Activities with and for Students

Mentoring for inclusion and increasing self-esteem

Mentorship is an innovative way to support students' development both in terms of self-esteemand in terms of relationships and feelings of inclusion.The activity consisted inidentifying 24 mentors,, their training (by a person with experience in the field) and the actual activities conducted.Each mentor performed activities every two weeks, with a group of about 10 students.

In the first stage, a registration form was created for students wishing to become mentors. The registration form included the request for some personal information, as well as questions regarding the motivation to enroll in the program.

With the help of teachers from the five partner schools in Ilfov County, students who became mentors for other students from the same school were identified and selected. After selecting the mentors, we went to schools to meet them and have a training session.

During the training session, the following were discussed:

• general informatio about the project;
• elements of students' knowledge;
• motivation to participate in the program;
• expectations of mentors;
• the role of mentor and mentoring (Presentation of some
  of the testimonials of mentors in another mentoring program developed by our NGO in order to get to know the experience of some students
  who have already had the role of mentors);
• presenting examples of good practice;
• self-esteem and self-image (identification of some personal qualities);
• the existence of Roma students in school;
• if they have witnessed discrimination or if they have ever been discriminated against;
• the concept of identity and the assumption of identity (including ethnicity)
• about future plans “What do you want to do when you grow up?”
• planning meetings with mentors and in this regard there was a small brainstorming
  to agree on some of the activities they will carry out with future mentors.

The activities took place in schools, outside the classroom, with the supervision of teachers.

The mentors reported at the end of each activity and asked for feedback from the mentored students to improve the activities.

Parental activities and exchange of experience between parents

Beyond the extracurricular activities and workshops we organized with the students, the classrooms were also occupied by parents. I visited the partner schools and, during some meetings with the parents, I told about the project, about the activities that I have carried out over time with the children, but also about the pressures of the summer exam, about interculturality and diversity, about how could encourage children not to drop out of school. To show them, briefly, how some of our encounters with the little ones go, we put ourselves a little in their "shoes" and played together (or stepped out of our comfort zone and the serious etiquette that it gives you the role of parent). There were meetings where we set what we want together for the children: to build their confidence and reach their full potential.

International Roma Day

On April 8, we celebrated diversity, inclusion and acceptance along with over 150 students from our partner schools in Ilfov County (and three accompanying teachers for each school): Secondary School No. 1, Pantelimon, Secondary School no. 4, Buftea, Gymnasium School Nr. 1 Tunari, Gymnasium School Nr. 3 Sintești - Vidra and “Cezar Nicolau” Technological High School.

We met in the park of King Mihai I (Herăstrău) where he left with stories, laughter and many personalized T-shirts, at the event # TOGETHER on April 8 - International Roma Day..

Two weeks before the event, we visited each partner school in order to help the students customize their T-shirts. Each student from the five schools received a white T-shirt to personalize it according to their personality. From their hands Messages came addressed to their Roma friends or relatives, but also hearts, princess crowns, the names (or numbers) of the favorite footballers or their favorite sweets.

Once the T-shirts were made, with their messages for the close Roma friends (and not only), they were worn throughout the activities of the event, then taken home.

More about how the event where over 150 children participated can be found on the Facebook page dedicated to the project, but also in the News category, here.

The main purpose of the event was to increase the number of young Roma who recognize their ethnicity in order to focus on increasing the level of acceptance, trust and self-esteem of Roma, but also to decrease the level of discriminatory attitudes towards this minority. It also aimed to create a framework in which each student to can make their voice heard, in order to promote diversity.

Journalism circle – school magazine on the theme of inclusion

During the implementation period of the project, a journalism circle was organized in which students from the partner schools of the project participated. The students met under the coordination of a mentor and developed a magazine on the theme of inclusion. Creative writing workshops were held, where each student wrote a material, depending on the theme of the week. Under the umbrella of classic exercises such as: writing an article about their biggest fear, writing some of the characteristics that make them who they are (passions/hobbies/favorite books or movies/most beautiful memories/things they like the most about themselves, the people they love the most/biggest dreams, etc.) or defining some discouraging moments in their lives, there were storytelling exercises and writing your own story from 0, but s- they also addressed themes such as inclusion, diversity, stereotypes and prejudices they had to overcome over time, bullying or rejection received from those around them for being "different".

The purpose of these workshops was for the students to get to know themselves better, but also those around them through creative writing, but also for all the materials that came out of their hands to be collected in a self-contained magazine. You can find all the issues of the "School Ring" magazine below.

The magazine is addressed to to members of the communities from which the students come, but also to the other students in the schools.

Summer craft school

Between August 2-6, 2021 and then on August 1-5, 2022, summer school workshops for crafts were held for students from the five schools involved in the program. The workshops took place within the Paper Mill-Crafts Village Ensemble,from Comana commune, Giurgiu county. 

Among the activities carried out by the students were: 

• The theme of the book. Handmade Paper Workshops - Sheet of Paper and Bookbinding;;
• Ceramic painting workshop. Weaving workshop;
• Weaving workshop. Wickerwork and dolls made of rush;
• Modeling on ceramics and sewing on etamine;
• Painting workshop. The last day of knowing the occupations.

