This article presents the contribution of EDRA – Scamg Social Cooperative Activities For Minority Groups, the Greek partner of ACADE-ME – Accelerating Capabilities against Anti-gypsyism and Discriminations in Education, a European project committed to promoting roma inclusion through education and social integration.
The ACADE-ME project aims to intensify efforts to address unresolved challenges in the integration of roma citizens, placing education at the center of the fight against anti-gypsyism, discrimination, and marginalization. This approach is fully in line with the new EU strategic framework for 2020-2030, which recognizes the inclusion of roma people as a central issue. While overall progress in the last 10 years has been limited, the education sector shows promising signs, offering a basis for optimism about the future.
Between August and September 2024, the ACADE-ME partnership and research teams from Slovenia, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Serbia conducted an analysis of the impact and manifestations of anti-gypsyism in education across participating countries.
The first phase of this work involved a desk review of incidents and current manifestations of anti-gypsyism in the education sector in each of these countries.
The partner organizations collected data and information on:
- Basic country information
- National legislative frameworks related to the social integration of roma citizens
- National action programs for roma education
- Statistical data from FRA (EU Fundamental Rights Agency) on education and national roma communities
- Factors intensifying the phenomenon of school dropout
- National frameworks for preventing dropout among roma students
- Institutions and organizations supporting the education of roma children and youth
- roma and higher education
- Initiatives and programs aimed at preventing and combating school dropout and supporting school retention.
The second phase, also conducted in the same countries, included fieldwork to provide a deeper understanding of the phenomenon, with interviews conducted with educators and social integration professionals, such as social workers, psychologists, and youth workers, as well as roma university students, with particular attention to girls and young women.
The objectives of this work were twofold:
- To identify the challenges roma students face in education, laying the groundwork for the creation of training materials for educators and professionals working with roma youth.
- To identify the difficulties faced by roma university students prior to their enrollment in higher education or those encountered by high school students regarding academic progression.
This second objective aims to develop training materials for young people, current or prospective university students, and particularly women, to enable them to become role models.
Over the past two months, the research team organized two meetings to ensure the smooth development of the project. These meetings highlighted the excellent level of cooperation among the teams and organizations involved, as well as the collective commitment to providing a thorough analysis, which will serve as an important foundation for the project’s development.
For more information on ACADE-ME, read the project brief.
