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13 November 2023
Six advocacy campaigns are under implementation in the towns of Dupnitsa, Radomir, Botevgrad, Kyustendil, Rakitovo and in the village of Kovachevo. What they have in common is that they represent the pro-active civic behaviour of local residents from Roma neighbourhoods in six localities who show care and responsibility towards improving the lives of their local communities. In the framework of this activity, the innovative method of empowerment through direct advocacy is applied, which is the main objective of the I Have a Dream project.
The advocacy campaign of the women's club "Faith, Hope and Love", Botevgrad is aimed at Roma women. More and more often we meet young girls of Roma origin who at a tender age drop out of the education system and get married. In their efforts to care for others, to be good mothers and wives, they do not notice how the burden of family life leads to self-neglect, low self-esteem, insecurity, lack of dreams and "living by habit".
Therefore, the campaign is aimed at the empowerment of Roma women and aims to promote good examples of Roma women, among Roma neighborhoods and club women. Believing that this pressing issue that affects the Roma community can, with a joint effort and teamwork of the women's club, reach more and more women and girls for the desired change.
Botevgrad Campaign
The aim of the campaign in Rakitovo is to present a positive image of Roma women by promoting traditional Roma crafts, lifestyle and culture as a counterbalance to the prevailing negative attitudes and accumulated stereotypes towards Roma women by society, the hate speech in the media and public space and the low self-esteem of Roma women and lack of confidence in their own capabilities. After the club meeting with the club participants and introducing the aims and objectives of the campaign, drawings on Roma themes were made, collected into photos for the travelling exhibition, and various beautiful handicrafts were made by the women in preparation for the exhibition. Last but not least, Roma culinary dishes typical of Roma cuisine have been prepared and presented.
The culmination of the campaign was the Evening of the Roma Woman, which presented handicrafts, Roma culinary dishes, a presentation on the role of the Roma woman, the importance of traditional Roma holidays, lifestyle and culture, and a discussion on the positive image of the Roma woman with the participation of local residents.
Rakitovo Campaign
In the town of Radomir the participants of the women's club "Dreams in high heels" chose as the theme of their advocacy campaign a very pressing problem in the Roma neighborhood, namely - the construction of artificial bumps on the main street, necessitated by driving on certain sections of the neighborhood in the town. In some parts of the neighbourhood there are also areas of the street in Radomir where people drive at an unreasonable speed. For support, the participants have approached and enlisted local citizens, neighbors, victims and dissenting traffic at the intersection of St. Radomirska 25 and ul. Haidut Milenko, and have sought assistance from the Municipality of Radomir and the District Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the town. They have also sought the assistance of the Radomir Police Department. For the implementation of the campaign the participants informed the local community, made a detailed study of the problem, planned the campaign and prepared and submitted an application to Radomir Municipality and the District Police Department of Radomir. They have submitted a petition to the Radomir Police Department. The municipal budget is to be discussed, in which such an expense is to be included, the terrain is to be photographed by an engineering team of Radomir Municipality and the necessary artificial bumps are to be built.
Radomir Campaign
In Kovachevo village the local coordinator has set out to clean the local park, as well as to organize a self-help club for the education of the participants, most of whom are high school students - namely to help in the preparation of study material for members of the women's club who have difficulties in the learning process.
Kovachevo Campaign
The participants from the club in Dupnitsa just like their colleagues from the village of. Kovachevo, have set out to organize and carry out an action to clean the Kavaklia district in the town. The participants took part in the activity of the village of Kavaqiva. The ultimate goal is to demonstrate care for the environment, to set a good example and become a role model by keeping their neighborhood clean, and to educate responsibility and active citizenship in the younger generations. The idea of the women's club is to make the coming generation more responsible and strive to protect the environment. After the end of the action, rules for keeping the neighborhood clean were distributed - use of reusable bags /paper or cloth/, prohibition of littering on the street, separate collection of garbage and its disposal in designated places, cleaning of polluted streets in the neighborhood. Along with the success of the campaign, the participants did not overlook the problems they encountered - the small number of residents willing to join the campaign and the lack of interest and cooperation from local authorities.
Dupnitza Campaign
In the city of Kyustendil, the advocacy campaign took the form of an exhibition "The Roma woman is....", opened on 15 October 2023 at the Municipal Drama Theatre, Kyustendil. The exhibition was opened by Annie Kovacheva - President of the Women's Club at LARGO Association, Sasho Kovachev - President of LARGO Association and Dr. Venelin Stoychev - advocacy expert. The lobby of the theatre gathered organizers, supporters, volunteers, staff from LARGO Association, representatives of local institutions in the city and guests from the project team.