All the days spent during the two camps in Comana, in 2021 and 2022, made us get closer to each other, to get to know each other better and make new friends, to laugh and eat together, to get closer to the old crafts, but also to know the stories behind (and their importance). We did things together that we didn't think would get closer so quickly: we modeled in clay, we worked with wood, we made dolls out of rushes, we sewed bookmarks and created our own notebooks from scratch.

More about how the summer school workshops took place can be found on the Facebook page dedicated to the project, „Împreună pentru o școală incluzivă", as well as in the news section. The workshops were carried out by local craftsmen, some of whom were Roma, in order to pass on their practices and knowledge to the younger generations. 

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P.S: In addition to everything learned during the craft week, the students from the Gymnasium School Nr. 1 Pantelimon put their creativity to work and created a poem - which you can find here.

Sports activities – movement and play

Learning through experimental play as a psychosocial tool for working with children will develop their soul, mind and body and will shape their teamwork and relationship skills,dismantling existing stereotypes and prejudices.

Thus, inclusive sports teams inclusive sports teams of 20 students were created at the level of each community. The sports that were emphasized were football, volleyball, relay or skill games. All these sports were played in mixed teams (Roma and non-Roma, girls and boys, younger and older students). Each school also had a guiding teacher who set the schedule, based on a prior discussion with the students beforehand and finding out their sport preference.

On January 24, the students of our partner schools in Ilfov county competed in a different sports competitions. We met with more than 100 young people, accompanied by teachers, at MaxFun (Băneasa), to play bowling at schools. For most of the students, a first such experience, which although it was under the umbrella of a competition, its purpose was to bring students together and enjoy an afternoon of games.

Intercultural camps

Between 1st and 5th of September, 2021, the first series of the intercultural camp took place, along with the students from four of the partner schools in Ilfov County. We met with the pupils for the workshops at Step-by-Step Center, in Bucharest. The whole experience of the intercultural camp was about trust, collaboration, inclusion and diversity, approached through play.

Among the activities carried out within the camp were also games of knowledge, workshops on introduction to diversity (explaining the notions and terms of reference: inclusion, equity, acceptance, interculturality or non-formal games of understanding the terms "the street of inequality", "marginalization for everyone's understanding"), roma identity and culture workshops (quiz on Roma, presentation of Roma history, creation of one's own identity), human and child rights workshops or visits – in the last two days we visited the "Dimitrie Gusti" National Village Museum (Bucharest), the History Museum, the Cotroceni Museum and the Botanical Garden.

The second series of the intercultural camp took place between the 6th and 10th of September 2021 and consisted of the same work agenda, focused on inclusion and diversity. Beyond that, there were activities related to discovering the self, the thoughts and the role they play, emphasizing that every child is valuable and worthy of being loved.

In the summer of 2022 we were glad to organize the intercultural camps again together with the school students from our partner schools. This time the hosts of these camps were the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work and the University House, Bucharest.

The hot days of July caught us with the participants discussing about the history and culture of our community, about inclusion, acceptance, self-confidence, but also techniques and tools through which we can combat xenophobic, racist or discrediting messages against minorities. Thus, through games of trust, coordination, role, but also of creativity, they learned about the basic concepts related to interculturality and how it can be applied in everyday life.

Moreover, during these two camps, the participants had the opportunity to get to know each other better and to form new groups of friends within which they can share the message of inclusion and equity.

The purpose of the intercultural camps were to accumulate information on the history of Roma (slavery, enslavement, Holocaust, communist period), to analyze information about methods, techniques and tools for combating / reacting in situations of discrimination, but also to organize debates and creative games in which to focus on diversity, discrimination, anti-gypsyism or racism.

Because the purpose of these camps was to bring together, on January 27, we occupied a cinema hall together with the students and teachers from the five partner schools. We munched on popcorn and watched the movie "Wonka" together, the story of a magician who went out into the world with one dream: to share his recipe and love of chocolate with everyone. When the lights came back on in the cinema hall, Wonka left us with an important lesson – that every dream can come true if you believe and work for it.

Identifying and promoting successful models

In order to motivate the new generation to achieve their dreams through hard work and perseverance, we have included the concept of successful models in the project. Thus, at the level of each school, a group of students was organized consisting of about 10 people, who identified people, at the local level, who are role models for the other members of the community. In total, 15 such models were identified.

The teams wrote a series of stories in which they included the journey of the 15 successful models in their communities, wrote about the obstacles they went through, what their beginning of the road was like and what advice they offer for the young people who are currently choosing their job.

The process of documenting the stories consisted of interviewing each model for 10-15 minutes through which they learned more about the motivation behind their successes, but also the effort made in achieving them. 

All these stories materialized in the form of a brochure that was launched during an event held at Cinema City in Bucharest. This event was attended by 256 students joined by Emil Nepot who told the young people about the people next to us who motivate us to excel in the fields that are close to our heart. After that, we all watched a family-like movie, and we munched on popcorn together.

