City of Kragujevac - "Club of Roma – a place of cultural, social and educational emancipation and integration of Roma at the local level” project

City of Kragujevac

PROJECT TITLE: Club of Roma – a place of cultural, social and educational emancipation and integration of Roma at the local level”

VALUE: EUR 62,868.79, EU funds: EUR 56,575.62, City of Kragujevac funds: 6,293.17

DURATION: 12 months

PARTNERS: Educational Cultural Community of Roma Romanipen, Roma Center Association, Serbian-Roma Association of Citizens Integrative Global Center

BENEFICIARIES: Roma population of the city of Kragujevac, Roma non-governmental organizations in the territory of the city of Kragujevac, local self-government, social protection institutions, and organizations of the City of Kragujevac

The overall goal is to contribute to the prevention of discrimination and anti-Gypsyism through the promotion and affirmation of Roma culture and cultural heritage at the local level.

Specific objectives include establishing innovative cultural, educational, and social services and mechanisms aimed at realizing human and minority rights and comprehensive support for the social inclusion of the Roma population at the local level in the City of Kragujevac through the Roma Club and encouraging the affirmation and promotion of Roma culture and cultural heritage by developing active cooperation between local cultural institutions and Roma civil society organizations in creating and implementing cultural events at the local level.  It will also impact the reduction of vulnerability and discrimination of Roma families living in substandard (Roma) settlements through economic empowerment, education, and improvement of health care, and will actively work on raising public awareness, media representatives, government officials/workers, and representatives of civil society organizations about equal rights for Roma and anti-discrimination policies, social inclusion, including anti-Gypsyism as a form of racism.

Expected results include the opening of the Roma Club, promotion of Roma culture, language, and history, including remembrance of the Roma Holocaust and reconciliation processes in society, economic empowerment of Roma, and held professional training sessions, as well as maintaining education to reduce discrimination based on health care.

Kragujevac is a community committed to promoting the inclusion of vulnerable categories of society.  At the level of the City of Kragujevac, decision-makers advocate for the improvement of the position of vulnerable categories by linking specific measures and actions taken to adequately respond to the needs and rights of individuals in the local community.  The project directly deals with processes of active inclusion and integration.  A large number of project beneficiaries are long-term unemployed individuals, so the project places special emphasis on support in the employment of employable Roma and their economic empowerment, which is a challenge in itself.  Through relationships and communication established through active participation in community life through the Roma Cultural Club, employable Roma establish contacts that help them find employment more easily, which consequently reduces potential discrimination and the rate of exclusion.  Project activities include solutions that are sustainable and enable users better and more efficient integration into society, equal inclusion in the community, and fairness.

The project aligns with actions aimed at encouraging positive actions by the local community towards the Roma population to prevent discrimination and anti-Roma sentiment, as well as promoting and affirming Roma culture and the cultural heritage of the Roma national minority.

Contact person in the project team: Ljiljana Šobić (ljsobic@kg.org.rs)