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On November 03 th – 05 th  2017 representatives of CIDT "Amalipe" participated in a work meeting and a final conference, organized by the University of Piraeus Research Centre (UPRC), Greece, within the project "SERCO - Social entrepreneurship in a Roma community in Athens, Greece.

The SERCo project aims to address the problem of social and economic inclusion of Roma communities in the partner countries by applying the concept of social economy as an innovative solution to reducing the risk of poverty and to enhancing entrepreneurship. 

The work meeting was held at Airotel Stratos Vassilokos, Athens and during it project partners specified the final details for the final conference.

The final conference was for “Promoting social entrepreneurship in vulnerable groups” and was held on the 04th of November 2017. Greek Special Secretary for Social Integration of Roma, the Greek Special Secretary for Social and Solidarity Economy, Head of the Department of Planning, Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation of Policies at the Ministry of Labor in Greece, the president of the Roma Association “Elitho” and other officials were invited to participate.

Also a round table on "Promotion of Social Entrepreneurship and the Role of Public Administration" was organized.

During the conference, project partners presented their main activities and the results achieved, the difficulties and challenges encountered during the implementation of the project.

Livia Jaroka became the first woman of Roma origin to be elected Vice - President of the European Parliament in a plenary session on November 15, 2017, by 290 voices in favour.

Livia Jaroka is a Hungarian politician and in 2004 she was the first female member of the European Parliament in Strasbourg of Roma origin. Jaroka is from the Hungarian conservative Fidesz party and is in the EPP Group. In the Parliament, she participates in several committees, including the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

Livia Jaroka was born on October 6, 1974, in the town of Tata, Hungary, in a family of Jewish and Roma, and then lives in Sopron near the Austrian border. According to her, there were no other Roma, and as a child she did not feel any discrimination or racism. Jaroka claims she comes from a family of musicians, though her mother was a tailor and her father a waiter. When her father lost his job because Austrian tourists did not want to be served by "darkskinned", she moved with the family in Budapest, where she fell into a Roma community (she called the famous 8th district of Hungarian Harlem) awakens her ethnic consciousness.

At the end of the 1990s, she studied at the Central European University Branch in Warsaw and specialized social anthropology at University College London, focusing on the Roma ethnic identity and how it is influenced by racist texts in rap music in Hungary and reflected in the youth movement "I am proud to be Roma".

Jaroka is also among the creators in 2001 of Radio C - the first fully Roma information radio station in Central Europe.

In 2006, Jaroka was among the people in the "Union of Values", part of the EPP campaign to modernize its image to Europeans, and in September 2006 was nominated for the 2006 Parliamentary Prize in the field of Justice and Fundamental Rights Parliament Magazine.

Education would not solve all the problems in the Roma community, but without education, no problem could be solved!, said Ombudsman Maya Manolova at the opening of the Fifth National Meeting of Representatives of the Students' Parliaments from the country - Leader Academy "School of Tolerance" organized by Amalipe Center. "In Bulgaria, one of every seven child aged 15 to 18 does not study or work, which is an extremely high percentage. It is clear that education is the only chance to live outside the ghetto, the most important factor for having a good job, good income and a good prospect for yourself, "said Ms. Manolova.

The National Ombudsman emphasized her support for the introduction of free compulsory pre-school education, as integration started from the kindergarten. She congratulated the parliament and the government on the announcement of education as a national priority and the efforts for the full range of all students, but also indicated that 21,000 pupils dropped annually. The public defender praised the institutions and Center Amalipe for reducing of dropouts rate, but the problem still remains serious. You can see the whole welcoming speech in Bulgarian at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YqCv9TjmJCw

The participating 150 pupils and parents were also greeted by the Head of the Regional Education Department - Sliven, Biserka Vasileva and the Deputy Governor Dimitrinka Petkova. The President of Amalipe Deyan Kolev drew attention to the high political presence that accompanies the National meetings of Chairs of the Students' Parliaments "School of Tolerance": the previous time our official guests were the Minister of Education and three ambassadors, now we are having with us the national ombudsman. All of them showed their support for our common efforts - to prevent school drop-outs. Until now, our efforts have been focusing primarily in primary education, and we are delighted to see that over 200 primary schools included in the "Every student will be a winner" program have reduced to zero the dropouts. That is why we are focusing on another important task - seventhgraders to continue their education in secondary schools and successfully finish it. We rely on you, the student leaders, to organize motivational campaigns for continuing secondary education, preventing early marriages, increasing motivation, etc., Kolev appealed.

The event was part of the Fifth National Meeting of Representatives of Students' Parliaments - Leadership Academy "School of Tolerance", held from 16th to 19th of November. It was attended by 120 students from schools working on "Every student will be a winner - 2" Project. More information about the School of Tolerance is available at www.amalipe.com.

Amalipe Center celebrated the International Day of Tolerance November 16, 2017 in dozens of settlements in the country under the motto "Tolerance - Unity of Differences". Various initiatives were organized by the local structures of the organization - the community development centers formed in 11 municipalities, together with the local development clubs and schools from the Amalipe Center network, included in the "Every student will be a winner" Project and teachers, students, representatives of institutions, citizens, activists and friends.

In 1996, the UN General Assembly called on member states to honor November 16 as a day of tolerance, with activities to spread the notion of mutual understanding among peoples. It was on 16 November 1995 that the UNESCO member states adopted the Declaration of Principles of Tolerance. The first is the definition of the term tolerance.

What is tolerance:

"Tolerance means respect, acceptance and understanding of the rich diversity of cultures in our world, of all forms of self-expression and means of manifestation of human individuality."

"To have tolerance - there must be knowledge, openness, communication, freedom of thought, conscience and belief."

"Tolerance - this is harmony in diversity, not just a moral duty but also a political and legal need."

"Tolerance is the highest virtue."

These are some of the messages we tried to convey during the campaigns organized across the country. And people responded with a smile and desire because they saw the aspirations of young people to fight and achieve a strong and united society, despite the differences.

Detailed information about local campaigns and photos here.