02/12/2020
FSG
The campaign demands a new impetus for proactive employment policies as effective tools for tackling poverty and inequality among young Roma The Fundación Secretariado Gitano has today launched the awareness-raising campaign #BreadForTomorrow. The campaign is focused on the difficult employment situation, aggravated by the current crisis, which faces young Roma men and women, and it demands greater working opportunities for them.
The campaign calls for decent work for young Roma. It also highlights the need to invest in proactive employment policies which will be effective and inclusive, and which will complement the existing system of social protection. Such policies are the most effective means of combating structural poverty, breaking down barriers and generating opportunities, thus closing the current inequality gap.
The unemployment rate in the Roma population stands at 52%, three times the rate in the general population. 63% of young Roma aged between 16 and 29 are neither in work nor in education, while those in work have very little job security. In addition, there exists a marked gender gap and a social context of poverty: 86% of Roma families live below the poverty threshold and almost half of households suffer situations of extreme poverty, with an income of less than 310 €.
The campaign is being launched in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, which has revealed how ineffective our system is in helping the most vulnerable groups. While the introduction of the Minimum Living Income has compensated for some of its deficiencies, it is now more essential than ever to ensure that no one is left behind.
The image of a loaf of bread forms the backbone of the campaign. Young Roma don’t just want bread for today, they want #BreadForTomorrow: training, opportunities and employment. To represent this desire, during the campaign’s launch a group of young people created a time capsule. In it, they placed a loaf of bread which will stay fresh for at least two years, along with images which reflect their dreams for the coming year. “The idea is to open the capsule after a year to see if there has been any progress in terms of employment policies. To ensure that no one is left behind, it is necessary to push for proactive employment policies which can act as a gateway to social inclusion and as a catalyst for the reduction of poverty”, according to Isidro Rodríguez, general director of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano.
The campaign has various elements: the main advertisement, created by the Roma cinema director Pablo Vega with a voice-over by Lucía Fernanda Carmona; the “I live on assistance” series, three very short video clips which play humorously on this stereotype regarding Roma people; the testimonials of Roma people, graphics, etc. All the material is available on the campaign website panparamañana.org and will be released on social networks with the hashtag #BreadForTomorrow.
Following its nationwide launch, the campaign will be publicised during the first few months of 2021 in various Spanish cities, with the aim of further raising social awareness and increasing its political impact in the various regions of Spain.
I live on support- Employment Counsellor
The launch of #BreadForTomorrow coincides with the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the training and employment programme Acceder, run by the Fundación Secretariado Gitano. The programme has become a model of good practice in the area of social and labour market inclusion for the Roma popoulation, at both national and European level.
Over these 20 years, 94,860 people have followed plans designed to achieve entry into labour market and 32,298 of them have found work, more than 52% of these being women. In addition, 34,981 people have received training, and all this has happened through the collaboration of 17,753 companies. These results serve to demonstrate that when effective, tailored measures are implemented, it is possible to help people enter the labour market and to change their lives.
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