The Basel-Stadt Programme in Romania for the benefit of Roma population is part of the social commitment of the Canton of Basel-Stadt in Romania for contributing to a sustainable improvement in the living conditions of the Roma on the ground by achieving greater social and economic integration.
The following objectives are associated with this overall goal:

• The commitment benefits the Roma population in Romania and contributes to improving their living situation;
• Basel focuses on cooperation with organizations and civil society on the ground, which are well networked and recognized and are particularly committed to combating systemic discrimination against Roma minorities in Romania;
• The procedure is well coordinated with the agencies at the federal level and is accompanied by professional expertise.

Two concrete directions for Basel’s involvement were developed in cooperation with the Civil Society Development Foundation (CSDF) and are implemented during 4 years (2023 – 2026) through the projects presented below:

Project A: Reducing school dropout among Roma girls with an intersectional approach – implemented by E-Romnja Association (The Association for Promoting Roma Women’s Rights), a feminist Roma organisation that fights for the rights of Roma girls and women.

The overall objective of the project is to address the problem of school dropout among Roma girls as one of the most vulnerable and neglected groups in the education system. The aim is to build a support programme for these Roma girls in order to protect them from various forms of abuse, to increase the visibility and understanding of their problems within society and to enable them to achieve their life goals.

The project is developed on two levels:
– as a grassroots initiative based on the needs expressed by Roma girls and women
– as an initiative with an institutional approach that aims to build an intervention mechanism in a holistic way, involving family, community and authorities and establishing rules for emergency situations.

The three specific objectives of the engagement are as follows:

1. Developing an intervention mechanism by creating a multidisciplinary team of police, social assistance, two schools and child protection in Giurgiu and Mizil (cities with a high proportion of Roma female pupils).
2. Increased community involvement through local initiative groups of Roma girls and women in Mizil and Giurgiu to create a safety net for girls to continue school.
3. Extension of the developed intervention mechanism to broader circles.

The annual budget earmarked for this specific Basel commitment is 120.000 Swiss francs. The budget covers the personnel costs for project initiation, set-up and implementation on site as well as the costs for the local campaigns, training, renting of premises for meetings as well as project management, etc.

More information about the project can be found at Reducerea abandonului şcolar în rândul fetelor rome, printr-o abordare intersecţională – E-Romnja and on their Facebook page and Instagram page.

Project B: Together for a diverse society – implemented by Agentia Impreuna (Impreuna Agency), a Roma-led foundation for community development, aiming to preserve and affirm the Roma personality and to recognize them as an ethnic and national minority.

The overall objective of the project is to strengthen the social position of Roma and to help improve the image of the Roma minority among Roma and non-Roma.

The specific objectives of this commitment are:

1. Empowerment of Roma university students through workshops, meetings and debates: Students are trained to become mentors in the pre-university sector who, through their engagement and role as successful role models, will bring about positive change for the Roma community in Romania;
2. Improving the quality of inclusive education through teacher training, mentoring for students, measures against discrimination and promoting diversity;
3. Informing the public through a campaign with and about the real stories of Roma – the campaign is mainly carried out on social media and includes the promotion of Roma models, monitoring reports, debates on the contribution of Roma in society, the production of educational materials and advocacy for the inclusion of Roma issues in initial teacher training.

The annual budget foreseen for this project is 120.000 Swiss francs. The budget covers staff costs for project initiation, costs for training, materials, renting of premises for meetings, costs for local and national campaigns and general project management costs.

More information about the project can be found at Agentia Impreuna Facebook page and Instagram page or accessing the webpage of the project – Together for a diverse society.