Intersectionality – ERGO Network

ERGO partner in Solidi project – Solidarity in Diversity

Solidi Project

ERGO Network is a partner in a new exciting academic project called the European Training Network “Solidarity in Diversity” (SOLiDi), providing a Roma perspective to the programme.

Over the last decade, liberal democracies in Europe have been shaken to their core by the rise of national populisms. This puts strong pressure on all forms of solidarity, especially as they cross ethnic-cultural boundaries. The increasingly successful capture of the notion of solidarity by radical right, anti-liberal democratic forces is testimony to this. The challenge for European democracies is to identify the conditions under which solidarities in diversity can be nurtured.

To address this urgent challenge, the European Training Network “Solidarity in Diversity” (SOLiDi) develops a training and research program that is focused on how to generate solidarities across cultural boundaries, taking the proximity of citizens with different ethnic-cultural backgrounds in specific places and the practices they engage in as starting point. Building on the strengths of the interculturalist paradigm, SOLiDi will contribute with an intersectional understanding of how place-based solidarity practices are shaped by and can work around entrenched social inequalities and unequal power relations.

To that end, SOLiDi brings together 10 academic partners from sociology, geography and educational science and 23 non-academic partners – one of them ERGO Network – in an international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral training network for 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs). The research and training will prepare a cohort of highly-skilled professionals who are well-versed in a range of different approaches to generate solidarity in diversity and are able to apply these in different geographical, policy and organisational contexts.

SOLiDi has 3 main objectives:

to combine knowledge from sociology, geography and social pedagogy to extend our knowledge on how solidarities can be generated across cultural boundaries
to articulate public pedagogies and organizational and policy strategies that support diversity
to promote social innovation by facilitating the translation of academic insights into skills to promote and to analyse societal change through training in research methods and ethics

SOLiDi will train doctoral researchers both in the state of the art on sociological, geographical and educationalist insights on solidarity in diversity, place-based practices, interculturalism and intersectionality as well as in analytical and transferable skills on public pedagogies and organizational and policy strategies. In this way, the SOLiDi consortium aims to articulate a new, academically grounded and practice and policy-oriented vision on solidarity in diversity. SOLiDi will provide an alternative to the prevailing pessimism around living in diversity and train a cohort of professionals well equipped to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and professional interventions on living in diversity

For more information please visit the Solidi website

Draft Recovery and Resilience Plan of Bulgaria

Draft Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria

Integro Association held a special seminar to discuss the draft Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) with a wide range of representatives of Roma communities, Community Action Groups, municipal officials and local authorities who participate in the ROMACT Program of the European Commission and the Council of Europe.

The seminar made the following recommendations for the draft RRP of Bulgaria:

The Plan needs to be developed in a more detailed way, setting specific goals and activities to achieve concrete results. It is also necessary to develop a more detailed justification of the defined objectives and measures and a system of clear and measurable indicators that would allow accurate reporting of the results achieved and the impacts of the measures taken. The Plan must, in particular, identify potential beneficiaries and users of resources under the various programmes and projects.
The scope of individuals and families in disadvantaged situations must include vulnerable ethnic groups, which are very much affected by the Covid-19 crisis, while at the same time being excluded from measures taken to mitigate the effects of the crisis. It is necessary to plan specific measures to address the problems of these groups especially in small settlements, as so far they are neither included in the developed Operational Programs nor in the current Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).
When planning energy efficiency measures, it is necessary to focus primarily on the state of buildings of energy-poor families; only for them public funding should be 100% of the grant. At the same time, activities and resources should be provided for these families to switch to more environmentally friendly heating sources.
Expand the scope and the allocated resources for social economy by planning a separate financial line aimed at starting and developing social enterprises to create sustainable employment for long-term unemployed Roma community members, for Roma women and youth. They should be involved especially in environmental and nature protection spheres, as this type of activities will contribute to the objectives of the Green Deal. This will not only create sustainable employment for these groups, but will also improve their social inclusion and participation in the economic life of the country. The plan should envisage eligibility of municipalities and non-governmental organizations representing the most vulnerable Roma communities for the establishment of social economy enterprises.
The Plan should provide a special line for financing the construction of a water supply system in neighborhoods where families with children and elderly people have been living for decades without access to clean drinking water. This should not be subject to the requirement for the number of population units, because access to drinking water is a basic human rights and constitutes one of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The full text of the position can be found here.

