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"Since 2008, Policy Center for Roma and Minorities developed projects, campaigns and initiatives at local, national and European level.

Our activities have three main focus areas:
- Social inclusion and Roma empowerment (Alternative Education Club - AEC, active citizens projects, research and advocacy aiming at the improvement of the living standards of Roma);

- Challenging negative attitudes towards minority groups, with emphasis on Roma (sport activities, documentaries and video clips, debates, position papers concerning racial incidents, media monitoring on discrimination issues);

- Promoting a proactive attitude towards societal issues and active citizenship (community organising, organising meetings and debates, as well as public communication campaigns aimed at
private actors - companies, public personalities).

Our organization is a member of: European Roma Grassroots Organizations Network (ERGO), European Network Against Racism (ENAR), Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE), European Community Organizing Network (ECON), Aflatoun Network (Child Social and Financial Education), European Roma Policy Coalition (ERPC), streetfootballworld network.

Policy Center for Roma and Minorities has the expertise to act at local, regional, national and European level with regard to empowering and participation of Roma children and adults to become active citizens, working closely with Roma communities through community organizing activities, exchanging good practices on social inclusion and combating
racism and intolerance towards Roma, developing researches on Roma issues and disadvantaged communities.

Policy Center for Roma and Minorities is the only organization in Romania that promotes a 360 degrees Roma empowerment approach in one of the ghetto type communities in Bucharest. We use a very diverse array of activities that target Roma children and youth, parents and local, national and European policy makers. We reach the general public and we challenge the negative attitudes of the majority by promoting a good practice example - the Alternative Education Club (AEC) – that is unique in its approach and there is no similar initiative in Romania. We work closely with local, national, European and international policy makers and we constantly organize visits of various delegations in the AEC in order to connect the officials to the challenges of the ghetto and the needs of the Roma people as to develop appropriate policies that address effectively these issues. We gained the support of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the Office of High Commissionaire for Human Rights in promoting the AEC as a national and European policy in poor Roma ghetto type communities. We developed national and European awareness raising campaigns, using debates and sport to promote a positive understanding of Roma among the majority. We are currently working on a legislative proposal aiming to harmonize the Romanian legislation referring to poverty and vulnerable groups as beneficiaries of different types of intervention. We are also working closely with local public authorities and representatives of various diplomatic missions in Bucharest.

Through our community organizing program, PCRM empowers and capacitates Roma and non-Roma women from the community to identify issues that they solve together through petitions, discussions and negotiations with the public authorities, direct actions etc.

Examples of projects:

1. Project name: Pan-European Coordination of Roma Integration Methods – Information and Awareness Raising – Come with us and be the change!
Funding body: European Commission – Directorate General for Regional Policy
Implementation time-frame:June 2010 – December 2011
Objectives: To achieve a change of awareness and attitude among Roma and non-Roma population through coordinated campaign activities; To enhance political will for change through advocacy campaign activities addressed to politicians and governmental institutions; To combat the negative attitudes against Roma at national level through alternative education for Roma and non-Roma children from disadvantaged community (Ferentari neighborhood, Bucharest); To promote sports as an instrument by combating negative attitudes, racism and stereotypes against
Roma;
Results: 300 Roma and non-Roma children benefited of remedial and non-formal education in the Alternative Education Club; A documentary movie about Roma and non-Roma children living in harsh conditions in the ghetto type community of Ferentari – produced and directed by Alexander Nanau; A national and European awareness campaign on combating the negative attitudes, racism and violence on football stadiums (in cooperation with the Romanian Football Federation –
http://www.frf.ro/content/iubeste-fotbalul-nu-urii).

2. Project name: Piloting Active Citizenship through Empowerment Youth Development and Good Governance Practices in Ferentari (Right PACE)
Financer: The Netherlands Embassy in Romania
Implementation time frame: August 2010 – July 2011
Objectives: Promoting non-formal education as an instrument for social inclusion and changing the negative attitudes towards the Roma minority; Conducting a research in order to have a better knowledge of the needs of the vulnerable community of Ferentari; Increasing the involvement of stakeholders in the social inclusion process.
Results: Expanding the Alternative Education Club existing in the elementary school no. 136 from the ghetto (Ferentari neighborhood, Bucharest) by supporting the specific activities dedicated to Roma and non-Roma children; Publishing a research about the vulnerable community – “Hidden communities – Ferentari”, coordinated by Florin Botonogu, Ed. Expert, 2011, Bucharest; Advocacy activities meant to connect the local public activities to the situation of the vulnerable
community of Ferentari.

3. Project name: Debate House 2010 – 2011
Financer: Open Society Foundations
Implementation time frame: November 2010 – April 2011
Objectives: Encouraging proactive attitudes among students; Tackling negative attitudes towards the Roma minority; Stimulating active citizenship among students;
Results: Creating a public debate caravan with high school students regarding different forms of
discrimination in Buzau, Bucharest, Cluj, Iasi and Timisoara; 5 public figures have facilitated debates with over 300 students regarding the situation of children from the vulnerable communities in Romania.

