ACADE-ME: Promoting Education to Combat Antigypsyism in Europe

The contribution of EDRA – the Greek partner of the ACADE-ME program (Accelerating Capabilities Against Anti-gypsyism and Discrimination in Education) – to the European initiative is committed to promoting the inclusion of Roma through education and social integration.

The ACADE-ME project aims to intensify efforts to address the persistent challenges in the inclusion of Roma citizens by placing education at the core of the fight against antigypsyism, discrimination, and marginalization. This approach aligns with the new EU Strategic Framework for 2020–2030, which identifies Roma inclusion as a central issue.

Although overall progress over the past 10 years has been relatively limited, the field of education shows promising signs, offering a foundation for optimism for the future. Between August and September 2024, the ACADE-ME partnership and research teams from Slovenia, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Republic of Serbia launched an analysis of the impact and manifestations of antigypsyism in education across the participating countries.

The first phase of this work involved desk research on current incidents and expressions of antigypsyism in the educational sector in each country. Partners gathered information and data regarding:

• Key country-specific information

• National legal framework for Roma social inclusion

• National action plans for Roma in education

• FRA (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights) statistics on education

• Factors that intensify school dropout

• National frameworks for preventing early school leaving among Roma students

• Institutions and organizations supporting Roma children and youth in education

• Roma and higher education

• Initiatives and programs for preventing dropouts and supporting school retention

The second phase, also carried out in the same countries, included field research to provide in-depth insights into the phenomenon. Interviews were conducted with educators and social inclusion professionals, such as social workers, psychologists, and youth workers, as well as with Roma university students, with particular focus on girls and young women.

The goal of this work was twofold: first, to identify the challenges faced by Roma students in education, laying the groundwork for the creation of educational material targeted at teachers and professionals working with Roma youth; and second, to identify the difficulties encountered by Roma students before enrolling in university, or those faced by secondary school students about their academic progress.

This second objective focuses on developing educational material for young, current, or prospective university students, especially women, to empower them to become role models. Over the past two months, the research team has organized two meetings to ensure the smooth progress of the project. These meetings highlighted the excellent level of collaboration among the involved teams and organizations, as well as the shared commitment to providing in-depth analysis, which will serve as a significant foundation for the project’s further development.

Learn more about ACADE-ME