Phiren Amenca Annual Report 2019

annual report

2019 Phiren Amenca

ROMA-GADJE DIALOGUE THROUGH SERVICE

contents Introduction ................................................................................. 4

National Roma Youth Training, Slovakia.......................... 29

1. Voluntary Service.................................................................... 5

National Roma Youth Training, Romania......................... 30

Why volunteer with Phiren Amenca?............................... 5 Regional volunteer seminars............................................ 6 Capacity-building of Roma organizations...................... 6 Vikas Jagtap, volunteer hosted at the Phiren Amenca Coordination Office............................... 8 László Rostás, volunteer hosted at the Student Christian Movement of India.............................. 10 2. Networking and Alliance Building ........................................ 12 Phiren Amenca Networking Meeting Spring, Brussels, Belgium................................................... 6 Fall, Florence, Italy. . ........................................................... 6 3. Education and training........................................................... 16 Training for youth workers, Bangalore, India................... 16 Minority Youth and the European Parliament Elections in 2019, Brussels, Belgium. . ................................. 17

5. Roma Genocide Remembrance Initiative............................ 32 International Youth Meeting in Auschwitz, Poland ........ 32 6. Advocacy and Partnerships................................................... 35 High Level Conference on EU Framework on National Strategies for Roma Inclusion............................ 35 EU Anti-Racism and Diversity Week in the European Parliament.......................................................................... 36 “Roma Youth Participation: What Now?” seminar......... 36 Workshop on future policies for Roma............................. 37 European Youth Forum Council of Members meeting... 37 6. Position Paper of the Roma Youth Networks on the Post-2020 EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies............................................................ 38

Romani Resistance Day, Budapest, Hungary ................. 18

8. “Roma youth participation in Europe: Challenges, needs and opportunities” .................................................... 45

So keres, Europa?! – Roma Youth Social Forum, Novi Sad, Serbia.. ............................................................... 20

9. Structures................................................................................. 47

Training for Roma Youth Leaders, Varna, Bulgaria ........ 23

10. Funded Programs.................................................................. 50

“Volunteering as a Tool for Roma Youth Participation” study session, Budapest, Hungary.................................... 23

Roma Youth Voices Project............................................... 50

A better NETwork for Sinti and Roma! Training course on digital technologies, Berlin, Germany ....................... 25 4. Selected national programs and activities.. ......................... 27 First National Roma Youth Congress Hungary................. 27

So keres, Europa?! – Roma Youth Social Forum for Regional Cooperation Combating Antigypsyism........... 51 Donors................................................................................ 51 Audit................................................................................... 51

Cover Photo: Participants of So keres, Europa?! – Roma Youth Social Forum, Novi Sad, Serbia, 2019

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he year of 2019 opened up new perspectives and fields in the work of Phiren Amenca. The coordination office in Budapest sent and hosted its first volunteers to and from India; we built new partnerships with organizations from Central and South America; and focused on advocacy as a central, and visible, element in all our activities.

Throughout the year we have implemented our regular events and activities. These included: the regional volunteer seminar; international events for volunteers and youth activists; networking meetings; and continuing our capacity-building program for grassroots youth organizations. 2019 was also a year for our largescale event, “So keres, Europa?! – Roma Youth Social Forum”, this activity brought together 150 young Roma and non-Roma from all around Europe to the European Youth Capital for 2019: Novi Sad, Serbia.

In addition to international programs, we implemented activities and actions on a national and local level with partners in Hungary, Slovakia, Spain, Romania, France and in Austria. It became a priority to promote the active participation of Roma youth not just in voluntary services and youth work but also in political and public life.

In order to better understand the impact of antigypsyism on Roma youth participation (volunteering, politics, civil society work), the concerns, needs and obstacles faced by young Roma people, we have kicked-off a research entitled “Roma youth participation in Europe: Challenges, needs and opportunities” targeting young Roma people from EU member states, and its results will be published by the end of 2020.

Phiren Amenca has strengthened its work and capacities in 2019, thanks to its engaged members, partners and Board, and special thanks to the Coordination Team, which have been increased to four full time employees, including an employee in Brussels, to be present on a daily basis at the “EU capital”. ■

1. Voluntary Service Why volunteer with Phiren Amenca?

The important core of our work is the coordination of the voluntary service programs among our network members and beyond.

Phiren Amenca provides opportunities for Roma and non-Roma young people to interact, engage and dialogue with each other through short and long-term voluntary service programs both nationally and internationally. Volunteers get the chance to live in and support local communities by spending up to one year with organizations which are active in a variety of social fields, such as youth work, sports, social inclusion, environment, human rights, and arts and culture. By engaging in local activities, volunteers gain unforgettable life experiences, enhance social and intercultural skills, benefit from non-formal educational activities and learn new languages. Our volunteers build skills and competencies which position them better in the labor market. In addition, they develop their intercultural awareness and critical thinking skills. On a systemic scale, volunteering brings individuals from different backgrounds together, sparks curiosity, and enables cross-cultural cooperation and dialogue.

Our voluntary service program is built on our mission to challenge stereotypes, racism and antigypsyism. To reach that goal we aim to involve more and more young Roma in short and longterm European mobility programs, such as Erasmus Plus and the European Solidarity Corps (ESC). Our member and partner organizations represent a diverse range of locations and profiles.

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I’ve learned in those six months, language is not an obstacle. I learned to be alone, make friends, open up to people, managed to undress from my social inhibition. I’m grateful for this journey.

After all, it was the hardest and most beautiful time of my life. New friends, experiences, new culture, new language.

Orbán Oláh, Phiren Amenca volunteer with FAGIC in Barcelona, Spain

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Most of them host Roma and non-Roma volunteers to serve together in social justice projects. We, at Phiren Amenca find it important to support our partners in becoming active hosting organizations and developing the quality of their voluntary service programs. We also assist organizations to open new placement sites and to become our partners. Many volunteers remain active in the fight against discrimination and antigypsyism after their service concludes. We invest time and capacities, together with our member and partner organizations, to provide them with opportunities to remain active and engaged in our mission as leaders, trainers, educators and members of our project teams.

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Regional volunteer seminars For our volunteers from around Europe we organize international seminars two times per year as well as smaller regional seminars throughout the year for volunteers serving in Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, Romania or in Ukraine through the Young Adults of Global Mission and European Solidarity Corps programs. During these seminars, volunteers have a chance to discuss the ongoing stigmatization of Roma people in society by using non-formal educational tools, and experience sharing. They gain information regarding the historical treatment of the Roma in Europe through Holocaust memoirs, film clips and a walking tour through the neighborhood of Józsefváros, which is referred to as the ‘Gypsy district’ and widely considered a ‘dangerous neighborhood’ because of the historic large numbers of Roma people living in this district. During the 4-days seminar volunteers are able to analyze situations where they experienced or witnessed discrimination in their placement sites, process those experiences by identifying stakeholders, the flow of power and opportunities of intervention and through non-formal educational methods, they can identify solutions in a safe environment. ■

Capacity-building for Roma and voluntary service organizations The Phiren Amenca coordination office constantly works on enabling Roma and non-Roma organizations to participate in volunteering projects and involve more and more young people in Phiren Amenca’s mission through volunteering. Therefore, we reach out to organizations which work with young people on 6

the local, regional or international level and help them set up volunteering programs; and provide assistance in managing quality programs for organizations with established voluntary service programs as well.

During 2019 Phiren Amenca worked on involving more organizations in the activities of the Network which could serve as hosting placements and/or supporting organizations by sending young people abroad on volunteering projects. Through our seminars, workshops and the networking meetings we supported cultural and artistic organizations from Finland, Germany, Slovakia and Ukraine in establishing volunteering programs and be ready to support outgoing volunteers as well as to host young people from abroad in a quality and empowering manner.

