Every year, more and more Roma students are enrolling in high school,” said Emilia Dancheva, coordinator of Roma Versitas, at the Hungarian Culture Institute in Sofia on January 15, 2015.
Every year, more and more Roma students are enrolling in high school,” said Emilia Dancheva, coordinator of Roma Versitas, at the Hungarian Culture Institute in Sofia on January 15, 2015.
After mentoring many young Romani scholars in Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia for the last five years, REF’s Roma Versitas program now has opened three new branches of its flagship student club in Sofia, Shumen and Blagoevgrad. Providing access to a reading library, computer and internet access and an alternative space for tutoring and mentoring opportunities, Roma Versitas is a model intervention designed by REF to give Romani currently enrolled freshman and sophomores extra resources for them to complete their studies and graduate. Bulgaria’s Roma Versitas participants join likeminded Romani students throughout the region who are making the commitment to invest in their personal development and education.
Supported by a grant from the Roma Education Fund, Roma Versitas supports the academic development of participating students, whether learning English, improving information technology skills or gaining fluency in their mother tongue, Romanes, which has proved to be a strong motivating factor for Roma youth.
Dancheva remarked, “For us this is very important because there is a tendency for loss of identity among young Roma youth,” while pointing to the importance of Roma students to identify themselves as Roma. She added, “Among other things, this model allows you to join clubs that will encourage them to be active citizens.”
The program spans two academic years and will cover more than 170 Roma students. The Roma Versitas model has been tested in and works in other countries. Last week’s launch at the Hungarian Cultural Institute was an important step, whereby participants began to act rather than to talk about integration and education.
Attending the launch was the Hungarian Ambassador to Bulgaria, His Excellency Andras Klein, along with representatives of a number of institutions and people who have respect and work on the issue of integration, among them the Ombudsman Konstantin Penchev. REF Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Marius Taba concluded the ceremony, reminding the students with the words: “Study! Learn! Inspire! Unite!”
Note: This article is adapted from a translation of the Bulgarian-language article that appeared here.
