What sounds and is written like a tongue twister is a complex, year-round program for our young people, in which they receive comprehensive training as peer trainers. In order for them to be able to offer workshops on the topic of antigypsyism to their peers in schools and youth facilities later on, they have to acquire these skills at such a young age.
The days are short, the weather is too cold. There is a pandemic that complicates this dark season… but after Advent comes Christmas and our team is young and motivated. The youth would like to put on something creative that also provides information. Sounds right up our educational alley!
Out of the group an advent calendar against antigypsyism has been created, which lets open a little door every day – from A to Z. The campaign, which became an Instagram hit in its time, can be viewed at the following link…this time even without having to wait for the next day:
Our WSH project aims to be active in the German states of Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony and to set up youth groups in these locations. Since the worldwide pandemic broke out at the beginning of our project, we lacked for a very long time the possibilities of a trip to the other federal states with our youth group to see with which forces there we can cooperate. But as soon as that was possible, we traveled with the youth group from Berlin to Dresden.
In Dresden we met some Roma youth and activists and talked with them about our goals and wishes regarding the project. They were lively conversations! Along the way, we were able to see some of the beautiful city of Dresden, which was a bonus point. We are really looking forward to building up our youth group in Saxony. Hopefully we can continue to make trips like this to keep the networking going between groups.
At the youth center Dosto in Bernau, our youth group from Berlin put on a theater performance as part of the intercultural week, which we would like to incorporate later as an educational tool in our project. After intensive rehearsals, the young people, together with our chairman and experienced directorHamze Bytyçi, conceived a play in which the group talks about their experiences of discrimination. The play also tells the story of the first Roma congress 50 years ago and the resolutions passed there, as well as theatrically demonstrating the continuity of antigypsyism. After the performance, there was a round of questions in which the young people talked about the project and about the different realities of Roma lives.
You can watch the video of the play here or at the following link on facebook.
Today we are in Eberswalde – with our great youth group from Berlin and with Merle, who is responsible for our Brandenburg group. Here we met with two other Roma youths and talked about a possible youth group in Brandenburg. Before, such a meeting was not possible because of the pandemic. As long as the weather cooperates and there is no lockdown, we would like to continue organizing such networking meetings. The best way to talk is face to face! In the near future it will become clearer if and how we will build up our Brandenburg youth group. If you live in Brandenburg and know interested young people with a Romani background or with experiences of racist discrimination who would like to be trained as peer trainers so that they can later report on antigypsyism in educational institutions, contact us!