In the autumn, together with the Youth Department of the Council of Europe we organized a Study Session titled “Volunteering as a tool for Roma Youth Participation” for youth workers of organizations within and outside of the Network in order to exchange tools and develop new methods for involving young Roma and young people with fewer opportunities in local and international volunteering projects and supporting them before, during and after their service. As a result, we established new connections with youth organizations form Albania, Greece, Kosovo and Macedonia and put together a toolkit containing best practices for the recruitment and preparation of young people for voluntary service; supporting young people with fewer opportunities during their service; and keeping them actively involved in the work of their sending/supporting organizations and in society in general after their return.

During our Networking Meeting in November, we enhanced the content of the above mentioned toolkit “Volunteering as a Tool for Roma Youth Participation – A Guide for Recruiting, Supporting Young Roma Volunteers, and Maintaining Active Engagement” with ideas from voluntary service organizations from and outside of Europe.

Moreover, throughout 2019 we have developed a support system and tools to support Roma and non-Roma (youth) organizations to better describe their organizations, initiatives or projects: how to address the needs they are trying to address, the changes they want to create, the goals they want to reach, and how to increase the effectiveness of their work and programs. ■

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Vikas

Jagtap volunteer

hosted at the

Phiren Amenca Coordination Office

in Budapest through the European Voluntar y Service (EVS) Program

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non-profit organizations like Phiren Amenca are doing great work for the rights of minorities.

M

y name is Vikas Dattatray Jagtap, I am a 25 years old activist from Pune, India. I was born and grew up in India. Through the European Voluntary Service program (EVS), I could spend nine months in Europe as a volunteer in the Phiren Amenca coordination office, in Budapest. I finished one of my master degrees in Social Work so I have volunteering spirit in me.

It was a great platform for youth like me to explore and connect themselves globally and learn many new things apart from their culture, tradition, and family, even far from their country. Nonprofit organizations like Phiren Amenca are doing great work for the rights of minorities.

Spending a period of 9 months with the Phiren Amenca team taught me lots of things. I would like to share the most recent and lifelong learning which was that before believing on CASTE, CLASS, GENDER, SKIN COLOR, RELIGION, believe on all the humans as human beings.

Every person has the right to live their life with dignity, wisdom, and freedom. In European countries (and others also), most Roma peoples are discriminated against by others. They are facing discriminatory treatment from a society based on some wrong stereotypes. I appreciate the work of Phiren Amenca and their partner and member organizations because in such a vast situation, they are working for the Roma rights and for protecting the future generation of Roma. This is the reason I love the mission of Phiren Amenca.

In the future, I decided to work to better the situation of the minorities and the deprived sections of the society. Phiren Amenca motivated me to study a doctorate in minorities’ studies.

After achieving my doctorate, I will present my research paper internationally. ■

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László

Rostás volunteer

hosted at the

Student Christian Movement of India

in Bengaluru through the European Voluntar y Service (EVS) Program

I

am László Rostás, 25 years old. I finished my studies 4 years ago in Secondary School. After I finished schooling, I began to look for EVS opportunities and in 2016, I went to Turkey for my short-term project.

After 2 months, the project had ended, I came back to Hungary and I started to work. While I was working, I continued looking for long-term projects and in 2018, I found this amazing opportunity through Phiren Amenca.

I was a volunteer with Student Christian Movement of India in Bengaluru for 9 months. For the first 4 months, I taught underprivileged children basic English, I played with them, and I took care of them. Afterwards, I got an office job working in the library. I did presentations about my project for SCMI students.

After the office work, SCMI sent me to visit different parts of the NGO in different cities. I have been in Ranchi, Jharkhand two weeks and in Ambilikkai, Tamil Nadu two weeks. Here, I have met with many SCM and non-SCM students. I also had a good opportunity to travel almost all over in India.

When I was volunteering at the shelter home, I was exposed to poverty because of the children I was helping. While I was doing this, I saw how happy they are, despite all of the things they were going through. They taught me to be thankful and happy for everything that I have.

While I was living in India, I saw how people lived together in harmony. They were able to overcome stereotypes from the caste system. This taught me that people are capable of change and I believe that racism is no different. This is important for me because we can’t work together if we don’t trust and love each other. We shouldn’t look at each other differently because of skin color. God created us equally.

I plan on joining and working with groups, organizations that fight against racism and try to be a peace-maker wherever I am. ■

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2. Networking and Alliance Building Each spring Phiren Amenca hosts a 3-4 day “Phiren Amenca Annual Networking Meeting” bringing together member organizations, former volunteers and partner organizations in order to share experiences and practices, and to address annual thematic priorities and quality questions of our work. In 2019 a networking meeting was organized in the fall as well. ■

Phiren Amenca Networking Meeting - Spring, Brussels, Belgium The Phiren Amenca networking meeting were organized between May 19-21. 2019 with the aim to address key questions on European level regarding youth activism, active citizenship and voluntary service with a strong focus on the inclusion of Roma youth.

During the networking meeting the invited Roma and non-Roma organizations could share their practices and could reflect about current needs and challenges in the cooperation for Roma youth inclusion. The meeting created space for old and new partners to get to know each other and the work of our network. Phiren Amenca shared its current and upcoming activities, strategic approaches and we have asked a few organizations to have a more detailed presentations about their current or ongoing activities and projects as a good practice for the others.

As part of the program we had a representative from the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), from Brussels. Lene Mejer, Deputy Head of the Sport, Youth and EU Aid Volunteers’ Unit shared the programs managed by their unit and how our network could benefit from them. We have invited the European Youth Forum to discuss how our network can become part of their work and become their members, in order to raise the voice and presence of Roma youth and Roma youth issues in the forum.

One program day we have dedicated to work on and consult our position paper of the Roma Youth Networks on the Post-2020

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EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies. Those 35 Roma and non-Roma young people, representing Roma and civil society organizations from around Europe, participated in the Putren le Jakha – International Youth Conference on Antigypsyism (December 9-14, 2018) in Budapest. At this conference, they developed recommendations related to European and national policies and strategies affecting and targeting Roma. In particular, they focused on strategies and policies impacting Roma young people with a specific focus on the National Roma Integration Strategies. These recommendations were then further consulted with experts working on the youth and/or Roma field and we took the opportunity to collect feedbacks from more organizations and from our broaden network. Lavinia Banu, on behalf of the DG Justice Roma Team joined our meeting and we could share with her the position paper. In return, she gave us an insight into how the process of the Post-2020 EU Framework looks like and where can we contribute to bring in the perspectives of Roma youth and Roma youth organizations.

The activity was part of our Roma Youth Voices project, funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the DG Justice, European Commission. ■

Phiren Amenca Networking Meeting - Fall, Florence, Italy In Florence, Italy between November 20-23. 2019, we held a Networking Meeting in conjunction with our partners from Diaconia Valdese. CSD (Commissione Sinodale per la Diaconia) – Diaconia Valdese is part of the Waldesian Church and has long history with voluntary service, working with the Italian, French and German national programs and with International volunteer programs in Europe, south America and India.

During the meeting, Phiren Amenca presented a guide on Volunteerism that has been in the works since a study session organized in September 2019. The activity was focusing on “Volunteering as a Tool for Roma Youth Participation” and the

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guide was created with the help of the participants of that event. Pieces of the guide were discussed in groups based on the preference and expertise of each person and both old and new ideas were worked through. The guide includes chapters on organizational responsibilities to create space and opportunities for young (Roma) people for volunteering, how to recruit and support a volunteer but also how to keep volunteers engaged in a long-term, especially after the service. Another major part of the meeting revolved around supporting volunteers; and managing conflicts. We shared conversations of different ways to solve conflict and what different organizations have experienced. Most of these scenarios occurred in the realm of volunteering and hosting volunteers.

