1st Newsletter

Dear CoSpIRom Friend, 

This is our 1st Newsletter to let you know about the actions we have completed so far during the first phase of the project and to inform you about the ongoing tasks.

Issue #1: Actions and tasks completed (November 2018 – April 2019)

• Kick off meeting (Greece, Volos, December 2018):

Welcoming of the team and project overview (participation of representatives from all the countries that participate in CoSpIRom).

• Opening Conference (November – December 2018): 

An opening conference took place in each country in order to communicate the beginning and the goals of the project to the public.

Greece, Volos	Romania, Timisoara	Italy, Pisa

• 1st advocacy meeting (November – December 2018): 

The 1st advocacy meeting in Greece and Italy created the context of raising awareness for the media representatives on how Roma are presented in the press and a chance to directly interact with young Roma.

Greece, Volos	Italy, Pisa

• Radio show (Greece, Volos, November 2018):
Young Roma interacting with the CoSpIRom coordinator, Professor Charoula Stathopoulou, and sharing their perspectives and voices in the public sphere.

• Fieldwork in Greece, Romania and Italy (November – April 2019):
For mapping the situation that would inform our following training interventions, we conducted semi structured interviews as well as focus group interviews with young Roma, Roma prisoners, police officers.

• Training of prospective teachers (January – February, 2019):

Specialized training of prospective teachers in order to prepare them for the educational interventions to be realized with young Roma prisoners; introduction to basic elements of Romani language, Roma culture, issues of intercultural education and teaching language and mathematical literacy employing a sociolinguistic and critical pedagogy perspective.

Greece, Volos	Romania, Timisoara	Italy, Pisa

• Workshop (Romania, Timisoara, April 2019):

The workshop organized in Romania aimed to share the three partners experiences on the work done on the project’s activities.

• Coordinators’ meeting (European Union, Brussels, April 2019):
Meeting with the participation of the coordinators of all DG JUSTICE 04 Horizon projects.

• International Day of Roma, 09.04.2019:
Brussels: Participation of members of the CoSpIRom team in the celebration of International day of Roma in Brussels.

Greece: Interview in the local press in the show “En Leyko” (Εν Λευκώ) to discuss about the presence and (in)visibility of Roma in the Greek society. Watch video here

Ongoing activities
• Adapting and developing educational material to address the literacy needs of young Roma prisoners adopting drama techniques
• Creating common spaces with prospective teachers and young Roma prisoners: preparing and implementing language and mathematics literacy courses

Upcoming activities
• Developing educational material to address the training needs of police/prison officers based on the fieldwork (data collected during the 1st phase of CoSpIRom project)
• Organization and implementation of data-based training workshops for police/prison officers
• Film creation for arising awareness in collaboration with young Roma

WHAT IS THE COSPIROM PROJECT:
The aim of CoSpIRom (Common Spaces for the Integration of Roma) project is the design and implementation of a series of actions against discrimination and marginalization of Roma in Greece, Romania and Italy. Creating common spaces of contact, spaces of acceptance and equal participation, we implement a critical communicative methodology aiming to involve all actors in decision-making in order to facilitate Roma’s integration and to raise awareness of the local societies in Greece, Romania and Italy. CoSpIRom aims to serve as a model for other European countries towards social justice and fighting for Roma communities’ rights to education and social and civic participation.

Funded by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014 – 2020).

The content of this newsletter represents the views of the authors only and is their sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.