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Description
The problem addressed in the project is to combat any discrimination among young school children and create a friendly learning environment. The project will be implemented in schools where Romanian and Roma children learn together. The project aims to actively combat any discrimination among children (6-10 years) in schools in Dolj County through the following activities: workshops for teachers in the field of non-discrimination; activities with children from the target group to combat discrimination and form appropriate behavior; „Smart Kids Accept Diversity” Campaign; organizational development of the NGO Happy People.
The project will contribute to increasing the level of acceptance by the majority of discriminated persons; transforming the school into a friendly learning environment; increasing the emotional comfort and self-esteem of currently discriminated children.
The direct beneficiaries are 300 children aged between 6 and 10 who will benefit from learning appropriate behaviour in relation to people who are currently discriminated against according to ethnicity, gender and disabilities. 30 children who are currently discriminated against and who will benefit from fair treatment.
For Roma children, the project favours the creation of a non-discriminatory learning environment in which they are accepted by the majority, both in school and leisure activities. The fact that, by implementing the project, Roma children who are currently discriminated against will benefit from better treatment will favour their inclusion in society and will increase their self-esteem. The project aims to directly help at least 100 Roma children who are currently discriminated against and to facilitate their integration among the majority.
Summary of project results
The project started from the finding that in rural schools there is discrimination of ethnicity, gender and children with special needs. Through the implementation of the project, 300 children from the schools within the communes of Amarastii de jos, Goicea, Rojiste, Cosoveni, learned through educational games and methods of non-formal education to accept each other. A non-formal education expert trained 28 teachers who later carried out non-formal activities with children. The methods of non-formal education used in the activity were: living library, photovoice. The results of this activity are: increasing the self-esteem after full acceptance (at school and in the play environment) of previously discriminated children (Roma and those with special needs), increasing the self-esteem of girls and acceptance by boys in schools involved in the fact that they are all children with the same rights and responsibilities. The learning environment has become more friendly, favoring the increase of school performance as well as the attendance of students at school. The project laid the foundations for the institutional collaboration between the NGO Happy People and the aforementioned schools by signing 4 Collaboration Protocols. An important activity during the reporting period is the Smart Children Accept Diversity campaign. The experts involved in the campaign made informative materials for children to understand and discussed with them the fact that all children are equal and that it is natural for girls and boys, as well as Roma children and those with SEN to play and learn together. The presentation of the materials was done using interactive games. In the stage of organizing the games, mixed teams were created that included girls, boys, Roma children and children with SEN (when appropriate). Through the games played together, the children learned to accept each other. The materials generated within the project complied with the visual identity requirements.