One morning, we welcomed Victoria Lovelock, an expert in International Volunteering who works with CCIVS: Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service. She led a presentation on international volunteering, the positive impacts, and how a network can promote volunteering. She shared about CCIVS as a network and what types of volunteer projects they carry out throughout the world. After this, we were also able to hear stories from previous international volunteers and learn about their experiences as well as how it shaped their careers.

Throughout the meeting we spent time discussing the topic of shifting volunteering into active citizenship. The main focus of this discussion was especially on young people with fewer opportunities as well as Roma youth. Participants brainstormed ways to empower youth after volunteer service to continue to be involved in their communities and/or organization. In addition to this, we spent time allowing the participants present what past, current, and future projects each of their organizations are doing.

This part also gave us space to announce our next year activities and engage partners already.

called “Change! ¡Cambia! – Management and training tools for international volunteering” in cooperation with organizations from South America and India, between October 2016 and November 2017. The project aimed to improve the volunteer projects, as learning experiences, an active tool to achieve competences and to promote social inclusion. Through the project 15 volunteers from five different countries spent 9 months of volunteering in several placements working with young people with fewer opportunities. As a continuation of that, between 2018 and 2019 with the involvement of Phiren Amenca the partnership focused on “networking” and developed a guide how a strong network works and operates. These results were also shared during the meeting and supported us to better identify how do to work together as a strong network with the main aim of challenging discrimination and racism towards marginalized groups all around the world and how volunteering is an important tool for that.

The activity was part of our Roma Youth Voices project, funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the DG Justice, European Commission. ■

Phiren Amenca Networking Meeting – Florence, Italy

The meeting created space for organizations from Europe, South America and India to meet and exchange knowledge, practices, experiences and realities working with marginalized groups. CSD Valdese implemented a capacity building project

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3. Education and Training Training for youth workers, Bangalore, India Colleagues of Phiren Amenca participated in a training course for youth workers from March 17-24 2019 in Bangalore. This training course was hosted by the Student Christan Movement of India (SCMI) as part of the project called “Connections”. The project is coordinated by our member organization Volontariato Diaconia Valdese and involve partners from Italy, Hungary, Spain, Uruguay, Argentina and Nicaragua. Through this project we coordinate volunteers among these countries, we share and develop tools and practices.

The main focus of the training was to reflect about what a network is, how networks function and key networking skills in an international context. The six-days training encouraged participation from the beginning. During the training, participants were involved in diverse type of activities, using different non-formal education methods to support the active participation of everyone. All partners were involved shaping and lead the program and every Training for youth workers, Bangalore, India

organization was asked to either lead an activity or to bring its personal contribution in term of experiences, expertise or best practice.

Our colleagues were inspired by the work of the organizations they have encountered and worked to not only build long-term partnerships with each of them, but also developed a sustainable network. ■

Minority Youth and the European Parliament Elections in 2019, Brussels, Belgium The Training Course “Minority Youth and the European Parliament elections” took part in Brussels from March 16-22. 2019. Over 30 young Roma, Armenians, Jewish and allies came together to be part of a unique training program aiming at empowering minority youth to take part in the European elections but also to get to know more about antigypsyism, anti-Semitism and Armenophobia.

The event was organized by the ternYpe and Phiren Amenca Roma Youth Networks in partnership with the Armenian General Benevolent Union Europe, the European Union of Jewish Students and the Youth of European Nationalities.

The seminar aims were to strengthen the capacity, exchange of experience and the networking and coalition-building of minority youth activists and youth organizations in order to mobilize young people for the EU elections, as well as to counter and intervene against any racist narratives related to the EU elections in May 2019 as political parties especially of the far-right use all forms of racism to win votes. The seminar took place during the EU Roma Week and participants also joined events in the European Parliament.

The activity was part of our Roma Youth Voices project, funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the DG Justice, European Commission. ■

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Talewicz-Kwiatkowska (Jagellonian University, Krakow) – Dr. Angéla Kóczé (Romani Studies Program, Central European University) – Dr. Anna Lujza Szász (Institute for Sociology, Hungarian Academy of Science)

Minority Youth and the European Parliament Elections in 2019

Romani Resistance Day, Budapest, Hungary The Phiren Amenca International Network, together with the Tom Lantos Institute and with the Youth Department of the Council of Europe, organized a discussion and fair on May 14. 2019 to commemorate the Romani Resistance Day. The goal was to not only better understand the historical background of May 16th, but also to share methodologies and tools on Holocaust-education and challenging antigypsyism. The event was organized at the Israeli Cultural Institute in Budapest.

In the first part of the event involved researchers and editors who introduced and shared the results of the research of the Tom Lantos Institute, called “Roma Resistance during the Holocaust and in its Aftermath”. The aim of this research was to contribute to the larger body of academic research in awareness raising and remembrance activities in relation to the Roma resistance during the Holocaust. The presenters, who were involved in the research, shared their key findings: – Ildikó Török, Program manager, Roma Rights and Citizenship Program, Tom Lantos Institute – Dr. Joanna

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After this panel, the event focused on the importance of human rights education and the role of non-formal education in the Holocaust-education and combating antigypsyism. Bálint Molnár, executive director of the European Youth Centre Budapest and Marietta Herfort introduced the Hungarian version of the “Mirrors” toolkit, called Tükrök. They both emphasized the importance of the toolkit from the CoE and from the perspective of Phiren Amenca, with a presentation of the background of the Mirrors handbook, the work done by Phiren Amenca and the CoE on challenging antigypsyism, and underlined the importance of the recognition of antigypsyism and the role education plays to combat it. The rest of the afternoon we spent to share our methods and educational tools on Holocaust-education and combatting antigypsyism, together with different organizations and institutions, which are working in the field, such as Haver Foundation, Centropa, Zachor Foundation, Kethanipe Association, Phiren Amenca and Tom Lantos Institute. We found it very important and useful to develop these kind of platforms and to involve more and more organizations and institutions, which are active in these fields.

The Roma Holocaust during the Second World War is still largely unknown and untaught. It is estimated that 500.000 – 1,5 million European Roma and Sinti were murdered during the Holocaust: they were deported, exploited, murdered in extermination camps, they died of hunger and disease, were executed in their villages. What remains also unknown is the resistance of the Roma.

According to some testimonies, on May 16th, 1944, the Roma and Sinti prisoners of the so called “gypsy camp” in Auschwitz resisted against the SS who intended to exterminate them. The “gypsy camp” was liquidated several months later, in the night of the 2nd to 3rd of August.

The activity was part of our Roma Youth Voices project, funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the DG Justice, European Commission. ■

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M

y experience during the So Keres project in Novi Sad was the best from all the past experiences in short projects that I have been a part in up till now.

I was a part of the Art Team and we expressed the problems that minorities are facing in Serbia and all around the world through art. We had a very interesting guided tour through the city with historical lessons about the old town of Novi Sad, continued with workshops about the Roma community which were very helpful to better understand the situation of Roma as a young Roma.

About the leaders and the other volunteers for the project, I can say that in my experience they are the most heartwarming open-minded and positive people that I have ever met. Always with a smile on their faces and positive vibrations. I felt so much joy during the project that it was sad for me to leave.

But at the end, I met and became friends with many interesting and fun people with which I spend a great time, and I hope that I’ll meet them again in the future and be a part in the next So Keres event.

