Asociación de mujeres gitanas ROMI

The Association of Gypsy Women ROMI , emerged in 1990 as a result of the concern of a group of socially aware gipsy women and with the aim of fighting for equal rights. ROMI is the first gipsy women's association that appeared in Spain. Its birth awakens the feeling s of the Spanish gipsy feminist associations, who continue their career today. This non-profit entity, has its office in the north of Granada Capital, in the Social Services. In its journey to achieve the comprehensive development of gipsy women in all the areas, it has been spreading awareness in all the neighborhoods in Granada city and in the province. ROMI fights all the way for integration and it has always served gipsy and no-gipsy population, anyone who is suffering from social exclusion within the group of disadvantaged people living in Granada and province and anywhere in Spain: ROMI was there everytime its presence was needed.
To achieve the full development of the gipsy women , ROMI carries out a series of activities in the areas of education, health, culture, socal skills, self-esteem, work, leisure time, as part of various programs. The ROMI Association is also part, since fifteen years, of the "Women's Coordinator of the north" network of associations formed by various public and private groups, in order, among other things, to be a place where concerns and problems regarding the neighborhood are brought up and expressed. This coordinator publishes the magazine "Women with North" as an information resource for all the groups ROMI belongs, where the participation of gipsy women plays an active role.

Furthermore, the Association ROMI is part of two roundtables, one about education (formed by schools and social and public bodies in the area) and other one about employment (including private and public social organizations working directly on employment and combating unemployment). ROMI is part of another network which is the Association's Children and Youth Forum, involving private and public social entities (municipalities, associations, public and private schools.). The ROMI Association has received several prizes and awards, in 2008 ROMI won the XI Andalusian Gipsy award granted by the Ministry for Equality and Social Welfare of the Government of Andalusia and in 2006 it was honored for its actions on behalf of the women on the 28th day of Andalusia.

Our interest in participating at the European Voluntary Service, is related to our responsibility to raise awareness among youth about the problems that youngers, young men or women, older women can face and to provide connectivity with the European Community. Therefore, we think it is important that these groups are aware of the different social issues that affect them such as domestic violence, homelessness, unemployment, immigration, formal and non-formal education, abandonment of school, lack of means or university education, social exclusion, etc. Our participation in the European Voluntary Service aims to introduce volunteers in the work of social-integration and socio-economic . Being this a way to offer them the opportunity to fully integrate into the social dynamics of the city of Granada, with the institutions and other organizations, especially youth and women. In addition, the daily contact with the volunteers is a great opportunity for the staff of the Association, because it will allow the volunteers to contribute with their ideas, concerns, new knowledge about youth and women and vice versa. Both parties will improve themselves and together they will look for new approaches and solutions.
Through EVS, the volunteers have the opportunity to acquire new skills for employment and social integration, which can then be applied in their country of origin, such as capacity for teamwork, self-initiative, sense of responsibility, sense of solidarity, human relationships, trust, international relations, a new language, new cultures, new friends, etc. . Furthermore, this can cause to the volunteers new concerns and it can even cause that, when they return to their countries of origin, volunteers want to put into practice everything they learned through the projects implemented during the EVS program.
On the other hand, it will be an advantage for our users and clients, as they will relate to people who come from abroad to volunteer, since they can learn from the volunteers, they can be enriched with diversity and they can know another culture. The presence of European volunteers is also a benefit for the local volunteering group already working with the Association and with the community: young men/women from different countries can contribute with new ideas, and the comparison between their habits and ours can help us to better understand our own culture and to prevent from prejudice, plus the volunteers will get to know other ways to work different from ours.
Currently the society in which we live requires that youth not only receive formal but also non-formal training, in order to have a wider range of possibilities, to gain experience and to put into practice the knowledge they acquire and subsequently to help them to be inserted into the labour market. The ROMI Association considers volunteerism as a key part of the non-formal education and a “place” where young men and women will put into practice what they have been learning, where they will acquire new skills and where they may realize what their abilities and skills are and in what field they need to strengthen. By saying that, EVS offers young people this opportunity, not only in their origin country but it allows them to go to other countries, to learn how to work with different people and also to let them know more about themselves and how to handle different environments that are not generally used and are able to cope with it. All this, furthermore, allow them to be fully European citizens.