They are young, educated, beautiful, part of the Roma community, do not fit into the stereotypes usually attributed to them, and are determined to work in their chosen professions and fields of activity, and are an example for the rest of the community. The biggest challenge is to fight themselves, to believe they can. The exhibition, decided in the format of "photo voices" revealed the many faces of the successful Roma woman entrepreneur, social worker, mother, singer, small business owner, hairdresser, student, pharmacist, and showed the positive role models of successful women and girls from the Roma community in Kyustendil in their fields of realization, to show that the Roma woman is able to achieve a lot and her achievements can be in different lights in different paths of life.
Kyustendil Campaign
The advocacy campaigns are implemented within the framework of the project "I have a dream", implemented by the Association LARGO - Sofia. Kyustendil in cooperation with KUN Association - Norway, with financial support provided by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main objective of the project "I Have a Dream" is to approbate, implement and disseminate innovative methods for empowering Roma women and girls through direct advocacy.
For more information and contact: Sasho Kovachev, LARGO Association,
The project "I have a dream" is implemented with the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria within the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. All responsibility for the content of the document is borne by the Association Liberal alternative for Roma civil union - LARGO in partnership with KUN Center for Equality and Diversity - Norway and under no circumstances can it be assumed that this document reflects the official opinion of the Financial Mechanism of the European economic space and the Operator of Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria. www.activecitizensfund.bg .
I Have a Dream project is being implemented with financial support from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main goal of the project "I have a dream" is to test, implement and disseminate innovative methods for empowering Roma women and girls through direct advocacy.
6 November 2023
On 4 and 5 November 2023 in the town of. The second national meeting of representatives of Roma women's clubs and planning and analysis of advocacy campaigns in 6 localities was held in Bansko on 5 and 6 November 2023.
For two days the participants from the six clubs presented, analyzed, exchanged positive experiences and discussed the planning, construction, implementation and current status of advocacy campaigns in the towns of Dupnitsa, Botevgrad, Rakitovo, Kyustendil, Radomir and Kovachevo village, municipality of Septemvri. They also received feedback and guidance on the planned campaigns, successes and difficulties in their planning and implementation.
The themes of the campaigns were environmental protection, ecology, Roma women empowerment, health, education, culture. Participants from different cities were able to share about the successes, difficulties and challenges in planning and implementing the campaigns, and also outlined their visions for the future of the clubs and club activities in 2024. During the meeting, the three video reports of LARGO Association on education, early marriage and Roma women empowerment were presented, as well as a video message by Marte Tyler Bye - advocacy expert at the KUN Centre for Equality and Diversity - Norway - a partner in the implementation of the project from the Norwegian side.
The meeting was realized within I have a dream project implemented by LARGO Association - Kyustendil in cooperation with KUN Centre for Equality and Diversity - Norway, with financial support provided by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Active Citizens Fund Operator Bulgaria www.activecitizensfund.bg. The main objective of the project "I Have a Dream" is to approbate, implement and disseminate innovative methods for empowering Roma women and girls through direct advocacy.
For more information and contact: Sasho Kovachev, LARGO Association,
Photos from the event:
The project "I have a dream" is implemented with the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria within the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. All responsibility for the content of the document is borne by the Association Liberal alternative for Roma civil union - LARGO in partnership with KUN Center for Equality and Diversity - Norway and under no circumstances can it be assumed that this document reflects the official opinion of the Financial Mechanism of the European economic space and the Operator of Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria. www.activecitizensfund.bg .
I Have a Dream project is being implemented with financial support from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main goal of the project "I have a dream" is to test, implement and disseminate innovative methods for empowering Roma women and girls through direct advocacy.
Photo Voice exhibition of the Women's Advocacy Club at LARGO Association - Kyustendil
25 October 2023
The second national meeting of representatives of Roma women's clubs and planning and analysis of advocacy campaigns in 6 localities will be held in Bansko on 4 and 5 November 2023.
The meeting will be dedicated to review, analysis and discussion of planned advocacy campaigns in the areas of environment, Roma women empowerment, health, education. During the meeting the stages of their implementation and upcoming activities per city until the end of the project will be discussed in detail. The participants from the 6 clubs in the country from the towns of Dupnitsa, Rakitovo, Kovachevo village, Kyustendil, Radomir and Botevgrad will have the opportunity to exchange experiences on planning, communicating, building and implementing advocacy campaigns in each city, as well as to receive feedback and guidance on the planned campaigns, successes and difficulties in their planning and implementation.
The meeting was implemented within the framework of the project "I have a dream", implemented by LARGO Association LARGO – Kyustendil in cooperation with KUN Association - Norway, and with financial support provided by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main objective of "I Have a Dream" project is to approbate, implement and disseminate innovative methods for empowering Roma women and girls through direct advocacy.