So keres, Europa?! – Roma Youth Social Forum, Novi Sad, Serbia Novi Sad, Serbia, became European Roma Youth Capital for a week, between July 16-21. 2019 through the efforts of RGDTSPhiren Amenca and its Serbian partner, Minority Voice. Around 150 young people from 10 different countries took part in the oneweek event entitled “So keres, Europa?!” – Roma Youth Social Forum, as part of the European Youth Capital program series.

During the forum, experts and activists organized workshops about human rights education, community activism, and remembrance education. These same experts and activists also showcased educational tools and presented best practices. We discussed the diversity of identities, narrative, and situations of minorities in Europe. Participants enlivened the European Youth Capital with community actions such as flash mobs and cultural events organized in downtown Novi Sad. Our goal with these community actions was to build bridges between Roma and non-Roma communities. Participants performed a flashmob in the centre of Novi Sad, held art exhibitions and organized cultural events in the Nikola Tesla University Dormitory. With the help of local tour guides, the international group had the chance to learn about the history and the city’s important landmarks. The closing festival was held at the Brod Teatar summer boat-stage where international music bands and dance groups performed in front of hundreds of local people, invited guests, and event participants.

Besides the performances, an advocacy group formulated recommendations and suggestions that they will send to the European Parliament and to EU member state governments.

I suggest to everyone who wants to spend a wonderful week with wonderful and positive people and learn more about the history and Roma community and to socialize with people from different countries to join the So keres, Europa?! movement.

Kostadin Pishovski, So keres, Europa?! participant

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Members of national parliaments and government officials were also present at the festival, where these recommendations have been shared. Jelena Jovanovic, Deputy Leader of the Parliament of Vojvodina, and Stefan Vavrek, Roma policy expert of the Bridge Party and member of the Slovak Parliament, opened the festival and they both expressed the importance of Roma youth participation and movements like this. Meanwhile Lívia Járóka and Klára Dobrev, vice-presidents of the European Parliament, Ismael Cortes, member of Spain’s Congress of Deputies and other MEPs greeted the participants of the event via letters or video messages. The Hungarian Romano Glaszo (Human Voice) art group and Karaván Família music band; the Serbian Romano Ternype dance group and Orkestar RT Vojvodine Velos tambourine band; and the Italian TernYpe Dance brought the last evening of “So keres, Europa?!” to life.

The event was co-financed by our Roma Youth Voices project, funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the DG Justice, European Commission and the Visegrad Fund. Phiren Amenca first organized “So keres, Europa?!” in 2015, at the time, more than 400 young people gathered in Cluj Napoca, Romania, to lay the foundations of cooperation between Roma and nonRoma youth. The second “So keres Europa?!” event was held in Varna, Bulgaria in 2017, with the participation of 150 young people from all around Europe. The movement continues and the next “So keres” will be held in Lithuania in 2021! ■ “So keres, Europa?!” Flashmob

Training for Roma Youth Leaders, Varna, Bulgaria RGDTS-Phiren Amenca organized a training between August 29 – September 2. 2019 in Varna, Bulgaria for Roma youth leaders, who are engaged on local trainings, activities and advocacy work on national level.

The aims of the training were to develop participants campaigning and advocacy skills and to work together on a research concept on “Roma youth participation in Europe: Challenges, needs and opportunities”. Moreover, we took the opportunity to work on a May 16 – Romani Resistance 2020 campaign but also offered consultations for youth leaders how to sustain their organizations or how to further develop their informal youth group into an organization, for instance. In addition, RGDTS-Phiren Amenca have gain knowledge and better understanding on the national contexts and the situation of young Roma people in specific countries.

During the training, participants shared the context of their countries from a Roma youth perspective from where they come from. We had youth leaders and the country coordinators from Slovakia, Hungary, Spain, France, Austria, Romania, Bulgaria and they had a chance to have a personal consultation with trainers and coaches related their youth work and organizational development. A questionnaire was shared before the training to better understand the needs of each participants/organizations.

The activity was part of our Roma Youth Voices project, funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the DG Justice, European Commission. ■

“Volunteering as a Tool for Roma Youth Participation” study session, Budapest, Hungary The Study Session on Volunteering as a Tool for Roma Youth Participation run between September 29 – October 4. 2019 in the

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European Youth Centre Budapest in co-operation with the Youth Department of the Council of Europe and included discussions and workshops on topics of recruitment, diversity, volunteerism, intersectionality, antigypsyism and Roma youth participation.

Participants talked over the local realities of Roma representation and participation and had time in smaller groups to share personal experiences or observances and spent workshops on realizing how what we usually perceive as “needs” can often line up with human rights and how they should be accessible to all. Further conversations included ways that these human rights are often infringed upon and the fight that needs to happen to ensure all communities have equal opportunities. We evaluated the tools that can be used for recruitment and how these relate to engaging Roma into volunteering.

Social media was a tool that was often brought up and a session was given on how to strategize your social media practices so that they can be effective. Another important elements of the program were learning about the different aspects of antigypsyism and how organizations or mentors can support volunteers at the beginning, during, and after their time of service, as well as how to keep volunteers involved after their time of service and how their experiences could benefit others, including future volunteers Participants tackled topics and learned educational tools on Gender/Women’s Rights, Anti-Racism, and Hate Speech, Religion, Children’s Rights, and LGBTQIA+ as well as on Intersectionality. As an output of the seminar, participants started to develop a guide on voluntary service and Roma youth participation. ■

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A better NETwork for Sinti and Roma! Training course on digital technologies, Berlin, Germany Between October 17-20. 2019, 20 young no-hate speech activists from Albania, Belgium, Germany, Hungary and Romania took part in the “Better NETwork for Sinti and Roma! Training course on digital technologies”.

The training course was organized by the RGDTS-Phiren Amenca and ternype Roma Youth Network in cooperation with the German Central Council for Sinti and Roma. It took place in the office, “Educational forum against antigypsyism,” in Berlin. This training aimed at building capacity of Roma and non-Roma educators and youth leaders and their youth organizations with regard to participation in the digital space of Sinti and Roma youth. Young Sinti and Roma learned how to be their own advocates. In the first day of the training they visited the German Parliament where they were hosted by Susann Rüthrich from the Socialist and Democrats.

Young people had the opportunity to ask for more and better political commitment for Sinti and Roma projects in Germany and all over Europe.

During the training participants met with a representative from Google Germany, who presented the work of Google and their attempts to prevent hate speech and other undesired posts on the Google searching engine and the largest video platform owned by Google – Youtube. The presentation highlighted the opportunity of becoming part of the “Trusted Flagger Program” – reporters which opinion will be taken first in reviewing weather a video or a text is racist or abusive. Participants underlined that it is crucial that Google employees and reviewers become more critical, more sensitive and trained on the topic of antigypsyism.

The German Central Council for Sinti and Roma had a session with participants on “white supremacy”. Were discussed various cases of hate speech online and the inability of the online environment to cope with some certain type of online users’ communities.

Particularly focused on was the internet gaming community and their level of empathy and moral values concerning that most of

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the popular games have a violent content and this does affect levels of human empathy, contributing to growth of hate speech online.

4. Selected national programs and activities

Later, participants looked for possibilities to campaign together and network. Presenters from the Youth of European Nationalities – YEN gave a brief overview on what their work is and invited Roma organizations to become part of their network and to combat hate speech online together.

