Roma in the UK are a socially, culturally and ethnically rich, diverse and heterogeneous grouping, often from indistinct varied origins. However, most people in Britain understand Roma to be a homogenous, racially distinct people, probably coming from Bulgaria or Romania. Many find the presence of Roma disturbing because as a group they are effectively mysterious. However, association with poverty, benefit fraud, child trafficking and general crime has intensified such sentiments, giving rise to forms of discrimination, prejudice, social injustice and inequality.

As a result, many Roma communities and families place little faith in the institutions and organisations they perceive to be part of the social subjugation. Roma look for security within the familial framework.

Roma Support Group (RSG) is a Roma led organisation. Its service provision, in relation to Roma youth, is informed and guided by the wants, needs and perspectives of Roma young people. The organisation also works with non-Roma young people to enhance the position and perception of Roma in society. Staff and volunteers, who are mostly drawn from the Roma community, run the organisation, alongside a small management committee of whom over half are Roma – including the chairperson, Roza Kotowicz.

The RSG has, since the mid-1990s, made ongoing progress in developing an effective Roma self-help organisation, which understands Roma as an enriching element of British society. Advice and advocacy projects have helped many young Roma overcome barriers of poverty and homelessness, increasingly focusing on their employment and employability skills. RSG promotes many Roma and non-Roma activities for young people where there are strong elements of community cohesion and anti-discriminatory practice.

Approximately 30% of those involved directly with RSG services are young people. With young Roma being central to the work of RSG, they have devoted much energy and thought to the ways of enhancing the public understanding of Roma culture. They have done this by drawing from a rich heritage of Roma arts, particularly through music events and concerts.

The main areas of the work of RSG are Roma support and engagement, advocacy, culture and arts development, campaigning, community support, sports, and work with the elderly. Each intervention represents impact, not only on the individual but on their families and communities as well. All this work is supported by dozens of Roma volunteer workers.

RSG work a lot with the Roma family structure, and respect and value the Roma traditions. Through the family, they get to work with the whole community but especially with the young people. Approaches to young Roma independently of their family is almost always unsuccessful and is likely to constitute a general threat to the family and wider social network of Roma families.

RSG provides the opportunity for young Roma to express themselves and their opinions through a number of different initiatives. Areas of work that are focussed on young people include the Young Roma Advocacy Project, the Education Support Project, Roma Youth Music Project, the Media Project for Roma Children and Young People, and the Roma United football team. They also work extensively on enhancing the experience and attendance of young Roma in schools. Below, two of the projects are explored.

Roma Youth Music

The Roma Youth Music project provided opportunities for young Roma to express and develop their musical talent. Through the project, the young people gave nine live performances and produced a CD ‘Roma Youth Music’, which was aimed at enhancing an understanding of Roma culture by celebrating and sharing the musical heritage of Roma. In total they performed to more than 950 people. Three quarters of young people involved wanted to pursue a music career in the future.

Media Project

The RSG Media Project for Roma Children and Young People was aimed at Roma young people from East London. They produced a short documentary in collaboration with a community media company. The project provided an opportunity for Roma young people to take part in all stages of film production from planning, script writing, researching, acting, narrating, music production, and film editing. The film Be Roma or Die Tryin’ portrays a journey across London exploring the heritage of the young Roma. It examines British attitudes to Roma, while celebrating the new life that the Roma refugee children and young people are making for themselves in the UK.

The launch of the film took place in the Genesis Cinema in East London. It was also screened during the 1st International Roma Film Festival in London. Both shows were followed by a panel discussions involving the public and the makers of the film. This created an opportunity for the young Roma to talk about their lives and the issues that they face as Roma refugees in multicultural and multiracial London.

Participation in Management

All the activities of RSG are developed with and alongside the young Roma. The young people are encouraged to become part of the management structures of RSG. This collaborative approach means the Roma young people become familiar with the management and leadership structures and are able to take on roles and responsibilities in both the management and leadership of the organisation and of its projects.

Part of the strategy for participation within RSG includes a peer and group advocacy forum. This is a space for discussion and dialogue. It provides an opportunity for the young Roma to express their needs and give direction to the organisation’s current and future work. This creates a means for them to influence policies which impact on themselves, their peers and the families. The organisation aims to be energised by the participation, advocacy and activism of young Roma.

It is the Roma young people who choose, suggest and initiate the projects through their interaction, collaboration and co-operation. This process is not an end in itself but a means to continuous learning, advocacy and activism of the young people. This can include political and social consciousness as well as personal and group awareness, and exploration of identity, in terms of culture, religion, gender, sexuality and so on.

Approximately 500 Roma have improved employability skills through working with RSG. The majority of them are young people.

In 2014, 341 professionals attended 17 training sessions provided by Roma young people. One example is the ‘Support and Engagement Programme’. Here the young Roma were involved with the delivery of the training on the subjects ‘Introduction to Roma Culture’ and ‘History and Tradition’.