Initiatives of the civil society

The association “Youth Network for Development“ is a non-governmental youth organisation founded in 2007 by a female Roma student from the Roma Kaldarash group. The main aim of the NGO is to change exclusionary processes like segregation and lack of participation of the Roma youngsters. The organisation is a member of the “ternYpe - International Roma Youth Network” which was founded in January 2010 and unites different Roma youth organisations from Albania, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Slovakia, Spain and Poland. The most important project is "The Roma Genocide" initiative which brings together young Europeans of different cultures and backgrounds to commemorate the extermination of Roma in the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau on 2nd August and to develop a dialogue on the topic of xenophobia and racism in Europe today.

From 3rd to 8th October 2013 Amalipe Centre NGO participated in the annual “Roma Pride” event that takes place in 15 European countries on and around 5th October. During this week, several types of activities were organised in 9 regions in Bulgaria, all focusing on one joint topic - “My dream for Bulgaria – to live and study together!” These activities included: public readings of Roma literature, musical performances and dances, presentation of traditional dishes and clothes, exhibitions of paintings as well as of various antique household items and crafts, distribution of flyers, collecting wishes from Bulgarian citizens to the Roma people, organisation of the video contest in two parts: “I’m proud to be Roma, because…” and “My dream about the Roma people”. On 7th October the Amalipe Centre organised various activities on the Holocaust such as reading of texts and screening of documentaries about the Roma during the Holocaust in the Art club TAM, Veliko Tarnovo.

“My dream for Bulgaria – to live and study together!” continued to be the central topic for the celebration of the 2014 Roma Pride in Bulgaria organised by Amalipe Centre. Hundreds of students, teachers, representatives of institutions and individuals from across the country took part in the campaign on the occasion of Roma Pride that is organised by this NGO for the fourth consecutive year. During 2014, organisation of the Roma Pride was a part of the project “Youth is tolerance – combating anti-Roma stereotypes amongst young people”, funded by the European Commission under Fundamental Rights and Active Citizenship Program.