RISE- Roma Inclusive School Experience

Scientific coordinator: Prof. Maria Teresa Tagliaventi

Project Team: Ivana Bolognesi, Giovanna Guerzoni, Federica Tarabusi, Luca Ferrari, Emmanuele Di Tommaso (Project Manager), Francesco Fiore, Lisa Cerantola, Manuel Simoncini, Stefania Lamberti, Dario Abbrescia, Benedetta Marotti, Marco Nenzioni, Antonio Beraldi, Cosimo Marraffa, Licia Masoni.

Key Action: European citizenship rights, anti-discrimination, preventing and combating intolerance

Type of Action: Action grants to support national or transnational projects on non-discrimination and Roma integration

Applicant: Alma Mater Studiorum – Universita’ di Bologna (IT)

Partners: Istituto degli Innocenti Di Firenze (IT), Razvojno Izobrazevalni Center Novomesto (SI), Universidade do Minho (PT)

N.r Partners: 4

Partners’ Countries: IT, SI, PT

UNIBO’s role: Coordinator

Project Duration (in months): 24

Start Date: 01/01/2018      

End Date: 31/03/2020

Status: ended

Total Budget: 466.353 euro

Unibo Budget: 170.124 euro

Project’s Key-Words: Roma children, discrimination in education, inclusive school, training for teachers and operators

Description : The right to education for Roma children continues to be seriously challenged throughout the European Union. Low levels of education and widespread illiteracy are the main obstacles preventing Roma communities from benefiting from social inclusion, equitable access to the
labor market and active participation in the public life of the Countries where they live. The quality and quantity of Roma school attendance and
performance have been heavily influenced by the educational strategies and teaching models implemented at school: they can either promote or
discourage school success and inclusion of Roma children. For this reason, the project, involving the Roma children in the activities, aims at promoting a more welcoming and inclusive school for all.

The main tool is action research. Teachers, social workers, educators, school managers and Roma and non-Roma parents and children are the main actors involved in the action. The project is implemented through a set of activities divided into 5 WPs. The overall approach is based on the co-building of the action plan.

The project activities are mainly oriented towards school inclusion and they are based on the idea that inclusion can be achieved just involving all the class in which the Roma/Sinti children are present, and giving support to the teachers in adopting participative education methodologies.

The project foresees the following activities:

- Training course for teachers and social workers focused on the following issues: education methodologies (cooperative learning, learning by doing, etc.), fight against all forms of discrimination, intercultural pedagogy and History of the Roma community;

- Didactic workshops for all the children of the classes involved. The workshops are focused on social skills, participation and know-how;

- Workshops for the students of the classes involved on the use of stop motion techniques for realizing a storytelling video on issues related to interculture, prejudices and gender discrimination;

- Exchange and sharing of good practices towards the development of an inclusive education model.