In the history of the European Commission’s various programmes for youth, the inclusion of Roma young people has not been high. Through lack of information and lack of access to information, many young Roma have never heard of the various programmes and the possibilities they offer, many not even knowing of their right to participate. In settlements where fulfilling basic needs takes priority and the young people feel isolated and left out, Roma young people often do not have the means to participate. Over the years, many Roma young people have not known of the space that is there for them to participate. There is a general lack of understanding of the opportunities open to them and thereby the support they and their organisations could receive.

Movit has been performing the tasks of the National Agency for Slovenia of the EU programmes in the field of youth since May 1999; most recently this is the Erasmus+ Youth in Action programme. In this role, Movit manages the EU budget for youth funds and enables support for different forms of mobility activities in youth work in Slovenia and more broadly in the European youth field. It also runs activities supporting the general development of youth work and non-formal education, with special emphasis on activities contributing to the strengthening of European co-operation in the field of youth.

Movit was concerned about the situation regarding the lack of participation of young Roma in the EU youth programmes and decided to react to this situation. In 2011 Movit prepared a strategy to include more Roma organisations into the then EU Youth in Action Programme and in this way encourage the participation of young Roma in society and enrich the work of Roma organisations. A strategy was devised and put into action spanning the period from 2012 to 2015 so far. The strategy has included a questionnaire, training courses and partnership-building activities.

Questionnaire

As a first phase, a questionnaire was circulated amongst Roma organisations, with the main goal of finding out who would be interested in participating, and what kind of support would be needed. Results revealed several strong organisations and many interested individuals. The main barriers to participation were highlighted as language and a lack of funding.

U Terne Andi Akcija (Youth in Action)

In 2012 Movit, organised a national information seminar U Terne Andi Akcija for Roma organisations, and/or organisations working with Roma, in Dobrna, Slovenia. The aim was to inform organisations about the existence of the Youth in Action Programme and opportunities that the programme is offering, and to gather more understanding on the needs and type of support they would need in order to get involved in the Programme. Participants developed several interesting project ideas, and Movit offered further support in the following months (mostly in the form of individual counselling) to help with their realisation. Several youth initiatives were submitted and granted as a result of these efforts, and collaboration between different organisations started to take place.

Inclusion of Young Roma into the Youth in Action Programme

As the next step, Movit organised an international training course, the Inclusion of Young Roma into the Youth in Action Programme, to highlight and open the discussion on the issue of the lack of representation and involvement of Roma young people in the Youth in Action Programme. The activity provided space for the group to discuss the motivation for Roma organisations to carry out international projects, and to prepare their participants to face the intercultural elements and specific challenges related to international projects for Roma youth and Roma youth organisations.

Twenty-six participants developed project ideas during the course, and individuals also made collaborations between participating organisations.

Study Visit

The next step in the strategy was to organise a study visit to Roma organisations, and organisations working with Roma youth, to promote their good practices. The visits took place in towns and cities across Slovenia. The aim was to present Slovenian good practices of Roma inclusion at the local level and to bring more potential project partners to Slovenian Roma organisations for possible future co-operation.

Participants learned from the different organisations and were able to explore the opportunities and challenges these young people are facing in their local, national and international contexts. The study visit showcased Roma youth participation at the local and national levels, with field visits to a number of projects and organisations across Slovenia. Participants had an opportunity to reflect on their own realities, network with potential project partners and focus on the importance of organisations working as mediators, in different contexts, between Roma and non-Roma. They looked at Youth in Action Programme related opportunities, and focused on what to bring home, and ways of multiplying what they had learnt.

Cross-Border Roma Co-operation

The next activity was in Murska Sobota, and focused on Roma organisations from neighbouring countries. The training course Cross-Border Roma Co-operation brought together 15 participants from Slovenia, Hungary and three West Balkan countries. The aim was to offer an opportunity for Roma (youth) organisations to meet potential partners from other countries in order to become more involved in the Erasmus+ programme and to share good practices. Participants worked on creating partnerships, developing project ideas and starting to collaborate.

Since the start of the strategy for including Roma young people into the then Youth in Action and now Erasmus+ Youth in Action Programme, there have been many results. Many participating NGOs who did not have a specific focus on Roma young people are now directing a part of their work towards Roma as a specific target group.

One Roma young woman who participated in Movit's first two activities carried out a youth initiative in which she organised and opened a museum of Roma culture. She also got a job in a kindergarten. This museum was later one of the locations visited during the study visit in 2013.

Another participant from the first activity carried out two youth initiatives, as a result of which the participation and engagement of local Roma young people increased. She herself managed to become self-employed and now owns a shop selling clothes based on Roma culture. Her organisation also became a partner in an international project, funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism.

In the Inclusion of Young Roma into the Youth in Action Programme not all the organisations were Roma organisations or even worked with Roma young people. As a result of the long-term strategy, one organisation from France decided to start working more directly with Roma young people. They also signed up to take part in at least one future action in the Youth in Action Programme in partnership with Roma organisations. An organisation from Germany decided to direct some of their work specifically to work with Roma young people and also to engage in a future Youth in Action Programme activity. An organisation from Serbia, working with children on the street but with no experience in working with Roma young people, started developing its work and raising their own awareness of the needs of the Roma young people they would come into contact with. Another organisation submitted an EVS accreditation form, and many others developed international and cross-border projects.

It is clear that the work of Movit, with this strategic approach and continued support, has led many individuals to become proactive. Looking at the above examples, it can be seen that through providing the opportunity to participate in Youth in Action activities, Roma young people have an opportunity to come up with and develop their own ideas. Through the continued support of Movit, these ideas can grow and become a reality, the examples above of the youth initiatives being two cases explicitly showing this. Both of these cases also show that the participation in the opportunities of the youth programme translate into a greater sense of identity, self-confidence and ultimately participation in both the Roma community and wider society.