Youth – Page 3 – ERGO Network

Make Roma youth voices heard in EU politics

Make Roma Youth Voices heard in EU politics

The launch of the New EU Roma Framework for equality, inclusion and participation 2020-2030 is an important moment for Roma people across the continent. It is a moment that promises support and commitment from the European Institutions, especially as a key priority of the new plan is to recognize and fight antigypsyism as the main cause of exclusion in the fields of education, employment, housing and health.

For young Roma activists, this represents a trigger for initiatives in order to get their voices heard. Their experiences and stories explain in the best way possible whatantigypsyism is and how it can affect our day to day life.

For this reason, Phiren Amenca International Network and TernYpe Roma Youth Network have brought together 20 youth activists from across Europe to discuss ideas and to coordinate initiatives to advocate for Roma youth empowerment and participation in the New Framework.

They gathered in Mannheim, Germany hosted by the Documentation and Cultural Centre for German Sinti and Roma, in the last week of September 2020 and for 5 days they worked closely together to discuss their demands, led by creative and and visionary ideas.

The main purpose of the seminar was to collect all of their messages and to promote them in a short video and in an online campaign.

The work they have done can be accessed on the Ternype and Phiren Amenca Facebook pages, and the video will be presented during the High-Level Digital Conference launching the new EU Roma Strategic Framework for equality, inclusion and participation on 12 October.

Join our team!

Call for Solidarity Corps volunteer in ERGO Network

ERGO Network is looking for an enthusiastic and active young Roma who would like to join our office team in Brussels for 11 months in the framework of the European Solidarity Corps.

When: February 2021 to December 2021

Where: ERGO Network office in Brussels, Belgium

Who: Young Roma professional between 18 and 30

Deadline for applications: 31 October 2020

During the 11 months in ERGO, you will learn about international advocacy, help us organise international meetings and events and get actively involved in Roma activism and international Roma networks in Brussels.

Your main tasks will be:

Communication and visibility: contribute to the update of the ERGO Network and RomaReact websites and social media channels; development of creative approaches and publicity work to promote our activities and mission and a positive image of Roma.
Researching and reporting: Assisting ERGO’s research work e.g. on cases of inequality and antigypsyism all over Europe.
Advocacy and policy: Support ERGO staff in EU advocacy work on poverty reduction, social inclusion and antigypsyism; attend debates, hearings and meetings with other stakeholders to challenge stereotypes and racism, build partnership with Roma and non-Roma organizations from Belgium and other European countries.
Meetings and seminars: Assist in the organisation of meetings, events and international seminars of ERGO Network and its partners, e.g. our Advocacy Academy, Annual Members Meeting etc.

Your profile:

Young Roma between 18 and 30 years
Good English language skills, both oral and written
Computer literacy (experience with Microsoft office package and social media)
High motivation to learn more about Roma activism and advocacy work and to contribute to a small but very active European NGO
Previous involvement in Roma or (pro) Roma NGOs will be considered an advantage
Reliable, well organised and with attention to detail

You will work about 38 hours per week, including your language course. Working hours will be from Monday to Friday between 9:00 – 17:00. However, working hours can be adapted to your needs and the activities you will be involved in. Of course we will adapt the situation also according to the Covid-19 situation.

We aim to support young people who are enthusiastic about our cause and want to gain experiences that can be later transferred to national or local NGOs. We especially welcome applications from people who are motivated to challenge stereotypes, antigypsyism and racism and who show an open attitude for a unique learning and life experience, as well as a volunteer spirit of creativity, initiative, responsibility and independence.

We offer:

An allowance of 1200 Euro that includes money for accommodation, meals, local transport, language course and pocket money
Travel costs to Brussels (a lump sum depending on the distance to Brussels)
Health insurance for the whole year
On-arrival training with other Solidarity Corps volunteers, and lots of learning and development opportunities with ERGO Network and our partners
An exciting and unforgettable experience, working for an international organisation in an international city!

How to apply:

Please send your motivation letter (1 page) and CV (max 2 pages) by 31^th October 2020 to info@ergonetwork.org.

Do not hesitate to contact us for more information.

Mustafa Jakupov t: +389 78 424 180| e: info@ergonetwork.org

PECAO peer educators training online and offline

PECAO peer educators training online and offline

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the work we usually do and the way we implement our projects. ERGO Network together with its partners in the framework of the “Peer education to counter antigypsyist hate speech” (PECAO) project adapted to this new situation and moved on with the project implementation.

