Roma of Romania: identity and alterity

Description

In order to counteract the prejudices of high school students towards the Roma population, this project aims to develop a manual to be introduced in the school curriculum. The manual will focus on the identity and alterity of the Roma population in Romania in order to counteract the stereotypes about this minority. The manual will be released in two high schools and it is expected to be used by teachers in history and civic education classes. The manual will be developed by a group of four experts, specialised in history and political science, who will address the following issues: 1. The history of the Roma and the image of the Roma population in Romania in the 18th-19th centuries and in the early 20th century; 2. The history of the Roma in the interwar period, during WW2 and during the communist period; 3. The Roma during the post-communist period and the "Europeanization" of the stereotypical imagery on the Roma population; and 4. Representation - and self-representation – of the Roma in the Romanian art and culture in the 19th-20th centuries. One of the objectives of the project is to create partnerships with two high schools in Bucharest, and with at least one Roma NGO.

Summary of project results

The high school students show attitudes of discrimination against Roma because they have little experience with this population, their mentality being the result of stereotypes promoted in the family and society. In order to counteract their prejudices, this project, initiated by the Project promoter (PP) had developed a manual on the history and identity of the Roma in Romania. The manual is educational-auxiliary, to be used by professors and students alternatively during history and civic education classes. The manual addresses four issues: history of Roma in 18th-19th centuries and early 20th century; Roma during interwar period, WW2 and communist period; Roma during post-communism; representation and self-representation of the Roma. The PP developed partnerships with national 2 high schools and Association Romano ButiQ and organized discussions with students and teachers and a debate with members of the Roma elites. The manual was published in 150 copies and publicly released in May 2016. It was also organized the conference “Roma in Romania: Identity and Alterity”, developed an on-line platform with information on the project, the four chapters and the Teaching Resource Pack (the manual), which is freely downloadable, organised a meeting with Roma activists from Romano Butique, organised an academic conference, developed the online platform of the project: https://sites.google.com/a/fspub.unibuc.ro/ro-roma/. The high school students and teachers, and also the general public, had access to information and resources on the Roma. Another beneficiary group is the Roma population. Through this project the negative stereotypes regarding them were diminished, the contribution to the tolerance and understanding of the cultural diversity in Romania increased among students and teachers. The more than 60 students and 10 teachers attended 2 debates and a public launch (also with debate), they received the manual and various materials regarding the history of Roma population. They obtained information and resources on the identity and alterity of the Roma in Romania. They also obtained a better knowledge of the history, culture and challenges of the Roma population in Romania; an understanding of the Roma population’s specificities and the historical reasons for that; reasons and solutions for promoting tolerance and acceptance towards minority and marginalized population.

Summary of bilateral results