Description
The project addresses the need to ensure equal access to education, employment and social integration for young Roma. The project aims at overcoming the gap between Roma and Bulgarian population by providing mentorship to young Roma for better educational, professional and personal development. First, 3 programmes for mentorship of Roma students by university teachers, Roma high school students by Roma university students and career orientation for Roma alumni aged 21-35 will be set up. Second, 130 young Roma will be selected to take part in the 3 programmes. Third, 90 mentors will be selected from the academia and the business and will be trained to boost their capacity. Fourth, every mentor will work with 2 young Roma, preparing an individual mentorship plan for each one. Finally, Roma high school students will be supported to pass their school final exams. The project will benefit the Roma community, the business and the academia as well as the public in general.
Summary of project results
The M.E.N.T.O.R.S project addressed the need to ensure equal access to education, employment and social integration for young Roma. It developed and further expanded the experience Arete Youth Foundation acquired with regard to the implementation of mentorship programmes supporting young Roma. The project introduced on a national level the innovative practice of mentorship in the education and career orientation of representatives of vulnerable groups to achieve an effective and sustainable change of attitudes and stereotypes towards the Roma community, better integration, greater social justice and long-term, sustainable benefits for the public. The project had positive impact on making young people feel their own importance, believe in their skills and contribute for the development of a new generation of educated and socially involved Roma professionals and leaders and positive role models that support each other to achieve success in education, career and personal life. This project has high value added for the public and can serve as an example of a good practice for access of vulnerable groups to quality education and career development. The main project beneficiaries were 170 young Roma aged 16-25 from secondary and higher education establishments as well as recent graduates aged 21-35. The young people were included in the programmes Peers Help Peers, Academic Mentorship, Career Mentorship and courses to prepare for state matriculation examinations. The mentorship activities will continue after the project end as part of another project or voluntary initiative. Thus the overall development of young people will be traced from secondary education via university education to the labour market. The good practices and lessons learnt in the process of selection of young people and their mentors will continue to be applied. The project website:
http://mentori.bg/
Summary of bilateral results