May 23, 2011
Policy Center for Roma and Minorities, in partnership with the Romanian Association for Debate, Oratory and Rhetoric (ARDOR), PATRIR (Peace Action, Training and Research Institute of Romania), Carturești Bookshops and the “Zile și Nopți” magazine organize from May 27 to June 8 the national caravan „Challenge against discrimination”. The series of events targets high school students from five major cities in Romania, including the capital, Bucharest. The caravan format relies on debates as an educational instrument meant to stimulate critical thinking on social issues such as discrimination, racism and negative cultural stereotypes.
Romanian public figures and opinion leaders are the moderators of the debates that will strive to generate a constructive discussion among the teenagers. The purpose of the debates is to analyse from various perspectives how ignored or ill-treated social issues can have negative effects for the whole society.
Currently, Romania faces a strong need for public debate of sensitive marginal issues. This is one of the reasons why educational debates are rather rare and youth participation is almost non-existent or limited. The caravan aims to address this need by involving young people in discussions that encourage and contribute to the development of critical and analytical thinking.
The series of events is part of the REACT Campaign, implemented in Romania and Italy by Policy Center for Roma and Minorities with the support of the European Commission.
REACT is a pilot awareness campaign that focuses on the active participation of Roma and the majority in the civic life, which is being developed by three NGOs in Romania, Italy, Bulgaria and Albania under the umbrella of the European Roma Grassroots Organization (ERGO).
While the NGOs in Bulgaria and Albania are focused on direct interventions, Policy Center for Roma and Minorities is developing in Romania and Italy an awareness campaign designed to counter the negative attitudes towards Roma through a visible approach. The main actions used are films, documentaries, sports and education as a means of stimulating active participation.

Recent Comments