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No Segregation Project: Local Action Against School Segregation of Roma [editar]

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  • Scope: Internacional
  • Road map:From 01.11.2019 to 31.10.2022
  • Work areas: International




  • "No Segregation: Local Action Against School Segregation of the Roma Students" is a transnational project with the participation of Bulgaria, Spain, Belgium. It is led by the NGO Amalipe (Bulgaria) and the Fundación Secretariado Gitano and ERIO (Belgium) as partners. Funded by the Directorate General of Justice of the European Commission within the European Union's Rights, Equality and Citizenship Program (2014-20).

    The general objective of the project is to identify the current situation in the school segregation of Roma students, as well as the good practices that are being carried out to favor the process of desegregation of this student body. This will seek to improve access to quality education of the Roma community, social awareness and the fight against Anti Roma stereotypes, as well as the empowerment of the Roma community.


    O
    bjectives

    The overall project objective is to create preconditions and to raise political commitment  for local actions for fighting school segregation and improving the access to quality education of Roma via: combating anti- Roma stereotypes and raising the stakeholders’ awareness, empowering the local Roma communities, establishing cooperation that involve educational authorities, professionals and Roma community representatives.

    The project goals were:

    • researching the existing situation with school segregation at local, regional and national level,
    • mutual learning and exchange of successful models for preventing segregation (from Spain), for desegregation actions (from Bulgaria), for integration of migrant Roma children  in mainstream schools in the hosting countries (Belgium, Spain)
    • training of professionals and other stakeholders to carry out activities for avoiding school segregation and overcoming the existing one,
    • awareness raising and creating supportive public environment,
      capacity building  of Roma and pro-Roma civil society active at the local level.
    The expected results were:
    • Prospection (based on the territories selected for it) of the situation of school segregation of Roma students.
    • Compendium of good practices in the prevention and fight against school segregation.
    • Seminar among administration, professionals and NGOs.
    • Interactive platform with school content and for professionals in which the issue of school segregation is addressed and how to address it.
    • Social awareness campaign focusing on the school segregation of the Roma.

    The project was developed in the following phases:

    The project started in November 2019. In December 2019 a meeting of the partners took place in Sofia (Bulgaria) you can read the news here: https://www.gitanos.org/actualidad/archivo/130350.html 

    During the first phase of the project a prospection on the state of school segregation affecting Roma students and the identification of good practices that have been collected in a "compendium of good practices against school segregation of Roma students" has been carried out. This phase of the project began in December 2019 with the preparation of the research and was extended until July 2020 the results of this research were commented and validated in meetings and seminars with experts and representatives of institutions:

    The information obtained in the research has been exposed to validation through seminars with experts: political representatives, administrations and with educational centers. These seminars have been very useful for the research since they have provided a diversity of visions and richness to the research as well as support for this work. The different positions from which the seminars have been approached (both at the political level and by professionals working in the centers) have served as validation for the data collected in the previous research phase. In addition they have completed this information with the knowledge and experiences that from these three perspectives can be offered on the problem of school segregation that Roma students often suffer.
    Information on the seminars here: With administrations: https://www.gitanos.org/actualidad/archivo/131812.html.en ; With schools: https://www.gitanos.org/actualidad/archivo/132681.html.en 

    In this first phase of prospection and research, the Spanish Ministry of Education was present as part of the Steering Committee that follows the project and participates in the sessions with experts that took place during the prospection and in the validation session of the results of the same. In addition, the results are disseminated in the networks and communication actions of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano.

    As a result of the research and the validation sessions, a report on the state of school segregation at national level (Spain and Bulgaria) has been produced. In the Spanish case the report highlights that:
    • School segregation is present in all communities and cities where there is Roma population.

    • A high ratio was found in Andalusia, Valencia and Castile and Leon, although it is present in all the Autonomous Communities.

    • That it is closely related to residential segregation.

    • That the grades where most segregation exists are in 6th grade of primary school, 1st (especially) and 2nd of ESO.

    • Above all, it occurs in public schools.

    • There are innovative programs in some cases such as Castilla y León, Valencia and Catalonia, although they are insufficient.

    • To reverse this situation, comprehensive educational projects involving all the parties involved (politicians, educators, families) are necessary.

    • Good practices must be supported by institutions to ensure their continuity and replicability.



    Image of the online working table against school segregation of Roma students.





    In the second phase, a transnational interactive educational platform has been created with contents for the use of professionals as well as students and families to address and raise awareness about school segregation. This platform is a very useful tool for all the actors involved in the education of Roma students. The contents for this platform deal in a playful way with the history and culture of the Romany people. These contents have been created by experts in the history and culture of the Romany people always taking into account an intercultural approach.

    The transnational educational platform includes contents in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Greece and Spain. In the picture the Bulgarian version. You can visit the info of the project on Amalipe's website: https://amalipe.bg/portfolio/nosegregation/  and the educational platform: https://amalipe.bg/ToLearnTogether/ 




    The COVID19 pandemic has disrupted many of the plans for this project, as it has for almost all activity worldwide. Many of the activities that were originally intended to be carried out in the classroom, such as the implementation of anti-segregation measures and plans, have been modified or even postponed due to the fact that face-to-face classes have been suspended and then reduced in groups and with on-line assistance. As a result of this postponement, the entire project was extended for one year with a closing date of October 30, 2022.

    As part of the project's philosophy of sharing good practices, an online study visit was made to CEIP Les Arenes in Valencia, as it is a center with a high percentage of Eastern European Roma students. This visit was attended by representatives of the school, the FSG and Amalipe and members of the Steering Committee, which includes representatives of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and the Spanish Ministry of Education.


    The project includes an international seminar in which the reports of the two countries (Spain and Bulgaria) will be presented. This seminar is scheduled for October 2022 as the closing of the project.

    The fourth phase of the project has had an activity focused on social impact and advocacy. Activities have been developed since June 2021 in which meetings have been held with relevant political actors (deputies and high political representatives) to inform them and make them aware of the situation suffered by Roma students studying in segregated centers. Also taking advantage of the repercussion and the international focus of attention that Roma Week 2022 represents, an awareness campaign was launched on social networks under the slogan #StudyTogether launched key messages for the fight against school segregation suffered by Roma students. The messages of this campaign were accompanied by drawings by Roma illustrator Sandra Carmona.


    On 19 September 2022 the results of the research carried out by this project in its first phase were presented at an Advocacy Conference held in Madrid. These data, together with those provided by another study carried out in collaboration between the FSG and the Spanish Ministry of Education, corroborated the extent of school segregation of Roma students and the negative consequences it has. The conference was attended by experts in the field as well as high-level representatives of the Ministry of Education and the European Commission. In addition, a training for educators, municipal authorities and members of civil society was held on the topic of school segregation and measures to address it. You can have more info: https://www.gitanos.org/actualidad/archivo/136556.html.en 

    The project was definitively closed in October 2022 with a conference in Prague where all the results of the project were presented.

    Below a picture of the social advocacy action in European Parliament. Meetings with senior policy makers, presentation of the project and social media campaign #StudyTogether.











    Field visit to a segregated school in Sofia, Bulgaria, December 2019