Roma Policy Lab

children and youth

Project: “Model for Early Education, Care and Active Participation – I CAN”

The project will be implemented in Fakulteta Neighbourhood in Sofia, the second largest Roma neighbourhood in Bulgaria. The project aims at developing further a programme for early childhood education and care and gathering empirical evidence of its immediate impact on child care, children‘s cognitive development and academic performance as well as parents’ values and social skills and other fields of parents’ social life, namely employment and civic involvement.

Project: “Children for the Rights of the Child”

The main goal of the project is to develop innovative solutions for teaching children about their right to express and defend their opinions on issues that affect them. Association “Chance and Protection” also aims to develop its capacity to educate children about their right to participate, to study the effect of applying innovative approaches and to disseminate them.

Project: “Active civil advocacy for the INvulnerability of young people in the municipality of Dupnitsa”

The project aims at encouraging the civic activity of representatives of the local Roma communities; building local capacity for advocacy campaigns and initiatives; Improving the skills of vulnerable groups to exercise their rights to participate with dignity in decision-making processes, and to reduce economic and social disparities.

Project:”Knowledge of Human Rights”

The project envisages activities to raise the awareness of young people/school students, teachers and the media about human rights followed by youth campaigns, debates and social media campaigns carried out based on the knowledge acquired.

Roma Early Childhood Inclusion in Bulgaria (RECI+) 

The Roma Early Childhood Inclusion in Bulgaria (RECI+) report has been prepared by Foundation Open Society Institute – Sofia and focuses on the situation in education and care, healthcare and social services for the Bulgarian children of Roma ethnicity aged 0 to 8. The report was drafted at the initiative and with the support of Open Society Foundations, the Roma Education Fund and UNICEF and is part of a series of similar surveys conducted in the countries from Central and Eastern Europe.

Project “Mentoring for inclusion”

The educational boarding school “Hristo Botev” is the only specialized educational institution for girls in the country, accommodated under the Law on antisocial behaviour of minors. Both the teachers and educators there are trying to overcome the social stigma on the girls who are housed there.