The project “Education, Employment, Partnerships and Gender Equality: A Winning Formula for Roma in Vocational Education and Training”, implemented by Roma Education Fund (REF), Roma Versitas Kosovo (RVK) and Roma Versitas Albania (RVA) and funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation, was officially launched on 6 November 2020, to mark the end of its inception phase and introduce public to its activities and plans. Among the event participants were representatives from the local municipalities of the target countries Kosovo and Albania; members of international organizations and local CSOs, the REF network and representatives from the Austrian Development Cooperation (the donor).
The project in Kosovo will be implemented until 31st December 2022 in 7 municipalities: Prishtina, Grancanica, Fushe Kosovo, Ferizaj, Prizren, Peja and Gjakova. The intervention has two main objectives: To facilitate access to vocational education for Roma youth and young adults through scholarships, mentoring and tutoring, especially for Roma girls and women; and to enhance employability for Roma youth and young adults through paid internships, professional development and fostering partnerships among civil society, public and private sector institutions towards workforce inclusion of Roma.
WinForVET implementers will focus on strengthening of professional skills of beneficiaries through mentoring, vocational trainings, internships, development of vocational skills, and cooperation and partnerships with employers.
REF mentoring approach empowers beneficiaries by giving them coping skills for the complex job market and supports them in navigating through life and career; Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians beneficiaries will receive a guiding hand through the process and a tailor-made plan for their professional development, through WinForVET project, it was emphasized during the project presentation.
A core aspect of the project is gender mainstreaming. Roma women are disadvantaged on many levels and most of the aspects of discrimination (e.g. on the grounds of ethnicity, gender, social and economic status, etc.) are particularly visible in the lives of women and girls. As, Redjepali Chupi, Co-Director of REF explained, all the activities of the project are gender transformative – starting with gender analysis of the targeted population and areas, country research assessments, having a gender component in the mentoring methodology for working with beneficiaries, training project staff in targeted areas and their networks of associates, and applying gender mainstreaming into planning of 2021 and 2022 activities, etc.
“Roma Versitas Kosovo received 197 applications, and we shall support 50 students in 7 municipalities during 2020/2021 academic year. The most important information is that more than 50% of our beneficiaries so far, are female students”, stated Avni Mustafa, the Director of Roma Versitas Kosovo.
WinForVET aims to reflects the needs of diverse Roma groups and supports the efforts of the public institutions, all partners and stakeholders, working alongside the project implementers.
“We have also learned, during our work, that Roma population is quite diversified, and that projects, programs and portfolios tend to have a unified, and not diversified approach in their work. We want to change this. Roma, as a population is quite heterogenous and there are vast differences between urban and rural subgroups, between Roma from various geographical areas; there are many cultural differences as well. Therefore, approach, interventions, activities and results also must be diversified to reflect this reality”, said in his speech Mr. Chupi.
REF has an outstanding educational expertise in the Western Balkans and Turkey, which would add value to the working with various Roma communities living in the targeted regions which necessitate different and most importantly, customized approaches to education and vocational training.
The project “Education, Employment, Partnerships and Gender Equality: A Winning Formula for Roma in Vocational Education and Training” marks REF’s first cooperation with Austrian Development Cooperation, a donor that has fully recognized REF’s mission and vision.
The initiative has a strong link with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, such as SDG 4 – Quality Education and SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth, by ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all, and promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.
Project “Education, Employment, Partnerships and Gender Equality: A Winning Formula for Roma in Vocational Education and Training”, is implemented by Roma Education Fund (REF), Roma Versitas Kosovo (RVK) and Roma Versitas Albania (RVA) and funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation.
Austrian Development Cooperation supports countries in Africa, Asia, South Eastern and Eastern Europe in their sustainable development.
The Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and International Affairs plans the strategies. The operational unit of Austrian Development Cooperation implements programmes and projects together with public institutions, civil society organisations as well as enterprises.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
