Roma Policy Lab

Analysis: “Speech containing offence, prejudice and hate against Roma on the social media platform Facebook”

This analysis presents data from a secondary semi-automated processing that relies on a critical review of the performance of algorithms. The aim is, on the one hand, to present more reliable information about offensive speech against Roma on the social media, and on the other hand, to identify weaknesses and typical gaps/errors of the algorithms used for automatic processing.

Research report: Civic participation and civic values among children and young people from vulnerable school communities

How active are young people from vulnerable school communities? What challenges they find exciting and what are their dreams? According to data from a study by the “Open Society – Sofia” Institute, complex and multi-layered trends are observed among students in grades VII-XII from vulnerable school communities in Bulgaria: the overall picture shows a sufficiently high degree of civic energy and readiness to participate in public life . In practice, the degree of civic activity of children and youths from vulnerable school communities is not lower than that of the average adult citizen in Bulgaria.

Impact Assessment Report under the project “Scaling up a sustainable model communities living in non-regulated areas to improve their living conditions – SCALE IT UP”

The Impact Assessment Report has been drafted under the project “Scaling up a sustainable model communities living in non-regulated areas to improve their living conditions – SCALE IT UP”. The project focuses on the need for improving the knowledge and competencies with respect to housing issues and ensuring equal access to public services among municipal staff and contributes to their active involvement in the process of overcoming the existing stereotypes related to the Roma communities and building mutual trust.

Redefining Narratives – Empowering Roma Women in Bulgaria

It is  crucial to empower Roma women, considering the obstacles they face in accessing education and employment opportunities. By combining empowerment with accessible healthcare and social services, a more equitable and inclusive society can take shape.  

See the full article.

Project: “Free Spirit Art – improving intercultural collaboration through performing and screen arts”

The project provides is an opportunity to foster intercultural cooperation through art and culture. The direct target group (children and young people with focus Roma) is involved in interesting initiatives, such as creative workshops in performing and applied arts, and cinema workshops in order to create own short film productions.

Project: “United in Diversity”

The project focuses on the cultural heritage of the Roma ethnic minority, interweaving the participation of two other minority groups – Jews and Armenians, in order to show the “coexistence” of minority cultures alongside that of the majority – Bulgarian culture.

Project: “Platforms for young art talents”

The project aims to increase access to the culture of culture and ethnic minorities (with a focus on Roma) and strengthen their engagement by an integrated set of innovative cultural and educational events, exhibitions and digital documentation of cultural history with a focus on Roma culture.