Roma where decisions can be made • Survey carried out on Roma employment • Conference planned for November, over 250 invited

19. Meetings carried out with experts to agree and coordinate activities. • Preparation of training materials ready to deliver ‘Working with Roma family’,Children´s home,History of Roma

20. Workstream 3Combating racism through inclusion • A meeting of all the partners involved in this workstream was held in Tiszadob, Hungary in July. • It gave partners working on the same issues an opportunity to plan future activities together, to discuss workplans, and how to achieve common goals in each country. • Partners recognised the similarity of the issues facing Roma people and Roma children in child care across member states • The meeting provided a valuable opportunity to share experience of what does and doesn’t work

21. Workstream 3 Activity 5 – Preparation for Roma children leaving care • Preliminary research to identify the needs of children & ways to approach issues. Aim to support children to obtain life skills (survive independently) • Visits Roma neighbourhoods to discuss with parents and children about the difficulties , needs and life conditions.

22. Workstream 3 • Awareness raising groups held for Roma on the dangers of human trafficking & neglect in caring for children. • Partnership agreement between RWAR and City District 5 - General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection • “Jump into Life” training delivered educational programmes for young adults before their departure from children´s homes

23. Workstream 3 • In depth communication with heads of children´s homes and children (choosing children for training) • Questionnaires given to children to adapt programmes to audience. (Topics for training).

24. Workstream 3 Workshops • Communication • - Teamwork • - Self-knowledge • - As a leader • - Confidence • - Social skills • - Gender identity • - Discrimination • - Confidence and self-esteem • - Personal Development

25. Workstream 3 Activity 6 – Integration of Roma children, young people and parents • Meeting held with local authoritiess to discuss potential project work • Workshops organised with Roma parents, children and teachers. The aim is to highlight the importance of diversity, acceptance & team work through drama pedagogy, role play, dances, common activities • Many workshops with Roma children who do not attend school organised together with Roma organisation and communities

26. Workstream 3 • Schools & Participants identified • 7 Workshop for Roma and non-Roma children held on Differences, Exclusion, Prejudices. Children learned about the topics in a non formal way with the methods of drama-pedagogy • Integration day organised where all the inhabitants of the village attended, children performed

27. Workstream 3 • Group/individual work taken place with kids, youth and parents. • Prevention activities (workshop with local police) and personal skills development and the groups • Social workers for families worked with 12 adult clients focusing on education and the stabilization of family; finding new housing, keeping current housing,children returning back to parents’ care and finding a job

28. Workstream 3 Activity 7 – Employment programmes • Career Guidance seminars held with Roma people. Objectives to inform Roma people of career counselling and career consultation. • Practical Guide for employers on employment of representatives of the Roma minority - published • Mentoring scheme launched, contact made with employers, attend regular job fairs and exhibitions

29. Workstream 3 • Planning meeting held with young people’s “Pathway to Employment” project coordinators to discuss what to deliver • Educational programme organised for young adults following departure from children´s homes. Focusing on development of skills, Topics were: introductory meeting, current situation, theory of change, differences between rich & poor, their principles and rules of social classes

30. Workstream 3 Activity 8 – Cross-community mediators • Mediation in neighborhood has taken place due to police ordering Roma families to leave their homes. This caused huge problems, many families have now gone but there are others who do not want to leave. • Cross-community mediation activity planning meeting held with project coordinators and key partners. Included representatives from Neighbourhoods services, Ward Councillor, Police and Voluntary and Community Sector

31. Workstream 3 Activity 9 – Roma women community health mediators • Workshop on Roma MATRIX funding opportunities, contracts now given in 4 areas in region, working with new organisations • Roma women to be selected and trained in order to become health mediators for Roma women • A Health guide is to be produced about hygiene, first aid, what to do in case of an emergency

32. Workstream 3 • First training organised for Health and Vaccination specific to the health of Roma women – challenges, problems, practices, perspectives • Mother and child healthcare • Discriminative practices and their visible and invisible manifestations • Sexual and reproductive health

33. Workstream 3 • Participants who attended training gave feedback, main recommendations were: • More time and additional information on prophylactic women’s health programs and diseases • More time for discussion as there were many questions related to women’s health

34. Workstream 3 Activity 10 – Roma mentoring in Public Authorities • Secured involvement in mentoring scheme, identified Roma issues for positive news story • Meetings with public authorities to organize internships in pubic educational sector such as schools or municipalities where Roma people could work as intercultural mediators • Workshops with public authorities & Roma association held to discuss how Roma people could benefit for national initiatives targeted at Roma people in the field of education, health and employment

35. Workstream 3 • Building of mutual trust between local municipality and clients continues, worker supporting client in resolving cases directly with municipality representatives, which has proved very successful • Housing Department worker negotiated the possibility of establishing a janitor in one of the 'excluded' houses. The debate was initiated directly by the Roma client, who expressed her interest to be involved in the mentoring scheme in the future

36. Workstream 3 • A member of Roma community expressed his interest in the mentoring scheme in order to be efficiently involved in decision-making processes in the town • Prepared an internal Working Paper with suggestions for content, case studies and readership of the GPG

37. Workstream 3 • Discussion with Local Authority regarding plans for recruiting and mentoring Roma • Programme to consist helping train Roma to become Community Researchers who will be supported to design and develop their own research projects of interest to themselves and the wider community

38. Workstream 4Promoting positive images of Roma • Meeting held in Varna in September 2013 • Partners involved in the public media campaign began to develop key messages and campaign plans. • Extensive discussion on negative and positive images of Roma • Agreed to avoid images of squalor and social exclusion • Also agreed to avoid over-use of positive but clichéd images of traditional Roma culture. • Agreed to make more use of ‘positively surprising’ images of successful, integrated Roma.

39. Workstream 3 Activity 11 – Public Media Campaign • Campaign preparation – striving for the best campaign setting • Focus on: target audiences, objectives, key messages and tactics. This allowed the partners to start to set out their campaign plans within a proper planning framework • Looking for more efficient and effective campaigns • Publishing materials concerning the project; websites created, materials uploaded

40. Workstream4 • Roma moderators have continued in their training for radio shows: reportage, public inquiries, rhetorical skills • Graphic design for creating posters and billboards; developed numerous slogans that offer a strong impact on society • Increasing marketing & advertising experience, communicating with media & journalists

41. Activity 12 – Promoting positive images of Roma

42. Questions