For more information and contact: Sasho Kovachev, LARGO Association,
The project "I have a dream" is implemented with the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria within the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. All responsibility for the content of the document is borne by the Association Liberal alternative for Roma civil union - LARGO in partnership with KUN Center for Equality and Diversity - Norway and under no circumstances can it be assumed that this document reflects the official opinion of the Financial Mechanism of the European economic space and the Operator of Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria. www.activecitizensfund.bg .
I Have a Dream project is being implemented with financial support from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main goal of the project "I have a dream" is to test, implement and disseminate innovative methods for empowering Roma women and girls through direct advocacy.
Photo Voice exhibition of the Women's Advocacy Club at LARGO Association - Kyustendil
15 October 2023
Today at 11.30 a.m. was opened Photo Voice exhibition of women's advocacy club of LARGO Association "Roma woman is ....". The exhibition was opened by Annie Kovacheva - Chairperson, Women's Club, Sasho Kovachev - Chairperson and Dr. Venelin Stoychev - Advocacy Expert at LARGO Association. The foyer of the Municipal Drama Theatre, Kyustendil gathered organizers, supporters, volunteers, staff from LARGO Association, representatives of local city institutions and guests from I Have a Dream project team.
They are young, educated, beautiful, part of the Roma community, do not fit into the stereotypes usually attributed to them, and are determined to work in their chosen professions and fields of activity, and are an example for the rest of the community. The biggest challenge is to fight themselves, to believe they can. The exhibition reveals the many faces of a successful Roma woman - entrepreneur, social worker, mother, singer, small business owner, hairdresser, student, pharmacist, and showed the positive role models of successful women and girls from the Roma community in Kyustendil in their fields of realization to show that Roma women are capable of achieving a lot and their achievements can be in different lights in different fields.
The exhibition is realized within the advocacy campaign of the women's club of the LARGO Association under the project "I have a dream", and can be viewed in the lobby of the Municipal Drama Theatre, Kyustendil, until the end of the month. The exhibition will be available until the end of October 2023.
Event poster:
The project "I have a dream" is implemented with the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria within the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. All responsibility for the content of the document is borne by the Association Liberal alternative for Roma civil union - LARGO in partnership with KUN Center for Equality and Diversity - Norway and under no circumstances can it be assumed that this document reflects the official opinion of the Financial Mechanism of the European economic space and the Operator of Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria. www.activecitizensfund.bg .
I Have a Dream project is being implemented with financial support from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main goal of the project "I have a dream" is to test, implement and disseminate innovative methods for empowering Roma women and girls through direct advocacy.
28,7,2023
The team of the LARGO Association - Kyustendil is pleased to inform you about the progress of the implementation of the I have a dream project.
The work of the actively developed since March 2023 network of women's Roma clubs in the cities of Kyustendil, the village of Kovachevo /Septemvri Municipality/, Botevgrad, Dupnitsa, Rakitovo and Radomir. The purpose of the clubs is to support Roma women in building personal skills and developing self-confidence; visual advocacy and advocacy through art and culture; direct advocacy, as well as developing attitudes, will and skills for organizing and conducting direct advocacy campaigns. Participants discuss various topics related to problems in Roma neighborhoods /health care, infrastructure, education, development opportunities/, Roma customs, traditions, way of life, Roma cuisine, history of the Roma ethnicity, leisure activities, career development opportunities and improving the living status, the role of women in the Roma community, etc.
In parallel with the holding of the club meetings in the period March - June 2023, a series of personal soft skills trainings were held on various topics / teamwork skills, self-confidence and self-perception, combating stereotypes and prejudices, time management, opportunities for self-development/ , participation in activities and events to support the confidence, motivation and empowerment of Roma women and young girls to participate in solving important civic problems and issues of public importance.
On July 8 and 9, 2023, the participants in the clubs had the opportunity to meet and get to know each other live within the framework of the first national meeting of the representatives of the clubs, which was held in the village of Banya, commune. A reason. For two days, the women from the six settlements / Kyustendil, Kovachevo village, Botevgrad, Dupnitsa, Rakitovo and Radomir/ had the opportunity to exchange experiences, sharing the problems of different communities and looking for ways to solve them. Through role plays, discussions and working in groups, the women were able to create different advocacy strategies and plans for direct advocacy campaigns in individual localities.
As part of the informative information campaign, three video messages were produced in July and August 2023 - reports dedicated to early marriages, education and the role and dreams of Roma women.
“My biggest dream is to study medicine and study to become an anesthesiologist. I really enjoy learning about pain. I want to learn about pain and erase it from people's lives at least a little," says Zaprinka from the village of Kovachevo.
Many young people from the Roma ethnic group in our country are born and brought up in a passive position and resignation to fate, and their dreams often do not go further than to have health and understanding in the family. Education and personal development are very often a mirage, even more so - these women do not dare to dream.
In recent years, however, more and more young girls from the Roma ethnic group in our country go far beyond the established rules and norms in the community in which they live.