Intersecting Realities

On 25 February 2020, ERGO Network together with Balkan LGBTQIA vzw organized an inspiring and mind-opening event in Mundo B, Brussels: the photo exhibition and conference ‘Intersecting Realities: Life stories of Balkan LGBTQIA+ Roma in Brussels’.

During the event, the book ‘My Story’ was launched, which features eight life stories about the experiences of LGBTQIA+ migrants from the Balkan countries, many of them Roma. The stories and portraits of the books were displayed in an exhibition, and some of the individuals portrayed in the book shared their powerful stories of racism, discrimination, but also love and support with the audience. The event was opened by ERGO Network Director Jamen Gabriela Hrabanova and Danny Jacqmot, Attaché of Equal.Brussels, which kindly funded the book project and the launch event.

The personal testimonies of Djenk Ejupi (North Macedonia) and Gerard Epure (Romania) were followed by a moderated debate on discrimination at the intersection of origin, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation.

Lilly Dragoeva from the NGO Bilitis Bulgaria, Deszo Mate from Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary, Biser Alekov of Balkan LGBTQIA, Brussels, Isabela Mihalache of ERGO Network, Brussels and Szabolcs Schmidt of the European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, Unit on Non-Discrimination and Roma Coordination explained the concept of intersectionality, gave examples from different EU Member States, and discussed the European Commission’s efforts to tackle intersectional discrimination.

The event was a unique opportunity to bring the focus on a target group that has always remained in the shadow of the majority, considering their voice has not been heard so far.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the book, please Biser Alekov at Biseralekov@gmail.com

Invitation: Intersecting Realities

Intersecting Realities

Life Stories of Balkan LGBTQIA+ Roma in Brussels

25 February 2020, 9am-2pm, Mundo B, Rue d’Edimbourg 26, Conference Room

Join us and make your voice heard! Register here and find the agenda here.

Balkan LBGTQIA VZW brings together representatives of LGBTQIA+ communities from the Balkan countries, based in Brussels. The role of the organisation is to fight any form of discrimination, addressing particularly the issues of gender identity and sexual orientation, including through providing direct support to migrants, such as legal and administrative. The aim is to break down the barriers often faced by members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and also the boundaries between different Balkan communities themselves. Most volunteers belong to ethnic, religious and other groups, so the organisation also highlights the problems of intersectional discrimination and of belonging to different social groups at the same time: LGBTQIA+, Roma, Muslims, sex workers, refugees etc.

The European Roma Grassroots Organisations (ERGO) Network aims, through the work of its 30 member organisations all over Europe, to convince national and European policy makers that positive change for Roma is possible when antigypsyism is recognized and tackled as the root cause for inequality, and when Roma can take part in civic life as equal stakeholders. Founded on the philosophy of active citizenship, shared responsibility and grassroots empowerment, ERGO Network advocates for better policies and policy implementation on national and European level, rooted in evidence-based research. The organisations creates narratives in which Roma people are equally respected. We aim to show the rich diversity among Roma, challenging stereotypical views.

The two organisations come together in this event to shine a light on the experiences of LGBTQIA persons from the Balkans, most of Roma ethnicity, who are confronted with discrimination based on their gender, sexual orientation, religion and ethnic background in their life.

The event will serve as the launch of the book My Story, which features eight life stories about the experiences of LGBTQIA migrants from the Balkan countries, many of them Roma. It also intends to create a space for debate about intersectionality and multiple discrimination in a Brussels context, with an aim to contribute to policy making based on a rights-based approach and on equal opportunities, by bringing the focus on a target group that has always remained in the shadow of the majority, considering their voice has not been heard so far.