Between July and September 2020, several events to encourage the inclusion of Roma students in schools everywhere have been organized by volunteer teachers from 12 counties in Romania, with the help of children. The theme of all these events was "Let's say Mișto Avilean (welcome) to Roma children in our schools". They consisted of exhibitions, shows, and online meetings, which attracted over 1,300 participants -- parents, teachers, and community representatives.
The initiative of the 17 events came from the Terre des hommes Romania Foundation, who launched a competition of ideas to teachers as part of the European project Mişto Avilean. The 20 winners were thus called on to organize events that would promote the continuing education and non-discrimination of all students, especially the Roma ethnic group, in the spirit of the project. Of these, 17 came to life, under the careful guidance of the organizing teachers, in compliance with the pandemic preventive measures and with financial support for logistics.
Children from all backgrounds were the subject and the main characters in these various shows, created to show that the school is a welcoming place for everyone, including the "cool" ones. At the same time, each participating school tried to send a message (photo, video) of friendship to the schools in France and Spain: the children supported the migrant Roma peers , and the teachers encouraged their colleagues to welcome pupils with open arms.
You can watch a video about all these events and the children's messages
in Spanish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPwZ50WjSrk&t=2s
In English https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xyUJtoyVnk&t=60s
In French https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr_kDXnRPV8&t=9s
Terre des hommes thanks all those who, in recent months, have voluntarily contributed to organizing these events in schools, especially the volunteer coordinating teachers, who have shown great commitment. The whole effort aimed at making Roma children feel welcome in schools everywhere and encouraged them to attend classes, even if they migrate or return to the country after a while.
The Mişto Avilean project is funded by the European Commission through the "Rights, Equality and Citizenship (2014-2020)" Program.