As part of its Roma Youth Voices Project RGDTS-Phiren Amenca in cooperation with national partner organizations from France, Spain, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Romania implemented national trainings, networking meetings, campaigns and actions to raise the awareness and challenge antigypsyism, to promote Roma youth participation and increase the dialogue and cooperation among Roma youth organizations and decisionmakers. ■

The activity was part of our Roma Youth Voices project, funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the DG Justice, European Commission. ■

First National Roma Youth Congress Hungary On September 21-22, 2019 Phiren Amenca in partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) organized a Roma Youth Congress in Budapest for 50 Roma young people and selected activists who support Roma youth political engagement. The event was part of a wider program entitled “Roma Youth Voices” initiated by Phiren Amenca and the ternYpe international Roma youth network, funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the DG Justice, European Commission.

A better NETwork for Sinti and Roma!

The Congress asked the following questions that have been preoccupying Roma youth over the past years as they have become politically active: Should Roma politics be organized along ethnic lines and in this context is there a role in politics for Roma Minority Self-Governments (MSGs) or Roma political parties? Should Roma youth be standing for elected office as part of these MSGs or should they stand as candidates in local council structures? Are Roma youth present in mainstream politics?

The invited guests came from all sides of the political spectrum and from different generations in politics. This allowed the Roma participants to engage in dialogue not only with each other but also with important Roma politicians to discuss about the cooperation or lack thereof between the different generations.

Everyone agreed that there is a great need for joint spaces

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where Roma interested in politics can meet and have discussions with each other. These spaces were offered in the past through Roma civic summer camps but are now lacking. Instead, the internet is often the only modality for communication, and this can exacerbate disagreements and conflicts. It is necessary for Roma to work on developing a debate culture where they can argue their points without disputes becoming acrimonious. There is also a need for the older generations to mentor and support young talent without cynicism and discouragement for the lack of experience of the young. It is important for Roma civil societies and young would-be politicians to understand intersectionality and the experiences of multiple discrimination suffered by Roma women, LGBTQ+ people, or Roma without education so that those marginalized groups can also be represented by politics.

The evening of the first day concluded with a panel discussion between the youth participants and important Roma political figures. The participants asked tough questions of the politicians.

Some of these questions included asking about the validity of organizing politics along ethnic lines versus focusing on mainstream political issues. Other questions raised the issue of how politicians work together effectively with young Roma and explored the ways that young Roma see new possibilities for Roma public life for their generation.

The second day was dedicated to another panel discussion with prominent mainstream politicians. The questions to the panel were prepared in advance by the audience and centered around the youth policies of each party and whether Roma were/are welcome in mainstream politics. While the parties said positive things in response, it was clear that they do not have any effective processes to involve ethnic minorities.

National Roma Youth Training, Slovakia Roma and non-Roma young people came together from November 29-30. 2019 in Rimavska Sobota in order to discuss about politically important topics, such as: radical parties;radical approaches against minorities; and the functioning of the local authorities and decision making processes. The youth had the chance to think about and react on the exclusion and oppression that Roma people have to face with in Slovakia.

The training began with an important and difficult topic, the serial killings against Roma people in Hungary. This conversation was led by the editor of RomNet who presented not only the information about the murders, but also the day to day atrocities endured by Roma communities. In addition, the editor addressed the social impacts of the political activities of the radical parties and racist paramilitary groups. Participants had discussion and activities related to identity, community strengthening activities, and about the stereotypes and discrimination against the minorities.

One of the central aims of the training was to connect the youth with the decision makers, so the organizers led thematic discussions involving the local authorities. Dušan Váradi gave an interesting and easily understandable presentation about the functioning of the local authorities and responsibilities of the representatives.

Radič Ján, local mayor, also provided information about the work of the local authorities and explained the main tasks and duties of a mayor.

István Vavrek, the MP from the Most-Híd party was one of the National Roma Youth Training, Slovakia

At the end of the Congress, a concrete proposal was made that Roma youth leaders and activists would regularly come together to create a unique workplace and to start a joint professional work to support Roma youth issues. ■

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organizers and he also presented at the two days long meeting.

However,it is important to mention that he was not taking part in the event as a politician. Whereas, the discussions with the participants mainly focused on public affairs, the organizers were conscious not to talk about ideologies and party politics. The young participants of the meeting were able to speak with the members of the local authorities and with the mayors about the situation of the Slovakian Roma, the connection between Roma and non-Roma people and communities, and the importance of involving young Roma in politics.

The activity was part of our Roma Youth Voices project, funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the DG Justice, European Commission. ■

presentation was to help raise group awareness that they are already active participants in the community, as well as how to name and continue involvement in society. The training was a great opportunity for young Roma activists to come together, share their activities and experiences, learn from each other and to develop new tools, methods and further activities to challenge antigypsyism.

The activity was part of our Roma Youth Voices project, funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the DG Justice, European Commission. ■

National Roma Youth Training, Romania

National Roma Youth Training, Romania From July 22-25. 2019, a 4-days training was organized together with e-Romnja Association in Moieciu de Sus, Romania, attended by 30 young Roma people, from around Bucharest and from youth initiative groups from Mizil and Valea Seacă. Throughout the training, we focused on the topic of antigypsyism volunteering and civic participation.

The training created space for the youth initiatives to present their activities, share their experiences and their materials. We delved deep into the concept of antigypsyism and its manifestations, shared personal experiences of discrimination and racism as well as shared examples for institutional racism and antigypsyism. We also shared good practices and tools to combat it racism and antigypsyism in its various forms. Participants were involved in activities to discuss what volunteering means for them or how they see volunteering in their community, followed by a workshop on public and political participation with discussions related to the concepts of “civic participation” and identified several forms of participation such as: flash-mob, protest, campaign, consultative meetings, advocacy actions, etc. These definitions of “civic participation” were accompanied by images from different activities carried out by the groups. The purpose of this

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5. Roma Genocide Remembrance Initiative International Youth Meeting in Auschwitz, Poland

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housands of people paid the tribute to the victims of the Roma Holocaust on the 2nd of August at the official commemoration ceremony in AuschwitzBirkenau. On the 2nd August 1944 in the so-called “Gypsy camp” at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, around 3000-4000 Roma were exterminated during one single evening. This date is commemorated as the Roma Holocaust Memorial Day. Right after the commemoration, ternYpe International Roma Youth Network gathered hundreds of young Roma and non-Roma people from all over the world at the International Youth Meeting Centre in Auschwitz. The aim of the gathering was to reflect on the importance of Remembrance of the Roma Holocaust but also to find ways how different youth groups and youth organizations can build up alliances and support each other in this important role and work.

At a roundtable discussion Marietta Herfort, Director of the Phiren Amenca International Network, Alina Bricman, President of European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS), Pia Šlogar, VicePresident of the Youth of European Nationalities (YEN), Benjamin Günther, Board Member of the European Youth Forum, Matic Germovšek member of the Advisory Council of the Council of Europe and Lois Brookes-Jones on behalf of the Dikh He Na Bister movement have been invited.

Each of the guest speakers in their responses emphasized the importance of commemorating 2 August as International Day of Remembrance of the Roma Holocaust by Roma youth organizations and movements. However, they emphasized that this was important not just in the formal concentration camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau but also mentioned the importance of commemorations on local and national levels, which are often lead by Roma youth initiatives. . They all pointed out that remembrance is also a tool for young people to fight for human rights and against discrimination. Remembrance education continues to be important in Europe today as we see the growth of antigypsyism, antisemitism, hate speech and hate crime. They also stated that coalitions and alliances are important to fight for equality for all minorities in Europe. They emphasized that no matter to what minorities we belong to, the last generation who has a genuine link with the survivors, so it is our role to keep their memory alive.

