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Center Amalipe implemented training for social workers and teachers on early and forced marriages among different groups of Roma and their prevention during the 8, 9 and 10 of June. The training was part of a pilot project "Prevention of early marriages”, funded by the Daphne Programme of the European Commission. The project is implemented in 2010 in Bulgaria, Romania and Greece, as Center Amalipe is the leading organization.

At present in Bulgaria  the project has reached the phase of conducting community campaigns in different Roma groups. These campaigns will promote the Roma community to change their traditional attitudes towards the acceptance of early marriages, established as a social norm. They will be implemented as pilot activities in 10 localities by grass-root Roma activists with the aim of establishing positive practices, which may then be enshrined as State policy, supported by adequate financial and organizational resources. Ten locations were selected according to results of national representative survey on early marriages (organized in April-May) and after holding a competition among local Roma activists. Campaigns will cover cities of Vratsa, Vidin, Peshtera, Kuklen, Omurtag, Rakovski, Rakitovo, Yambol, and villages Vodoley (Veliko Tarnovo municipality) and Kardam (Targovishte municipality).

Training of social workers and teachers was organized as a continuation of the workshop for Roma activists that will carry out local campaigns, held from 31 May to 2 June. To help grass-root activists in their activities Center Amalipe invited 30 social workers from Social Assistance Directorates, Departments for Child Protection and teachers from the ten localities in which the campaigns will be implemented. For three days they work together in breaking stereotypes and prejudices, discussed problems of "early cohabitations” and “early pregnancies”, examine how the various institutions at the local level to interact more effectively and how to work together with active Roma.

Angel Getsov, Deyan Kolev and Ivalina Filipova from Center Amalipe introduced them with the specifics of the Roma community, the reasons leading to early marriages, the possible prevention activities as well as with the concrete activities that will be implemented in the settlements for which they are responsible. At the end of the training participants drew up concrete plans in support of the local campaigns and formulated proposals to the new draft of the Law on Child Protection.

"I changed my viewpoint on the Roma” - wrote in the feedback form one of the participants - I have worked with the most marginalized families and believed that this is the situation in the whole Roma community. Now I see that there are many different Roma and will work for them to become an example for others! "