3rd Newsletter

Dear CoSpIRom Friend, 

This is our 3rd Newsletter to let you know about the actions we have completed so far during the third phase of the project and to inform you about the ongoing tasks.

Issue #3: Actions and tasks completed (November 2019 – June 2020)

• Coordination meeting 2 in Pisa (November 2019):

On 7th of November the 2nd Coordination Meeting was organized by the University of Pisa where two members of each partner’s part participated. In this meeting, each partner presented the activities of the project that have been implemented in their country while next activities plan was also discussed.

• Roundtable 1 in Pisa (November 2019):

The Roundtable 1 was organized by the University of Pisa on 7th of November 2019. In this, participate members of each partner’s part as well as the two evaluators Pr. Peter Appelbaum and Georgia Panagiotou. During the first session of the roundtable each partner presented to the evaluators the activities that were accomplished, possible problems and shared questions about project development in their country. Also, it was presented the film that was created in Greece. Bothe partners and evaluators provided important feedback regarding the film that were taken into consideration for reviewing and improving it. During the second session (8th of November 2019) the evaluators expressed their first comments and remarks about the already accomplished activities of the project for increasing the effectiveness in order to better meet its objectives.

• Training of police/prison officers in Italy (November 2019):

In Italy, Lucca, the five workshops took place in November 2019. The participants were 17 persons of the police, representing both the 4 different national law enforcement forces and the municipal police. The workshops represented the opportunity for intercultural training of the police, in view of possible mitigation of the stereotypes of the Roma people in the part of policemen.

• Common spaces with Roma and non-Roma students and parents (February-March 2020): 

Although, it was scheduled 10 meeting- common spaces with Roma and non-Roma students and parents to be implemented, in Greece, because of COVID19 and the consequent lockdown just three meetings have been accomplished while the rest of them have been postponed for the next school year.

In Italy, because of the lockdown consequent to the COVID-19 spread, only five meetings took place so far. Three meetings, in February and March 2020 before the enforcement of the lockdown consequent to the Covid-19 pandemic spread. Two more meetings took place in September 2020. As foreseen in the project proposal, their aim was to identify firstly and select after, by the project team, possible narratives from Roma and non-Roma lives and cultures to be presented and discussed in the subsequent meetings with Roma and non-Roma parents and pupils, in view of their communication through various forms of art in performance for all. So far, this third phase could not be planned yet, due to the present restrictions enforced at National level in the schools (and not only…) to prevent further spread of the pandemic.

In Romania, the workshops aimed to create common spaces for Roma and non-Roma parents and children, to be able to share life experiences and memories. A peripheric school of Timișoara was selected for the activity. The workshops were coordinated by a WUT expert with the support of voluntary students. As timeline, the meetings were organized once a week, after the school hours, invitations being send to children and parents, both Roma and non-Roma, from the primary school classes. In each session, one or more parents shared general or thematic childhood stories (like Christmas stories, animals and pets, heroes) with the other participants. The children were asked to draw a character, frame, fragment, action, idea from the stories they listened to and to fill a short form about the story and the storyteller.

• Common spaces with young Roma prisoners and prospective teachers (November – June, 2020):

In Greece, the final six workshops, which took place in June 2020, enabled prospective teachers (students) and young Roma prisoners to co-create common spaces of shared meanings and direct intercultural experiences meant to challenge the symbolic boundaries between Roma and non-Roma cultures.
In Italy, the workshops with young Roma prisoners and prospective teachers took place from November 2019 to early March 2020, in Sollicciano prison, near to Florence, the largest one in the Tuscany region. The workshops gave both groups a great and unique opportunity to share meanings and experiences that could represent for all of them both the way to tackle the widely spread mutual cultural prejudices and stereotypes, and the first steps towards the opening up of new perspectives for their lives.

Greece

Italy

• 2nd Performance in prison in Greece (June, 2020):

The special events were prepared by the prospective teachers and young Roma prisoners, consisted of artistic performances and/or exhibition of works and aimed to change negative perspectives on Roma youngsters. 

• Creation of murals in Greece (March-June 2020):

In collaboration with URBANACT, two murals have been created in Volos city, as an action of both ‘common space’ and raising awareness in the  framework of CoSpIRom. The artist Kez created the mural «Contact Is  Possible» on a central spot of the city — a well visible place —  depicting the contact of two hands with all the consequent symbolisms that are connected to this touch. 

The second mural “Colorful Smiles” by Same84, is located on the wall of the 10th primary school of N. Ionia, and is depicting smiling school students, to act as an inspiration for school attendance. 

Furthermore, Roma and non Roma students were encouraged to decorate another wall of the same school, with the help of the artist, where they painted and coloured words in both languages, Romani and Greek.  

Ongoing activities

• Creating common spaces with young Roma prisoners and prospective teachers in Romania
• Creating common spaces with Roma and non Roma (students – parents) in Greece and Italy
• Creating common spaces with Roma and police/prison officers
• Creation of murals in Italy and Romania
• 2nd Performance in prison in Italy and Romania
• Creating common spaces with young Roma prisoners and police/prison officers in Greece and Italy

Upcoming activities

• Celebration event and Local roundtable 1 after “Common spaces with Roma and non-Roma students and parents”
• Local roundtable 2 after “Common spaces with young Roma prisoners and prospective teachers”
• 2nd and 3rd advocacy meetings
• Closing conference in Italy and Romania
• Final conference and Roundtable 2 in Greece
• Handbook for policy officers

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.