OBJECTIVES, ACTIVITIES AND CAPACITIES OF THE ORGANIZATION:
As stated in the Articles of Association:
Purposes:
* To promote equality of opportunities between women and men, the participation and the presence of gipsy women in the political, economic, cultural and social life;
* To educate gipsy women about their rights as women;
* Social and cultural promotion of gipsy women who have passed the age of basic education for basic integration in society;
* Cultural and professional promotion at all levels of school, focusing more on young and adult gipsy;
* Approaching the gypsy culture to society to promote his knowledge and acceptance in the society;
* Promotion of gipsy to become liable for their own development in society, supporting also the gypsy women to be part of it;
* To defend and support the interests and rights of the gipsy people and women in particular, both nationally and internationally by promoting international relations with associations around the world, sharing with them experiences and projects;
* To promote community development plans in the gipsy community, in order to improve their quality of life;
* Promotion of vocational trainings through workshops and appropriate means to enable the gipsy people, particularly the women, to get a decent work as a mean of integration and development;
* Development of international cooperation programs that contribute to improve the living conditions of gipy men and women; to promote intercultural education at all levels and age groups, and to prevent early school leaving by gypsy girls;
* To collect, to analyze and to disseminate all the documentation within and outside of Spain on our history, culture and language;
* To promote the gipsy women artists: writers, sculptures, poets, painters, boleros, songwriters, dancers, guitarists, actresses, etc.;
* Promotion and dissemination of health education to improve the quality of life for Gipsies, promoting sport and sports competitions and raising the gipsy community in maintaining housing, environment and neighborhood clean both ecological and environmental health;
* Prevention or/and intervention in drug addiction, prostitution, abuse, shelters;
* To improve the quality of life of young men and women Gypsies through the various activities of the association; to encourage older Gypsies to participate in an active way to transmit their knowledge and personal experiences to the rest of the community and to improve their quality of life by performing activities directed at this group;
* To save and compile the cultural heritage of the Gipsies, recognizing the contributions of their culture to the European cultural heritage;
* Promoting cultural diversity and the creation of new forms of cultural expression, to support and to conduct researches, museums, theater and stage works, flamenco festivals, literature, publishing books, ethnographic works, various exhibitions to publicize our artistic and cultural heritage;
* To fight against racism, discrimination and marginalization suffered by the gipsy people, combating gender violence;
* Working with the population who is in prison and with those who left it to support their reintegration into the society;
* To create and to participate in radio and television programs;
* To promote volunteering with the gipsy community;
* To spread the spirit of the EU Treaty and the rights and duties of/as EU citizens and to assist in developing our full integration into Europe;
To achieve these aims, the following activities will be undertaken:
* Classes of adult continuing education, organization of meetings, seminars, conferences, lectures, courses, etc.;
* Conduction of researches, documentations, videos, exhibitions, museums, movies, documentaries on women;
* Professional training projects for youth and adult Gypsies, creation of information offices and counseling for gipsy women, youth, adults and 3rd age;
* Training occupational course and pre-service training, training course on Calo language;
* Publishing of books, magazines, comics, videos, etc. on the gipsy people;
* Projects about promotion of health education, prevention programs about absenteeism, dropout and failure, school support, leisure and recreational workshops, conducting and performing plays;
* Leisure and free time activities for children, youth, adults and 3rd age;
* Youth Information Office, office access to employment information, job listings and job search techniques, self-employment and employment orientation;
* Networking inclusion in networks that promote gipsy culture;
* Cultural and sports activities: theater, festivals, exhibitions, theater Gypsy week, trips and tours, exchanges, cultural weeks, spreading the sport competitions;
* Organizing and participating in discussion forums on racism and discrimination and organizing awareness campaigns on gender violence, createing and participating in radio and tv programs;
* Signing agreements with different entities having similar purposes; cooperation with prisons to support social reintegration of prisoners;
* Collaborate and develop programs and projects relating to people suffering from social exclusion (drug addicts, immigrants, prisoners, women, abused, etc.);
* Training courses about volunteerism.