Peer educators are the most crucial part of PECAO. They receive training to conduct peer education workshops and activities with other young people, as well as monitor and report hate speech online.

Due to the restrictions and health measures in place, ERGO Network and Integro Association combined an online and offline training for the group of 50 peer educators to make the best out of the situation for everyone.

Those who could not travel to Bulgaria had the opportunity to follow an online training course from to 13 August, and those able to travel to Bulgaria had their offline training course in Albena from 10 to 15 August 2020.

Our partner Integro took care of all necessary measures to ensure safety of the participants in the offline training by respecting all protocols when it comes to protection against Covid-19.

During both trainings, the participants could work with and be trained by professionals in the field of addressing hate speech. For example, with Prof. Tomova the participants received information about the impact of stereotypes and prejudices and how media constructs, reinforces and consolidates negative stereotypes and prejudices against Roma. They also worked on content analysis of media products that target Roma.

Throughout the training course, participants had the opportunity to share their experiences and knowledge on the topic, and experts such as lawyers Ms. Mihaylova and Mr. Kashamov introduced the international frameworks that protects against hate speech, as well as shared and made comparison with their national legislation.

The training ended with practical exercises of writing complaints and signal against hate speech, as well as understanding the standards of various social networks for countering hate speech online.

As next step, the peer educators and mentors of the PECAO project will start with their peer education and monitoring activities, which are going to last from October 2020 until September 2021. ERGO Network and its partners will keep you updated on the implementation.

For more information, please follow our Facebook page.

National Training Course on Human Rights Education

National Training Course on Human Rights Education in Spain

From 6-10 July 2020 FAGiC (the Federation of Roma Associations in Catalonia) together with Plataforma Khetané organized a National Training Course on Human Rights Education funded by the Youth Department of the Council of Europe.

The NTC “Training4Roma, Human Rights Training for Roma and non Roma youth activists” was held in the Library Font de La Mina, in the La Mina neighbourhood of Barcelona. The course targeted Roma and non Roma youth from different backgrounds who work with other young people to become multipliers of Human Rights education.

From the first moment, the environment was very good among the 13 participants willing to learn more and from each other. 4 young Roma participants were from the La Mina neighbourhood itself, stigmatized in the media as a “dangerous” place and criminalising the Roma inhabitants as potential drug traffickers.

In this way, the 4 young Roma students broke with the stereotypes not only of Roma, but also of the neighbourhood. Asked by the non-Roma participants, we organised a “guided tour” of the neighbourhood, explaining the historical construction from the exclusion perspective and how this has affected to the lives of the people living there.

The NTC was based on the COMPASS manual on Human Rights Education of the Council of Europe and also targeted Antigypsyism from the perspective of Human Rights. The training consisted of 3 parts:

Introduction to the topic of Human Rights through activities and methods from the manual and by sharing participants’ experiences. Following on, we went deeper into the topic of Antigypsyism and how to develop educational responses to it.
Providing space and time to participants to develop their facilitation skills. Participants did not only use activities from Mirrors or Compass, they also adapted them perfectly to the situation and to the goal they really wanted to achieve.
Evaluation and planning concrete follow-up activities

During the training, we received the visits from OND (Oficina per a la NO Discriminació) – Non Discrimination Office from the Council of Barcelona, from Catalan Human Rights Institute and also some local Roma initiatives fighting for Human Rights.

We thank the Municipality of Sant Adrià del Besòs, to which the neighbourhood belongs, for letting us use the whole library space in this difficult time due to Covid 19.

Quality Standards for the Youth Guarantee- #RomaYouth as focus

Quality Standards for the Youth Guarantee- #RomaYouth as focus

The European Youth Guarantee so far failed to provide quality offers to marginalized groups, including #RomaYouth.

Together with other civil society organizations, ERGO Network has contributed to a set of Quality Standards for the Youth Guarantee proposed by the European Youth Forum.

The recommendation paper is aimed to contribute to the communication issued by the European Commission and debated in the European Parliament and Council “Youth Employment Support: a bridge to jobs for the next generation” which will be adopted later this year.

ERGO stands for several standards to be included in the new strategy and make sure that Roma youth are not overlooked in the implementation process. Please read the publication here.