Welcome, Gopalas!
The ERGO Network Secretariat team is growing! This week our new European Solidarity Corps volunteer Gopalas Michailovskis from Lithuania joined us in Brussels.
He will stay eight months with us to learn more about how we work and support all our work areas.
Here is more about Gopalas in his own words:
I am from Lithuania with a diverse educational background that, I believe, reflects my passion for issues related to social justice, human rights, and the fight against antigypsyism or anti-Roma racism. With a Master’s degree in opera singing and another in Cultural Heritage Studies, I have honed my skills in both the arts and the humanities. Yet, my journey in academia was never disattached from the struggles many Roma face in various spheres.
Being a Roma individual myself, I find it meaningful to critically engage with these struggles and pave the path for nuanced rectification of racial injustices. My focus is not only to strengthen the means of awareness raising regarding antigypsyism, but also to envision the possible forms of such rectification, e.g. reparations, reconciliation, etc.
Therefore, my current internship with ERGO holds great significance for me. It represents an opportunity to direct my academic knowledge and prospect them into practical action. I believe that this experience will be a cornerstone for my future academic pursuits that will equip me with invaluable insights in the field of social justice, human rights, and the fight against antigypsyism or anti-Roma racism.
I am keen to work with and learn from you. Feel free to reach me out so that I can hear from you.