These women are united by the "I have a dream" project, which is implemented by the association LARGO Kyustendil in partnership with the association KUN Norway. Its main goal is to implement and spread new innovative methods for empowering Roma women and girls through personal skills and advocacy, to contribute to an environment that respects the Roma woman as a person, and women can stand up for their rights, interests and dreams. They have created their clubs as spaces to fulfill dreams without restrictions. More:
https://www.largo-dream.com/index.php/bg/news-bg
"I became a victim of early marriage. I got married at the age of 16," admits Vasi from Vrachesh. "My parents are not bad, but they still live with traditions. I had suitors coming, but I didn't want to marry someone I didn't love. I'm not sorry, I'm going to school, even though I'm small. I have now finished 10th grade, with a good grade. I go to work and home."
A global trend is to increasingly increase the age at which people start a family and become parents for the first time. The general trend of being born later also affects the Roma in Bulgaria.
Roma girls marry so early because of the strict morals in these communities regarding women - they must marry the first boy they have a relationship with. And then they are expected to give birth to children and take care of them at home.
The Penal Code provides for sanctions for adults who marry or cohabit with persons under the age of 16. However, the application of these sanctions is rather an exception.
Despite the positive trend, the problem of early marriages and births remains an important topic, because in this vicious circle patterns are reproduced that hinder the full development of entire generations. More on the topic:
https://www.largo-dream.com/index.php/bg/news-bg
"If you believe in yourself, you can do absolutely anything" - Fondanza, Kovachevo village
Roma in Bulgaria, however, still remain excluded from education, and part of the reasons for this are the sending of Roma children to special schools, discrimination, difficult access to education due to poverty.
Poverty and lack of education form a vicious circle. Due to limited awareness and lack of financial opportunities, Roma communities often have significantly worse health status.
Therefore, if young Roma have better access to education, they will be able to be stronger advocates for their community in the future. More on the topic:
https://www.largo-dream.com/index.php/bg/news-bg
The project "I have a dream" is implemented with the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria within the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. All responsibility for the content of the document is borne by the Association Liberal alternative for Roma civil union - LARGO in partnership with KUN Center for Equality and Diversity - Norway and under no circumstances can it be assumed that this document reflects the official opinion of the Financial Mechanism of the European economic space and the Operator of Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria. www.activecitizensfund.bg .
3,7,2023
July 8-9, 2023, Seven Seasons Hotel, Banya village, Razlog municipality
Association LARGO organizes a National meeting of representatives of Roma women's clubs under project project ACF 709 I have a dream which will take place on July 8 and 9, 2023, Saturday and Sunday, at the Seven Seasons Hotel, Banya village, Razlog municipality.
The meeting will be dedicated to the participants from the 6 clubs in the country from the cities of Dupnitsa, Rakitovo, Septemvri, Kyustendil, Radomir and Botevgrad getting to know each other, exchanging experience regarding construction and functioning, and
the implemented activity of the network of women's clubs, feedback from the completed trainings; review, analysis and discussion of the clubs' activities, their successes and difficulties.
We will discuss and plan together the next specific remaining activities of the "I have a dream" project until the end of its implementation.
Agenda
July 8, 2023, Saturday
10.00-10.30 – Arrival, registration
10.30-11.30 - Opening of the meeting.
11.30-12.00 – coffee break
12.00 -13.30 - Building a network of women's Roma clubs and trainings - feedback from the trainings; review, analysis and discussion of the implemented activities of the clubs /formation, format, club functioning, topics, members, difficulties, challenges, successes, problems/.
13.30-14.30 – Lunch break
14.30 -15.30 - What has been done so far on the project. Review, discussion, specification and planning of further specific remaining project activities until the end of its implementation. Development of the clubs after the completion of the project.
15.30 - 16.00 - coffee break
16.00 - 17.00 - Video message from the KUN Association, Norway on the topic "Visual Advocacy" - methods, approaches and experience of the partner. Discussion and brainstorming for ideas to implement in the work of the clubs. Advocacy case work.
17.00 - 19.00 – free time
19.00 - 20.30 - dinner
July 9, 2023, Sunday
Breakfast
09.30 - 11.30 – Overview, discussion, clarification and planning of advocacy campaigns. Work in small groups to discuss ideas. Advocacy Implementation Plans - Needs, Resources, Campaign for awareness. Summary and conclusion.
12.00 - catering and departure
The project "I have a dream" is implemented with the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria within the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. All responsibility for the content of the document is borne by the Association Liberal alternative for Roma civil union - LARGO in partnership with KUN Center for Equality and Diversity - Norway and under no circumstances can it be assumed that this document reflects the official opinion of the Financial Mechanism of the European economic space and the Operator of Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria. www.activecitizensfund.bg .
