“Jaf Anglal!” that is “Let’s move forward!”

SolidarityNow, in collaboration with REVMA NGO, in the framework of the program “Building a robust and democratic civic space” (BUILD) jointly implement the project “Jaf Anglal! Empowering school participation of Roma children”. The project aims to promote the fundamental rights of the European Union, and particularly the right to education. Three Roma communities of Central Macedonia (Dendropotamos-Ampelokipoi – Menemeni Municipality, Pavlos Melas Municipality, Pelekas – Municipality of Katerini) have been selected as a wider target group, where it is noted that children’s right to education is affected due to a series of challenges that Roma people face today. The project will focus on strengthening the role of parents and teachers to contextualize/support Roma children to remain at school and complete basic (compulsory) education. At the same time, outreach and awareness-raising activities for the general public will be implemented through the production and hosting in a series of podcasts that will showcase Roma stories in order to combat prevailing stereotypes and prejudices.

For all three regions, three sets of actions are foreseen: Firstly, empowerment groups will be created for Roma parents, and especially mothers, focusing on the education of their children. In the second set, actions of extroversion and production of communication material will be implemented to raise awareness of the wider society. Finally, a training program will be created for the schoolteachers of the aforementioned areas, so that they will be empowered towards the inclusion of Roma pupils. Within this set teachers and parents will come together, creating “pairs of ambassadors” of education.

The project is the first synergy between SolidarityNow and REVMA, aiming among others to strengthen the cooperation between civil society organizations with a different profile, towards future sustainable partnerships.

The “Jaf Anglal” project is implemented under the BUILD program, implemented by SolidarityNow and in partnership with REVMA NPO.

*The program ‘Building a robust and democratic civic space’ (BUILD) aims to protect, promote and raise awareness of EU fundamental rights & values by supporting civil society organizations (CSOs) in Greece & Cyprus and by increasing their capacity and sustainability. BUILD is co-funded by the European Union (90% of the grant), through the Citizens, Equality, Rights, and Values (CERV*) program, and by the Bodossaki Foundation and NGO Support Centre (10% of the grant), with a total grant amounting to €2.9 million.