Ability Isn’t the Issue – Antigypsyism Is

Ability Isn’t the Issue – Antigypsyism Is

by ternYpe – International Roma Youth Network

Roma youth across Europe represent a vibrant and resilient generation rich in both creativity and potential and must not be seen as an economic opportunity or as a solution to labour shortages. We are not a financial tool for boosting national budgets. Roma Youth are young people equal to any other who deserve access to rights, opportunities, and dignity on the same terms. Reducing our value to potential economic output ignores the daily realities of exclusion we face and strips us of the freedom to define our own futures.
Investment in Roma youth should support our growth, not exploit our presence to serve external objectives.

Youngsters are often framed and perceived as non-experienced, with unlocked potential which needs to be discovered – often framed problematically. Policy making initiatives, reports from different CSOs and sometimes speeches on Roma Youth employment, highlight the need for capacity building training among the youngsters as the solution and way that would lead to employment. However, their capacities are less of a question to worry about compared to the systemic antigypsyism embedded in all societal structures that actually excludes Roma youth and perceives us as problematic, inexperienced and in low capacity to deserve working spaces that do not belong to the low-skilled job category – a normalised narrative in the European Union and CSOs.

Despite decades of inclusion strategies, Roma youth continue to face significant structural barriers: educational segregation, systemic antigypsyism, discrimination in hiring, and limited access to housing, healthcare, and public services. These are not minor obstacles. They are part of a broader pattern of exclusion that has been normalised within European societies and institutions.

Efforts to increase employment among Roma youth cannot succeed without addressing these deeper structural conditions. Inclusion should not be framed as a trade-off, where access to rights is conditional on economic contribution. Human dignity is not something to be earned through productivity.

Current narratives often focus narrowly on “activating” Roma youth for immediate entry into the labour market typically in low-wage sectors. While employment is important, this approach fails to respect the broader aspirations of young Roma. It treats inclusion as a transaction rather than a transformation.

Roma youth are not waiting to be “mobilised”; they are already active in their communities. They lead grassroots initiatives, organise campaigns, support their peers, and participate in civic life. These contributions are rarely recognised by institutions but are essential forms of leadership and social participation.

Investment should begin with the needs and goals of Roma youth themselves, not those of economic forecasting models. Policy must support their agency, not pre-define their paths based on market gaps.

Roma youth are too often portrayed as lacking the skills needed for meaningful employment. In fact, the barriers they face are systemic, not personal.

According to the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) 2021 survey, 62% of Roma aged 16–24 were not in employment, education, or training (NEET). This reflects exclusion from opportunities, not lack of motivation or talent. In several EU member states, over 50% of Roma children are educated in segregated or substandard schools, severely limiting their future options. Many Roma youth possess valuable, yet unrecognised, skills such as multilingualism, caregiving, mediation, cultural literacy, and entrepreneurial resilience.

Formal employment systems often fail to recognise these informal skills, further entrenching inequality. A just employment strategy must be based on valuing diverse competencies and removing systemic barriers – not on shaping Roma youth to fit into the lowest tiers of existing job markets.

We call for a shift in how investment in Roma youth is conceived and delivered. Inclusion must not be guided by productivity targets but by the principles of justice, participation, and equality. Specifically, this means:

• Long-term investment in Roma-led organisations as strategic actors, not just service providers;
• Reform of education systems to end segregation and guarantee access to quality, inclusive schooling;
• Support for full social inclusion, including access to healthcare, housing, transportation, mental health services, and digital connectivity;
• Policies that directly confront antigypsyism, both institutionally and culturally.

To invest in Roma youth is to invest in a fairer, more democratic society. The question is not what they can do for Europe’s labour market, but whether Europe is finally ready to uphold its responsibility to them.

Message for the Roma Youth:

Maj but sar 600 bersh o Rroma vazdie i Evropa: ekonòmia, kultùra, àrta, brakhipe, 3antripe... Khonik, na kaj, ashti te na prindzarel amari kontribucija. Tumen, e terne Roma, inkeren godi kotar tumen aven. Vash i pativ e nakhle generacienqe, vash lenqi memòria, na bikinen tumen bikuć. Si tumen zor, ilo aj godi. Akava si tumaro kapitàli. Labiaren les vash tumaro avutnipe aj vash o generàcie so aven, na bikinen len low-cost khanikasqe!

For more than 600 years, Roma have lived in Europe – shaping its economy, culture, art, and history of resistance and resilience. No one, anywhere, can rightfully deny our contribution. But you the Roma youth, remember where you come from. Honour the generations before you. Protect their memory. Do not sell yourselves short. You carry strength, heart, and intelligence – this is your true wealth. Invest it in your future and in the generations to come. Do not trade it away in some low-cost marketplace.

Opre Roma!