Description
Sredets Municipality consists of 32 settlements with compact Roma population exposed to social risks such as unemployment, poverty and geographical isolation. The project aims at improving the wellbeing of children at risk in the municipality, aged 3-6 years old (main target group) by creating a sustainable environment for social adaptation and educational integration which in the long run shall guarantee the improvement of the level of pre-school preparation for children from socially vulnerable groups and avoidance of early school drop-outs among the youngest members of the community. The project will address these challenges by: promoting the contact between teachers, Roma mediators and Roma parents (all of them are part of the second target group) in regard with the enhancement of parents’ opinion towards the educational process in kindergartens; boosting the abilities of Roma children to communicate and adapt to the social environment; organizing sessions to enhance the mutual recognition and willingness for education and development of both Roma parents and children; development of educational materials for studying Bulgarian and Roma culture.
Summary of project results
During the creation of the project proposal there were 684 children at the age 3-6 who were attending the municipal kindergartens. They were followed by another 177 born in 2011, one third of which coming from areas with predominantly Roma population. We created a multicultural educational environment that is adapted to the local needs and at the same time corresponds to the best practices in the field of multicultural education. Roma Mediators and Pedagogues participated in educational sessions under Component 3 of Programme BG06, which highly contributed to the development of the skills to work in multicultural environment. We implemented re-construction activities in 4 out of 5 kindergartens and delivered equipment /PCs, multi-functional printing devices, CD players/ to be used in the activities with children in the kindergartens. We conducted educational visits in the dolphinarium & Zoo in Varna for 320 people as well as one for 280 people to the observatory in Kamchia. 510 children were included as part of the project activities, with the initial project target being 480. The Roma Mediators boosted the participation of Roma parents into the project activities through the “Door-to-Door” campaign initiated & implemented during the project. The intercultural workshops, as well as the educational materials prepared during the project implementation, developed children’s competences related to mutual understanding, communication & integration in the school environment. An expert in the field of children at risk based in Norway came in Sredets to share her experience and best practices in working with children in the Kingdom of Norway. After her field visit, she prepared an analytical report in which she assessed very positively the working methods of the pedagogues in Sredets municipality.
Summary of bilateral results