Erasmus+ Project: European Roma Young Theater Artists and Facilitators 4 Inclusion and Empowerment

Leader Organization: Independent theater Hungary (HU) Partner: Giuvlipen (RO) Ara Art (CZE) Ternipe (SK) Rampa Prenestina (I)

Context and Objectives

Roma represent the largest and most disadvantaged ethnic minority in the European Union. Theatre and the stories of Roma dramatic heroes—who face challenges by making value-based decisions and taking action to initiate change—have many similarities with the experiences of active citizens in general. The visibility of Roma community members’ narratives and approaches can strengthen the self-esteem of young Roma, as well as raise awareness and positively influence the attitudes of their non-Roma peers.

All partners are active in both the creation of plays and theatrical performances that tell the stories, values, and challenges of the Roma people, and in the development and support of young Roma facilitators who lead workshops with other young people. Since 2017, the coordinator has been organizing the Roma Heroes International Theatre Festival—the first international Roma theatre festival in the EU—and has produced numerous video recordings of performances, developing teaching methods subsequently adopted by other partners. These have led to hundreds of workshops, reaching thousands of young people across the European Union.

The collected materials—theatre plays, performances, and videos—are available on the website romaheroes.org (Digital Collection of European Roma Theatre and Drama). The theatre partners have also produced other performances, involving young Roma and non-Roma artists, who led workshops and discussions following the performances. The Slovakian partner has published a book featuring real-life Roma heroes, distributed to several schools through specific workshops.

The partners intend to continue their artistic work and non-formal educational activities, involving young Roma and non-Roma artists and facilitators capable of reaching their peers and having a significant impact on their communities. The three partners aim to strengthen and expand artistic, technical, and pedagogical training in theater, particularly in social theater and the conducting of thematic workshops. The project is primarily aimed at young Roma people who have already completed training courses offered in previous projects. Each partner country will involve groups of 10 young Roma and non-Roma people in the activities.