News

For the eighth consecutive year Roma from the medical universities were gathered in Veliko Tarnovo to take part in a summer advocacy camp. The event took place from 24 to 28 of August and was organized by Amalipe Center as part of the Roma Health Scholarship Program, coordinated by the Open Society Institute. For another year, the young people of this unique program have filled us with optimism and pride ...

Why is the Scholarship Program for Roma students in medical universities unique?

For at least three reasons. First of all, boys and girls included in it are trained in some of the most prestigious and the heaviest specialties - the medical ones. When we discussed the launching of the program in Bulgaria with the donors from the Public Health Program of Open Society Institute New York and with the representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Health in 2008, many colleagues from the institutions considered the Roma medics were no more than 10 ... They did not tell us directly, but there was skepticism in their eyes. "These specialties are very difficult, how Roma will study them ...". To be honest, we were also not very sure. And it turned out that with each passing year their number grew, especially during the years when Prof. Tarnev organized a candidate-student courses. In 2011 - 2012, when the Program was at its peak, nearly 120 Roma from different medical specialties applied for participation.

Second, unlike other Roma Education Scholarship programs, the Roma Health Scholarship Program not only grants scholarships, but also tries to keep the relation with the Roma community, strengthen their Roma identity and encourage them to participate in activities related to Roma. This is the purpose of the summer camp for advocacy and we are delighted that this responsible task has been delegated to Amalipe Center! Because it is important for us that educated Roma should not forget that they are Roma; Only the proud of your identity can be really successful!

Third, part of the participants in the Program are already working on their specialties. Roma doctors, who help all patients and meet respect and gratitude, are the best proof that the community is developing fast!

Fourth, unlike other Roma Education Fund scholarship programs, the Roma Health Scholarship Program will be continued after the end of Open Society Funding and REF funding. We have made a great deal of effort and have succeeded: we met the support of the Norwegian and Bulgarian Governments and from 2018 the Program will continue with funding from the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area / Norwegian Financial Mechanism as part of the Civil Society Development Program. From the advocacy successes that Amalipe Center and the other Roma organizations have achieved, this is among the most promising ones.

Coordinator of the Civil Society Development Program of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area will be the Open Society Institute - Sofia and the Trust for Social Alternative. We wish you success, colleagues!

Detailed information and photos from the advocacy camp this year, see here.