After the roundtable with the youth networks, Vera Jourova, Commissioner for Justice and Consumers, European Commission welcomed the participants. Commissioner Jourova emphasized the importance of the Remembrance of the Roma Holocaust and had an opened discussion with the young participants on several topics related to the situation of Roma in Europe. The written “Statement by First Vice-President Timmermans and Commissioner Jourová” is as follows: “75 years have passed, but we do not International Youth Meeting in Auschwitz, Poland

The moderator, among many interesting questions, asked the representatives why it is important for them and for their organizations and institutions to remember the Roma Holocaust and how can we build up alliances across our communities.

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forget. The memory of the horrors of the past must inspire us all to stand up for the values we believe in. To see every one of our fellow citizens as themselves, as individuals, and to wonder how we would feel if we were them. That is the lesson we have learned from our parents and grand-parents who experienced the darkest of times. So together with our Member States and local communities, we will continue to fight against all forms of racism and ethnic discrimination, here in Europe and worldwide”.

The Dikh He Na Bister movement is an important element in this work as every year it brings together Holocaust survivors and young people to talk and get to know their struggles and stories. At the closing part of that afternoon, participants could have personal moments in small groups with Mr. Raymond Gurême (France), Mr. Ivan Bilashchenko (Ukrainian), Ms. Krystyna Gil (Polish) Roma Holocaust survivors.

The meeting was part of the DIKH HE NA BISTER (“Look and don’t forget” in Romani) – the Roma Genocide Remembrance Initiative, which did bring together 500 young Roma and non-Roma from over 25 countries on the occasion of the European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day to advance remembrance, recognition and education about the Roma Genocide. The 6-days lasting event (July 29 – August 4.) in Krakow and Auschwitz was a space of learning about the past, as well as of reflection about the role of young people in Holocaust remembrance. DIKH HE NA BISTER empowers young people in their struggle for justice and equality, and against antigypsyism and all forms of racism and nationalism in Europe today.

The meeting in Auschwitz was financed through the Roma Youth Voices Project, funded by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020). ■

Phiren Amenca team with Vera Jourova, Commissioner for Justice and Consumers

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6. Advocacy and Partnerships Phiren Amenca maintains strong partnerships with the Council of Europe, with the National Democratic Institute, ternYpe International Roma Youth Network, with the Youth of European Nationalities, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the Ecumenical Diaconal Year Network, ERGO Network (European Roma Grassroots Organizations Network), the European Union of Jewish Students and with NEVSO Network (Network of European Voluntary Service Organisations). In 2019 Phiren Amenca applied for a membership in the European Youth Forum and for a mandate in the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe. Phiren Amenca has attended several Roma and mainstream events in 2019 to advocate for the recognition to increase Roma youth participation in European and national mainstream and Roma structures:

High Level Conference on EU Framework on National Strategies for Roma Inclusion Organized under the Romanian Presidency from March 4-5. 2019.

Bucharest, Romania.

The event brought together around 150 participants including Phiren Amenca, representing relevant national authorities of the EU Member States and enlargement countries, EU institutions, international organizations, EU and national-level civil society, Roma youth, media and academia. The conference’s objectives were to identify the lessons learned at EU and national level in the field of socio-economic inclusion of Roma (education, health, housing, labour market) and in fighting discrimination and antigypsyism and to strengthen the commitment of the EU Member States and enlargement countries to Roma inclusion as a priority at the European and national levels, in view of a Roma policy beyond 2020. ■ High Level Conference on EU Framework on National Strategies for Roma Inclusion

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EU Anti-Racism and Diversity Week in the European Parliament Phiren Amenca took part in the first-ever EU Anti-Racism and Diversity Week which took place from September 23-26. 2019 in the European Parliament in Brussels, co-hosted by the European Network Against Racism, the European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup, and Each One Teach One. This week of events and discussions brought together MEPs and activists to build a strong anti-racism/anti-discrimination agenda for the European Union, with all relevant stakeholders across various communities throughout Europe: Roma Youth and women, Muslim Youth and Women, People of African descent, Jewish youth and many other groups. During the first Anti-Racism and Diversity Week in the European Parliament was also given the beginning of the new Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup with a number of newly elected MEPs being part of it and committed to the idea of equality, among them the Roma MEPs Peter Pollak and Romeo Franz. At the event Phiren Amenca discussed the need of Roma Youth to have a better representation and contribution to strong anti-racist networks such as the European Network against Racism – ENAR. ■

“Roma Youth Participation: What Now?” seminar From September 25-27. 2019 the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg hosted the “Roma youth participation: What now?” seminar with Roma youth activists and experts to assess needs and priorities of young Roma across Europe, in co-operation with the Roma and Travellers Team. The thirty-five participants reviewed the achievements of the Roma Youth Action Plan of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe. They also suggested measures in the areas of policy development, capacity-building and advocacy. They stressed the importance of consistent action to combat antigypsyism. Phiren Amenca was represented by Georgina Laboda, director of the board.

to challenges faced by Roma young people in Europe, particularly in relation to their empowerment, participation in policy decisionmaking processes and structures at European level, and multiple realities of discrimination. ■

Workshop on future policies for Roma Among many civil society organizations, MEPs, National Roma Contact Points and International Organizations, Phiren Amenca was present at the workshop, organized by the European Commission, DG Justice and Consumers on the October 1. 2019 in Brussels. The objectives of the seminar were: The mid-term evaluation of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies concluded that despite many limitations and taking into account the massive task involved, the EU Framework has shown positive results and an initial change in trends. While the Framework’s ambition of “putting an end to the exclusion of Roma” has not yet been achieved, the evaluation clearly demonstrated its EU added value, in particular by putting Roma inclusion on the EU and national agendas. The EU Framework comes to an end in 2020. Civil society organizations, the Council, the European Parliament as well as participants of events organized by the Austrian and the Romanian EU Presidency have already called on the Commission to prepare and present a specific EU Roma policy initiative for post-2020. The discussions in the 1 October workshop on future policies for Roma therefore focused on forward-looking findings of the evaluation of the EU Framework as well as on options to address them in a potential post-2020 initiative. ■

European Youth Forum Council of Members meeting Georgina Laboda, director of the Phiren Amenca board joined the European Youth Forum Council of Members meeting from November 22-23. 2019. in Amiens, France. Phiren Amenca’s membership application to the European Youth Forum have been submitted in 2019 as we believe there is an important need for Roma youth networks to be visible in the biggest European youth umbrella organization. ■

The Roma Youth Action Plan is a response of the Council of Europe

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7. Position Paper of the Roma Youth Networks on the Post-2020 EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies1

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hiren Amenca International Network and ternYpe International Roma Youth Network, representing 35 Roma youth organizations across Europe, here emphasize the importance of prioritizing Roma youth and Roma youth issues through a dedicated chapter in the post-2020 EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies (NRISs).

Although young Roma are entitled to enjoy the same rights and benefit from the same initiatives as any other EU citizens, in reality they are doubly disadvantaged. Young Roma face the typical challenges relating to entry into the labour market but, in addition, many lives in poverty on the margins of European societies and suffer from discrimination and prejudice driven by antigypsyism. In stark contrast to the values on which the EU is founded, an unacceptably high proportion of Roma live at risk of poverty (on average, 86 % in 2011 and 80 % in 2016). Almost two-thirds (63 %) of young Roma aged 16-24 are neither in work nor education or training, with the remaining one-third either in school or in employment. Although there is some variation, this is the case for more than half of young Roma across all Member States (FRA, 2018). Here the disparity between the Roma and the general population is particularly striking: the proportion of young people aged 15 –24 (the age group observed by Eurostat data) who are neither in employment nor education or training does not exceed 18% in any of the surveyed Member States. 2 On the other hand, the demographic projections over the longterm reveal that the EU is ‘turning increasingly grey’ in the coming

decades. The total population in the EU is projected to increase from 511 million in 2016 to 520 million in 2070, but the working age population (15-64) will decrease significantly from 333 million in 2016 to 292 million in 2070 due to fertility, life expectancy and migration flow dynamics. 3 Considering these forecasts, the demographically younger Roma population will become an increasingly larger proportion of the working age population.

