International Children’s Day celebrated in Bucharest

Children during basketball practice

May 27, 2011

Policy Center for Roma and Minorities and the District 5 Mayorality celebrates Sunday, May 29, between 10:00 and 12:00 am, on Livezilor St., the International Children’s Day. The event is dedicated to the children in the Ferentari area and in particular to the pupils at the Elementary School no.136 where Policy Center for Roma and Minorities launched in October the Alternative Educational Club with the financial support of the Netherlands Embassy in Romania, the Soros Foundation in Romania, the European Commission and the Roma Education Fund. Also, pupils from the Elementary School no.147 will be involved in the event, as there are plans to open a new club at this school.

The Alternative Education Club was created to provide an alternative framework of development for the children at the School no. 136 in Ferentari, one of the most economically and socially vulnerable areas of Bucharest.. Currently over 120 children enjoy weekly extracurricular activities including football training, basketball, boxing, street dance, film and acting courses, as well as financial and social education classes.

Sunday, the children will show the local community what they learned at the club, thus sending an important message to all the people that will be there: alternative education is a key factor in the development of the discipline, respect for others and confidence in themselves. For two hours the traffic on Livezilor Street will be closed and children will have the opportunity to play football and basketball in a specially designed space for sports activities. They will also participate in a street painting contest, in a series of games coordinated by the animators from the “Jos Palaria” Youth Group and also witness a street dance show performed by Trouble Crew and the children enrolled in the dance classes.

The event is part of the REACT campaign, implemented in Romania and Italy for Policy Center for Roma and Minorities within and supported by 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.

Partners: Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Soros Foundation in Romania, the European Commission, the Roma Education Fund, the Romanian Football Federation, the Romanian Basketball Federation, Elementary School no . 136, Trouble Crew, the Youth  Group “Jos Palaria”.

Media partner: Radio Itsy Bitsy