Description
In Romania there are 15 000 cases of verbal and physical violence in schools and high-schools every year, according to statistics, and Constanta is one of the most affected counties. The objective of the project is to contribute to fighting hate speech and physical violence in the high-schools of Constanta, promoting acceptance, tolerance and antidiscrimination among young people with different ethnic backgrounds and building a strategic collaboration between the local Government Educational Sector and the local non-governmental sector. The project has 2 main long-term targets: to advocate for the integration of the program in the high school curricula and to raise the level of involvement and capacity of NGOs from Constanta to develop programs that address human rights and discrimination. An integrated non-formal education program will be developed and provided for 300 children (10% of them come from Roma families) in 4 high schools, with participation of teachers and volunteers from 4 local NGOs. Intercultural Iceland plays an important role in addressing the challenges of stopping violence in high schools, considering its significant expertise.
Summary of project results
Over the past few years the life of the youth has been confronted with racial discrimination or dramatic cases of violence and crime. The most encountered of these manifestations in Romania are: the conflicts and violence cases towards (or initiated by) the Roma ethic group and the offensive behaviour towards young people with disabilities and special needs for education, who are often being marginalised or even experience verbal and physical violence. The project promoted education for tolerance, development of intercultural knowledge and skills, non-aggressive behaviour and diversity, increasing awareness on the importance of tolerance and NGO involvement in promoting tolerance and acceptance. The target groups (students, teachers, volunteers) were involved in custom-made activities implemented by the promoter and its partners. Therefore, over 300 students from 4 highschools in Constanta County participated in a training programme, comprised in 7 modules meant to promote diversity and tolerance. The training aimed at raising their self-esteem, making them aware of concepts such as racism and conflict, what they mean and when they appear. Models of addressing conflicts and intolerance were also presented. In order to facilitate these sessions, a group of 20 teachers participated in a training held by the promoter together with the international partner of this project (Intercultural Iceland), on interculturality and methods to address issues such as stereotypes, racism, violence in school, etc. A 5-days event called “School without Labels” was organised for 50 pupils from the highschools targeted in the project. The event explored different nonformal education methods that can be used to address violence in school. As a result of this event, a Photo Voice exhibition that tackled violence, containing 36 photos, was organised in the centre of Constanta city, with participation of public institutions' representatives. The whole intervention ended with a final study that shows the extent of the changes that took place in the 4 highschools where the activities were implemented, changes regarding behaviour, knowledge, skills and traits. 2 public debates were also organised within the project: one focused on hate speech and the second promoting the Nonformal education methods guide for addressing violence in school.
Summary of bilateral results
The international partnership with InterCultural Iceland was the first collaboration of this type of the project promoter. It led to an increased strategical and qualitative value, essential in the development of the project. The lack of expertise in efficiently approaching and addressing the discrimination and juvenile violence problems in schools and highschools of our country was counterbalanced by the renown local experience of InterCultural Iceland in terms of education and teacher trainings, but especially for its experience in learning through cooperation, complex teaching methodology and active, creative and diverse teaching methods. Thus, they were able to provide a series of „good practices”, which constitute not only a source of information but also a work model, an inspiration and a motivation source for teachers and NGO representatives who want to successfully get involved in approaching these problems. InterCultural Iceland delivered a training programme for Romanian teachers which implied: (1) Teaching techniques and know-how in approaching discrimination and students' violence problems for 20 teachers from the selected highschools, the NGO volunteers, NGO leaders and other representatives of the Constanta County School Inspectorate; (2) Guidance and counselling offered to the teachers and volunteers in building the structure of the training programme for the students attending project’s activities.