Roma Youth Empowerment for Active Citizenship
The main objectives of the Learning Partnership for "Roma Youth Empowerment for Active Citizenship" brings together Roma organizations experienced in adult education from 5 European countries for a two year lasting transnational networking and learning process. The main aims of the partnership are to to strengthen the foreign language skills, the initiative and the social and civic skills of young adult learners, Roma and non-Roma, to combat racism and xenophobia, as well as to improve the approaches and methods of staff and trainers in the field. As a part from this learning partnership program in Berlin from the 4th of Mai till the 13th of Mai take place a international training-course which brought together 12 young Roma and Non-Roma adult learners for 9 days with the aim to strengthen their social & civic skills to combat racism and xenophobia through creative actions and campaigns. The course targeted youth leaders and active multipliers working with new methods of artistic and intercultural dialogue between European countries, between Roma and non-Roma. The diversity of languages, cultures, identities and forms of artistic expressions constituted the strength of the group dynamic. Using art action as a tool, we developed campaign actions promoting our philosophy of intercultural dialogue, anti-racism and the inclusion of minorities to a broad public .The transnational training-course attempt to strengthen the mutual cooperation between modern youth theatres that work on local level with a specific concept of art action and social inclusion of young people of different social and cultural background. We believe in the long-term cooperation of this network and in the self-initiative and responsibility within the art and creativity work of young people.
During the 9 days all participants were participating into various kinds of workshops such as art, dance, treatre, vocal'n'rythm or media. They were taught to cooperate, comunicate, teamwork with several nationalities. Also they learnt how to work with themselves, to discover dark and bright sights of them and to present those proudly to become selfconfident person. Participants from Slovakia,Hungary,Bulgaria and Germany created working team without national or etnical differences. Leading by proffesionals, trainings developing their skills in many ways were provided. Improvement achieved here was transformed into self-improvement of the participants and consequently into their next work in their home countries.
The motivation factor was social mobility of participants and our biggest victory is determination and efford within spreading new skills further. By using various methods of nonformal education we were able to teach us beetween easchother and show how to use new information in real life.
