In numerous countries, Roma people have long endured structural prejudice, social isolation, and poverty. As a result, it is critical to support these groups and help to make improvements. Today, we’ll look at a few organizations that help Roma populations all across the world:
Open Society Foundations
George Soros, a billionaire philanthropist, founded the Open Society Foundations. It works to promote global justice, human rights, and democratic governance. They fund a variety of activities aiming at improving the life of Roma populations, such as educational, health, and human rights efforts.
The Roma Education Fund
The Roma Education Fund is a charitable organization that seeks to ensure Roma children and youth have equal access to quality education. They offer scholarships, teacher training, and educational tools to narrow the achievement gap between Roma and non-Roma children.
Roma Initiatives
Roma Initiatives is an Open Society Foundations program that supports Roma-led organizations and works for policy changes to enhance the life of Roma communities. They are primarily concerned with increasing Roma inclusion in school, employment, and civic activity.
The European Roma Rights Centre
The European Roma Rights Centre is an international organization dedicated to combating discrimination and promoting the rights of Roma populations throughout Europe. They provide legal aid to Roma who have faced discrimination and fight to hold governments accountable for violations of human rights.
On Bosnia and Herzegovina’s territory, there are positive examples of foundations that work to help the needs of the Roma population while also fighting for their equal position and integration into society.
Roma Women’s Association “Better Future”
The Roma Women’s Association “Better Future” is a non-governmental organization based in Bosnia and Herzegovina that is dedicated to promoting the rights and interests of Roma women in the country. The organization was founded in 1999 and has been working tirelessly ever since to improve the lives of Roma women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Roma Women’s Association “Better Future” focuses on a range of issues that affect Roma women, including education, employment, and health. They provide training and support to Roma women to help them improve their lives and become more empowered.
Association of Roma Women “Bolja Budućnost”
The Association of Roma Women “Bolja Budućnost” is a non-governmental organization based in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The organization was founded in 2002 with the aim of promoting the rights of Roma women and children in the country. The organization focuses on a range of issues that affect Roma women and children, including education, cultural preservation, and legal assistance. They provide educational and cultural programs that aim to empower Roma women and children and promote their integration into mainstream society.
Otvorena Mreža Roma
The organization is situated in Banja Luka and strives to promote the rights and interests of the region’s Roma communities. They concentrate on topics such as education, jobs, and health, and they offer training and assistance to Roma populations in order to help them improve their life.
KaliSara
Kali Sara is an organization that works to promote Roma culture and identity, as well as human rights and social justice. They provide legal assistance and advocacy services to Roma communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as promoting intercultural dialogue and understanding.
As long as such organizations exist in our communities and advocate for Roma people’s rights, we are making progress and laying the groundwork for a better, more inclusive future in which no one will be discriminated against. We would like to take this opportunity to urge you to help these organizations and Roma communities that face daily challenges.
More about AHEAD project:
AHEAD project aims to promote between youngsters non–discrimination and to combat racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance against Roma and other Ethnic minorities (mostly migrants). Partners jointly work on innovative good practice approaches, human rights-based narratives, training, official regular meetings, and European awareness raising campaigns. The project promotes inclusion, tolerance, mutual and multicultural understanding, and fight Roma, ethnic minorities, and migrants in Europe through an innovative approach that combines research, training (national and international) on antidiscrimination and on hate speech, round tables, seminars, the exchange of good practices, meetings between different representatives, stakeholders, CSOs, and youth associations, and a massive dissemination campaign.
The project aims to contribute to strengthening the capacity building of young victims (part of minorities) and the protection of youngsters belonging to minorities by supporting them in capacity building and structuring new mechanisms in public consultations in partner’s country (replicable all over Europe) on the issue of nondiscrimination and fighting every form of hate speech against ethnic minorities, Roma and migrants.
AHEAD’s aim is to tackle hate speech (also online) and to combat discriminations that target minorities in 5 areas of civil rights: education, labor, housing, health, goods and services, through specific training offered to 200 participants and through an new approach that combines quantitative research, public meetings with stakeholders, and awareness raising campaign. After providing expertise, building competences, advocating and raising awareness among youth people, partners will support the mobilization of young victims and will focus on Capacity building actions for youth, in order to involve Youngsters in decision-making and into new structured automatic mechanisms to empower their active participation on hate speech and antidiscrimination.