4. Project name: Curbing Anti-Gypsyism through Arts – Innovative Ways to Achieve Social Inclusion – I
Financer: Open Society Foundations
Implementation time frame: September 2011 – September 2012
Objectives: Tackling the negative attitudes towards the Roma minority and promoting social inclusion among Roma and non-Roma children from the vulnerable community of Ferentari, through dance, music and theatre; Improving school attendance and academic performance among the Roma and non-Roma children from the community; Stimulating active citizenship of Roma and non-Roma parents from the community and involving them in the education process.
Results: 38 Roma and non-Roma children participated in street-dance classes; 13 Roma and non-Roma children participated in theatre (drama) classes; 9 Roma and non-Roma children participated in music (guitar) classes; Improvement of academic performance in Romanian Language by 50% in the target group comparing to the control group; Improvement of academic performance in Mathematics by 52% in the target group comparing to the control group; Involving 20 parents in the club’s activities; 1 child from the street-dance team has won 5th place at the International Hip-Hop Championship –Oradea, hip-hop section; 1 child from the street-dance team has won 2nd place at the International Hip-Hop Championship –Oradea, popping section; Winning the Dan Manoleli Award for Excellence, offered by The Civil Society Gala, for our efforts of promoting social inclusion through alternative education; Winning 3rd place offered by The Civil Society Gala, Learning, Education and Research section; 20 children participated in the International Romani Art Festival (7-10 June 2012), performing in several artistic moments with Mario Bihari, Lemon Bucket Orkestra, Bachtale APSA.

5. Project name: Totonel
Financer: Open Society Foundations
Implementation time frame: June 2012 – December 2013
Objectives: Changing negative attitudes towards the Roma minority through creating a documentary about the vulnerable community of Ferentari.
Results: Contributing to the filming of the documentary ""Toto and his sisters""

6. Project name: Curbing Anti-Gypsyism through Arts – Innovative Ways to Achieve Social Inclusion – II
Financer: Open Society Foundations
Implemantation time frame: December 2012 – December 2013
Objectives: Changing negative attitudes towards the Roma minority and promoting social inclusion among Roma and non-Roma children from the vulnerable community of Ferentari, through dance, music and theatre (drama); Improving school attendance and performance of the Roma and non-Roma children from the community; Stimulating active citizenship among the Roma and non-Roma parents from the aforementioned community by involving them in the education process of their children.
Results: 70 Roma and non-Roma children from the community participated weekly in the streetdance classes; 12 Roma and non-Roma children participated weekly in theatre (drama) classes; 6 Roma and non-Roma children participated weekly in guitar classes; Creating a street-dance crew, formed by 11 Roma and non-Roma children from the community –
Born4Trouble (B4T); Improving school attendance of the target group by 20% comparing to the control group; Improving academic performance of the target group by 60% comparing to the control group; According to parents, teachers and educational assistants, the children from the target group have become more cooperative, disciplined and have improved their self-esteem;3 children who were initially attending the “Second Chance” educational program have performed so well that are now enrolled in the full-time daily educational system; 20 parents from the community were actively involved in the activities, along with their children; B4T won the 5th place at the International Hip-Hop Championship – Oradea and the International Nymphea Hip-Hop Championship; Developing an artistic collaboration with one of the most prestigious contemporary dance companies – Battery Dance Company – New York; 2 members of the B4T dance crew participated in a TV dance competition for children.

7. Project name: No disgrace in this electoral race! Recording and combating hate speech and racism during the 2014 electoral cycle in Romania
Financer: Open Society Foundations
Implementation time frame: June 2014 – September 2014
Objectives: Monitoring the hate speech towards the Roma minority in the political field, during the presidential campaign in Romania; Tackling false and populist declarations on the level of hate speech by using the “fact checking” method; Improving the legal framework which prohibits/sanctions hate speech and discrimination in Romania by applying the conclusion from relevant case law; Encouraging the public debate concerning policies created for the social inclusion of the Roma minority by monitoring such initiatives and supporting the actors who are active in the field of anti-discrimination.