Overcoming Roma youth exclusion and investing in measures targeting Roma youth today is pivotal.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FACED BY ROMA YOUTH? In our everyday work, we interact with a great number of young Roma coming from all over Europe. We work with young Roma with academic backgrounds, diverse language skills and international experiences. And we also work with young Roma coming from segregated and impoverished areas, who, as participants in our activities, often leave their city or country for the first time. We recognize their challenges, needs and potentials equally. In 2016, together with a great number of young Roma and non-Roma, we worked on the Roma Youth Action Plan of the Council of Europe.

There we identified the greatest challenges Roma youth face.

These are: 1. high levels of discrimination (antigypsyism), which have a deep impact on self-esteem and self-confidence and lead to further stigmatization and exclusion of Roma youth and their families; 2. the high levels of poverty which Roma children and young people experience as they grow up; 3. low levels of access to high school, and even lower levels to university-level education; 4. limited access to political participation and absence from relevant decision-making bodies and processes;

Transition from education to employment of young Roma in nine EU Member states, EU-MIDIS II, FRA 2018

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1 The current position paper expresses the views Roma and non-Roma young people, representing Roma and civil society organizations from around Europe, who were participants at the Putren le Jakha – International Youth Conference on Antigypsyism (December 9-14, 2018) in Budapest

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The 2018 Ageing Report: Economic and Budgetary Projections for the 28 EU Member States (2016-2070)

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5. limited or no participation in mainstream youth events and initiatives; 6. a lack of political will for mainstream youth programs that are more inclusive of Roma youth; 7. an absence of Roma youth issues from related mainstream legislation and policies at national and international level; 8. a lack of solid (or any) funding for youth activities – where exist they often exclude Roma youth organizations due to their weakness and specificities; 9. an absence of effective positive measures towards equality of opportunities; 10. a lack of disaggregated data and statistics, rendering Roma youth doubly invisible; 11. a preponderance of pilot project-based activities for Roma youth which lack strategic focus to link to sustainable policies; 12. a lack of access to essential goods and services, as well as the same opportunities as other young people; 13. the reality of growing up in segregated neighborhoods and schools, which prevents Roma youth from being part of mainstream society; 14. multiple forms of discrimination (including intracommunity discrimination) of particularly vulnerable groups such as women, LGBTQIA+ youth, HIV-positive individuals, migrants and undocumented young people; 15. a generally negative portrayal of Roma in mainstream media, which reinforces prejudices, stereotypes and racialized attitudes; 16. a lack of information in the media, in school textbooks or other sources of educational information concerning Roma culture and the lives of young Roma; 17. significant barriers to accessing quality education, often even to education at all; 18. the widespread practice of placing disproportionate numbers of Roma children and young people in special schools for mentally disabled people; 19. low levels of education and training among Roma youth, leading to their being not competitive in the labor market; 20. a lack of birth certificates, identity documents and citizenship status, meaning that Roma are often invisible to the administration and are denied the possibility of exerting their rights.

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WHAT THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION CAN DO FOR YOUNG ROMA? The following recommendations are not exhaustive, as the challenges faced by young Roma are complex. These recommendations are specifically towards the European Commission suggesting what Commission officials and policy makers can do to bring a positive change for young Roma.

Include “Roma youth” as a specific target group under the post-2020 EU Framework for NRISs Including “Roma youth” as a specific target group under the NRISs will encourage the EU Member states to place a special focus on the Roma young people. This should lead Member States towards developing specific measures targeting the needs of Roma young people (16-30 years old), measures which are to be implemented and reported by the national authorities and monitored by the EU and Roma youth civil society.

Include Roma Youth Voices in the decision-making process concerning the NRISs In order to include the voices of Roma young people in the NRISs, Roma youth leaders and organizations need to be involved in the work of institutions and governments at national and European level as well. Roma youth, and respectively Roma youth civil society, should be invited, consulted and given decision-making power in discussions concerning the post-2020 EU Framework of NRISs. They should also be involved in the design and public discussions of the NRISs. Requiring the participation of Roma youth in this public consultation process will ensure that the Roma youth perspective is reflected in policies and young Roma are not left out.

Include Roma Youth in National Roma Contact Points and National Roma Platforms Roma youth are rather missing from the structures of the current National Roma Contact Points and National Roma Platforms (the latter still need to be developed and institutionalized and this

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provides a room for inclusion and participation of Roma youth).

Including young Roma as a driving force of and a human resource for these structures will contribute for the better reflection of Roma youth voices in the implementation and design of policies and measures.

Recognise Antigypsyism as a main obstacle for Roma inclusion in post-2020 EU Framework The rise of antigypsyism across Europe remains the largest threat to Roma youth participation. Young Roma are excluded from political and social life with limited opportunities in education and employment. The lack of knowledge and general ignorance concerning antigypsyism on institutional, European and national levels contribute to maintaining and reproducing prejudice and discrimination, resulting in the significantly limited participation of young Roma in youth-related policies and in decision-making.

Recognize antigypsyism as a main obstacle for equal societies and include young Roma people in designing effective measures to combat antigypsyism.

Call for a special focus on “Roma Youth” in mainstream policies and structures The Resolution for the European Union Youth Strategy 2019-2027 acknowledges that special attention should be given to youth at risk of marginalization based on potential sources of discrimination, such as their ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, belief or political opinion. De jure, Roma are protected on the basis of their ethnic origin, but in reality, programs and legislation that are generically oriented towards minority ethnicities do not sufficiently meet the unique needs of the Roma population. And since the Roma are not specifically mentioned in the drafting of these policies and structures, the mechanisms by which Roma youth can participate and the responsibilities of the national authorities in this matter remain unclear. Roma youth still face barriers to joining and benefiting from numerous EU structures and programs such as the Youth Guarantee, Erasmus Plus, and the European Youth Forum. Placing a special focus on

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“Roma youth” in such policies and structures will provide Roma youth an equal access.

Ensure that intersectional and multiple discrimination is properly addressed in the post-2020 EU Roma Framework and the NRISs Roma women, Roma LGBTQIA+, Roma disabled people, and often Roma migrants are being multiply discriminated, by mainstream society and within Roma communities. Often these groups are the most socio-economically challenged and dependent on families and relatives who, in turn, are discriminated by mainstream society. These groups can easily become victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, and social exclusion.

LGBTQIA + young people are often face rejection of their families and communities, and they are at a greater risk of violence and discrimination at home, in school, at work, or in institutional context. Many of them hide their sexual orientation or their gender identity and remain invisible to their environment and to the wider society. Their sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as the Roma traditions and its expectations about gender roles and cultural confrontations, place LGBTQIA + Roma at the intersection of exclusions and discriminatory systems.

The LGBTQIA + movements often do not represent the needs of the LGBTQIA + persons belonging to ethnic minorities, and the Roma movements also do not provide representation for their LGBTQIA + members. Therefore, we consider it is important to create a professional working group within EU institutions, that can effectively represent the real needs of this community.

Acknowledging the great vulnerability of these groups, targeting them with special and complex measures and providing mechanisms to empower them and fight inequalities within and outside of Roma communities is an important challenge, which deserves to be addressed in the EU Framework for NRISs and other related EU and national mainstream policies.

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Invest in Roma Youth Civil Society Because of the many challenges that young Roma face on a daily basis, coping with socioeconomic problems and discrimination seriously decreases the possibility and freedom of young Roma to organize themselves and to be active citizens. There are almost no organizations that focus on young Roma at European and national levels. Тhe very few Roma youth civil society organizations in existence are fully dependent on private and sporadic funding. They lack capacity and sustainability, and they do not receive specific support from the state, or from European institutions, as needed. This deprives the most disprivileged young people, the Roma youth, of the opportunity to organize themselves, to increase their knowledge and skills, to be active citizens and to benefit from European youth programs such as the Youth Guarantee or Erasmus Plus.

Providing specific measures to fund Roma youth organizations under DG Justice, DG EAC, DG EMPL, DG NEAR and national funding will make Roma youth voices heard and will contribute to Roma youth inclusion in a number of other programs, making young Roma full members of society. ■

8. “Roma youth participation in Europe: Challenges, needs and opportunities” The research entitled “Roma youth participation in Europe: Challenges, needs and opportunities” is run by RGDTS-Phiren Amenca and ternYpe as part of their Roma Youth Voices Project and was kicked off in spring 2019.

The aim of the research is to better understand: the impact of antigypsyism on Roma youth participation (volunteering, politics, civil society work); the concerns and needs faced by young Roma people; the opportunities for participation for young Roma. In addition, this research hopes to explore preferences of Roma youth when it comes to civic and political participation. Finally, this research will look into the real and perceived obstacles specific to Roma youth and their needs for effective participation.

The research is based on an online questionnaire for young Roma, for NGOs and on focus group interviews. Several focus groups targeting young Roma are conducted in partner countries of the networks from EU member states with the aim to describe the antigypsyism Roma youth face and to test whether antigypsyism fosters activism. It also aims to identify how Roma youth perceive the effectiveness of NGOs’ outreach mechanisms and youth work.

These focus group discussions can also lead to understanding how self-mobilization works and what can some of the best practices/ approaches be to Roma youth participation.

Moreover, we expect that the research will: • • • • •

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Identify the opportunities and efforts NGOs have created for Roma youth participation; Estimate NGOs’ impact, capacity and outreach; Identify the structures where youth can be active, volunteer and benefit; Identify the factors that would enhance the participation of Roma youth organizations in policy-making; Identify whether NGOs can cover/provide youth related

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• • •

services and can accommodate youth preferences; Identify the potential partnerships within the European, national and local structures and decisions on Roma in general and/or youth in particular; Reflect on the influence Roma youth have on NGOs’ structures and policies; Have the potential of creating a database of NGOs working on Roma youth – including their profile, focus, contact information and geographical coverage.

The final research will be published by September 2020. The research is led by a professional research team together with Phiren Amenca and ternYpe. ■

9. Structures Members: Amaro Drom, Germany CSD Diaconia Valdese, Italy Evangelische Freiwilligendienste (Protestant Voluntary Service), Germany FAGIC – Federación de Asociaciones Gitanas de Cataluña (Federation of Roma Assocations in Catalonia), Spain Nevo Parudimos, Romania Roma Active Albania, Albania Roma-Gadje Dialogue Through Service, Hungary Romano Centro, Austria TOUCH Project Charitable Foundation, Ukraine VISA (L’Année diaconale), France Allied members and partners: ERGO Network, Belgium/Netherlands EUJS – European Union of Jewish Students, Belgium ERIAC – European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture, Germany AGBU – Armenian General Benevolent Union, Belgium YEN – Youth of European Nationalities Diocesan Caritas Ostrava-Opava, Czech Republic Center for Community Development Vrastiri, Bulgaria Finnish Roma Association, Finland Asociación Juvenil Intercambia, Spain Arete Youth Foundation, Bulgaria Young Adults on Global Mission, Hungary SCMI India Residencia El Sol – Asoc. Sumando Voluntades, Argentina Fundación Marijn, Nicaragua Asociación Chinantlan, Nicaragua Obra Ecumenica Barrio Borro, Uruguay ProAtlântico - Associação Juvenil, Portugal E-Romnja, Romania Opre Heros Collective, Austria La Voix des Rroms, France

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Phiren Amenca’s offices:

Coordination Office

Krúdy utca 2, fsz 7 Rue de Fiennes 86 1088 Budapest 1070 Brussels Hungary Belgium

Phiren Amenca maintains a coordination office and resource center for the volunteers and member organizations in Budapest (which is currently the home of RGDTS Nonprofit Kft.).

Board members:

Platform of former volunteers

Georgina Laboda, Ana Carballo Mesa, Juraj Vozár Coordination office: Marietta Herfort (managing director), Anna Daróczi (voluntary service coordinator), Ildikó Csanya (educational coordinator), Atanas Stoyanov (project assistant) Volunteers: Vikas Jagtap, Oliver Mako

The volunteers are encouraged to continue their engagement even after the service in the platform of volunteers. The selforganized platform of volunteers and former volunteers creates further opportunities for non-formal education, dialogue, and engagement, and strengthens the role of the volunteers as multipliers and promoters of voluntary service. Phiren Amenca builds the capacity of young Roma and non-Roma former volunteers to become trainers of human rights education in its structures. Phiren Amenca gives a high priority to youth participation and the rights of volunteers within its own structures and work. The platform will meet in the framework of the annual meeting, including the General Assembly.

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

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

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

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10. Funded Programs Roma Youth Voices Project The general aim of the project is to develop the capacities of Roma youth organizations at the local and national level through participation at international and European processes, mobilisation and participation of Roma youth at relevant policy related process, as well as through strengthening the role of young people and organizations in the context of National Roma Integration Strategies.

The project, among other, aims to raise awareness about antigypsyism and develop specific actions. These actions might include: campaigning and local activities in order to challenge the harmful manifestations of this specific form of racism against Roma communities. Antigypsyism has negative impact on Roma children and youth development. Roma young people’s access to social rights and, in particularly, to education and labour markets is hindered by the widespread antigypsyism across European societies. Moreover, their advocacy capacity and level of political participation are largely suppressed due to the deeply rooted systemic racism and structural discrimination with which they are confronted.

The Roma Youth Voices project is a multi-year project (between 2019-2020) carried out by Phiren Amenca International Network, ternYpe International Roma Youth Network and RGDTS in cooperation with national partner organizations from France, Spain, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Romania. The project is supported under the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the DG Justice, European Commission. ■

So keres, Europa?! – Roma Youth Social Forum for Regional Cooperation Combating Antigypsyism The project was run by RGDTS in co-operation with Minority Voice (Serbia), Association of Young Roma (Slovakia) and Jaw Dikh (Poland) and supported by the Visegrad Fund. The project included a preparatory phase for the So keres, Europa?! – Roma Youth Social Forum in Novi Sad, Serbia, in July 2019, the implementation of the event with the involvement of 150 young Roma and nonRoma from around Europe, a media and advocacy campaign as well as national dissemination events. ■

Donors Current donors and supporters of Phiren Amenca include: Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the DG Justice, European Commission Erasmus+ Program, European Commission European Youth Foundation, Council of Europe Tempus Közalapítvány Visegrad Fund and private donors

Audit Phiren Amenca uses the services of a registered accounting service in Belgium, the company called Comfisgest conducts the AISBL professional audit. The auditor’s report is submitted in September of each year.

In Hungary Flexcont BT, Kovács Imre, keeps the accountancy and conducts a professional audit, what is submitted in May of each year.

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