8.Programe name: The Alternative Education Club
Financers: various
Implementation time frame: October 2010 - present
The Alternative Education Club (AEC) is a non-formal education program which started in 2010 in the elementary school no.136 and was extended in the following 2 years in 2 other schools (no. 2 and no. 148). Currently it includes over 200 Roma and non-Roma children from Ferentari. Thw AEC’s aim is to support children to break the vicious circle of marginalization, poverty and hopelessness, through sport and alternative education.
The Alternative Education Club Objectives:
• Create a safe, creative and challenging space for the children, inside the school
• Offer counseling and mentoring for a group of children who are actively involved in the project
• Develop innovative approaches focused on school performance improvement and also forming cognitive, artistic and creative abilities
• Create strong sport teams in order to improve discipline, team work, self-esteem and respect for the opponent
• Promote the idea of active citizenship and respect among the Roma and non-Roma children involved in the project.
Six days a week, even during the summer holiday, the children have access to a multitude of activities:
• Remedial education – depending on the level of knowledge, the children are supported by members of the team to improve competences like mathematical skills or reading and writing in Romanian or English. The goal of this activity is to support the children to reach the educational level suitable for their age.
• Non-formal education (sports, artistic and cultural activities) – Sport is one of the most popular activities from the club, engaging children in a fun but disciplined manner. We believe that sports can play a crucial role in a child’s development, molding his/her personality and teaching dedication, team work and mutual respect. During the last 5 years the children have also taken other classes like: contemporary dance, basketball, table tennis, volleyball, boxing, gymnastics and also psycho-educational counseling.
• Artistic and cultural activities – drama, music, painting, financial education (Aflatoun and Aflateen), health education, photography, quilling, storytelling, educational games.
• Community organizing – each week we organize meetings with the mothers who participate in the AEC activities in order to identify issues within the community and to find the most suitable solutions to engage and involve the members in the process of change.

"Main areas of research:
- multidimensional analysis of Roma living conditions in extreme poverty, focusing on policy solutions;
- community based researches aiming to assess prerequisites that lead to extreme poverty in Roma communities;
- analysis of discriminatory public speech that targets the Roma communities, as well as of the legal framework;
- Roma entrepreneurship and methods to stimulate Roma to develop businesses;
- education in marginalized Roma communities;
- access to utilities in marginalized Roma communities."

Policy Center for Roma and Minorities implemented projects as partner in several transnational European projects focused on Roma empowerment and the development of marginalized Roma communities through sport, debate and art.

Our flagship program, the Alternative Education Club, was recognized as an best practice example and it received the UNICEF Sportfor Education Award at the 2012 Beyond Sport Summit. We are part of the world wide network focused on development via football and education in deprived communities. Policy Center collaborates successfully with several non-profit organizations in the US that offer us pro-bono support and consultancy on developing local advocacy campaigns as a result of community organizing activities with Roma and non-Roma women from poor communities.

"Following a fellowship in community organizing offered by the US Department of State to one of the Policy Center's team members in 2013, we initiated our community organizing program in the marginalized area of Ferentari in Bucharest. The Mothers’ Club is a group of more than 20 Roma and non-Roma women from one of the most marginalized areas of Bucharest who come together every week to put pressure on the local authorities in order to address the needs of their community.

The Mothers’ Club aims to stimulate active citizenship by facilitating a process in which the citizens identify the issues in their community and come up with their own solutions to these problems by themselves. Community organizing and active citizenship are the key words in this process. The project engages women in a meaningful way that empowers them to become the architects of change of the society they live in. We meet every week to map not only the challenges, but also to work together on implementing the most appropriate solutions. It is a long term project of grassroots democracy that proposes a change a paradigm. In the end, the communities know best which solutions are fit for their situation.

The Mothers’ Club has several levels of intervention:

• Community organizing – facilitation of a process in which the women from Ferentari acknowledge their rights and become active citizens in challenging the issues in their community.

• Inclusion on the labor market – Policy Center for Roma and Minorities provides information on available jobs, creates job opportunities for the women in the community via the Alternative Education Club, offers trainings that allow them to gain new skills and competences.

• Responsible parenting – following a collaboration with a psychologist, we develop parenting classes for the mothers in Ferentari, as well as other courses essential for the mother-child relation (e.g. health education).

European and international exchanges and visits bring an added value to our program and increase the self esteem of Roma and non-Roma women in a process of empowerment that leads to the development of the entire marginalized community of Ferentari."

"""Access to funding for Roma entrepreneurs - Study cases and public policy proposals"" , Romanian Center for European Policies & Policy Center for Roma and Minorities, 2015 - http://www.crpe.ro/en/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/CRPE-Policy-Memo-68.pdf

""Combating discrimination in the public discourse"", Romanian Academic Society, Policy Center for Roma and Minorities, 2015 - http://sar.org.ro/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Policy-brief-71-COMBATEREA-DISCURSULUI-DISCRIMINATORIU-%C3%8EN-DEZBATEREA-POLITICA.pdf

ENAR Shadow Report 2011-2012 - Racism and related discriminatory
practices in Romania - http://www.enar-eu.org/IMG/pdf/romania.pdf

""Hidden communities - Ferentari"", coord. Florin Botonogu, Expert Publishing House, 2011

ENAR Shadow Report 2010-2011 - Racism and related discriminatory
practices in Romania - http://www.enar-eu.org/IMG/pdf/22._romania.pdf

ENAR Shadow Report 2009/2010 - Racism and Discrimination in Romania
http://www.enar-eu.org/IMG/pdf/romania-2.pdf"