For some of today's young people it was the first time they found their place in a cinema hall. For others it was an afternoon they spent with their colleagues. For each of them today meant something different, but at the end of the day it was just about better observing the stories among us. But most importantly, to write our own stories.

The brochure of successful models can be accessed here.

Financial education and entrepreneurship clubs

One of the most widespread stereotypes about Roma is that they do not work or contribute economically to Romania's well-being. To reduce this stereotype we have organized teams of financial education and entrepreneurship. Their objective was for Roma and non-Roma pupils to work together on on the development of economic projects:from a fundraising campaign to the creation of small income-generating actions. We are sure that such activities will have echoes in the future of small entrepreneurs.

To put the theory into practice, in January 2024, I went with the students to Destiny Park (Băneasa), the first learning through play park in Romania, dedicated to children between 4 and 14 years old. In short, a miniature city where children test, for a few hours, adult life.

They could "hire" themselves as policemen, doctors, chocolatiers, deliverymen, pharmacists, dentists, journalists or firefighters, and along with that, they received a salary consisting of magic money, which they could use to experiment and other activities or games (football, climbing with a zip line or traveling a formula 1 route, for example). In total, 43 such activities, through which the children learned something about responsibility and income management... and had fun and amused themselves in the process.

Social theater clubs

In the last months of the 2021-2022 school year, the students of the five partner schools in Ilfov County, under the involvement, support and supervision of the coordinating teachers, rehearsed and performed five theater plays. The ideas for the chosen shows, the themes debated through them, as well as the artistic direction for which they opted, belonged entirely to them.

Once the performances were over, we met with the young students from the partner schools and watched (and recorded) the theater performances they had prepared. The young students spoke through their shows about tolerance, love and friendship, about unfounded prejudices or bullying and discrimination among young people.

In order for their achievement to be acknowledge by all, we gathered at The Fool (Bucharest) to watch the plays performed by the students and captured in the summer. If a few months ago the students' classrooms became real film sets, now the auditorium has turned into the students' own gala. They have watched the well-known plays Take, Yankee and Cadîr", but also performances made from scratch by young people, with the help of teachers, "The Search", "F.R.I.E.N.D.", "No one ever flies alone" and "A life lesson".

More details about each show can be found below:

• The theater play "A life lesson" (General School No. 1 Tunari); (Școala Generală Nr. 1 Tunari);
• The theater play "No one ever flies alone" ("Cezar Nicolau" Technological High School, Branesti);
• The theater play „F.R.I.E.N.D. ” (Gymnasium School No. 1, Pantelimon);
• • The “Search” theater play (Gymnasium School No. 4, Buftea);
• • The theater play "Take, Ianke and Cadîr" (Gymnasium School No. 3, Sintești-Vidra).

Debating and public speaking clubs

As part of the debate and public speaking activity, the students learned the art of building arguments in order to support their own speeches, covering various fields. Regardless of the field (public speaking or debates), the students' journey began by knowing or deepening the information about:

• communication and nonverbal language;
• emotional management;
• the structure of an argument;
• ethics.

An important point of the activity was the support offered to the Roma students involved in the project in order to develop the necessary skills to argue certain positions regarding the Roma minority, as well as to break stereotypes and prejudices that are encountered in everyday life.

The students from the 5 partner schools had the opportunity to put into practice the secrets of the debate during the event organized at The Fool, in Bucharest. On the occasion of the International Day of Tolerance, the students debated for the acceptance of the other, respect, appreciation, knowledge of other worlds and diversity. For many it was the first time they were in front of a microphone (and some more or less foreign eyes). That day was an exercise of courage and overcoming fears for each of them, which brought them closer to themselves, but also to others.

By the end of the day, one thing was certain, that the students had achieved our goal, which was to feel empowered to take their position in accordance with the proposed themes when the framework allows them.

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At one of the events organized by the “Împreună” Agency, "Educom Together", one of the students we met at the debate club, Iasmina Împușcatu, also became one of the speakers we wanted on stage. Iasmina, a student at the Technological High School "Cezar Nicolau", Brănești, talked about the education that takes place in the family, about limits, barriers and the way in which, sometimes, those who cut our wings are the very ones we care about the most.

The following activities were carried out in the five partner schools:

Mentoring for inclusion and increasing self-esteem

24 students were trained to become mentors, by learning the principles of inclusion and diversity;
265 students involved in activities to increase self-esteem and encourage them during their education.

International Roma Day

150 Roma and non-Roma students celebrated International Roma Day together

Journalism circle – School magazine on the topic of inclusion;

25 Roma and non-Roma students took part in the journalism circle, and within it 6 issues of the magazine "Ringul scolar" were produced, a magazine about diversity and inclusion.

Summer craft school;

100 Roma and non-Roma students participated in the activity, who got close to the old crafts: they modeled in clay, made rush dolls, sewed bookmarks and created their own notebooks, among others.

Sports activities – movement and play;

100 Roma and non-Roma students were involved in sports activities, and in January 2024 the final event of the activity took place, under the umbrella of a bowling competition, in which 20 students from each school, under the coordination of the teaching staff, took part . Beyond this competition, 4 other local competitions were organized.

Intercultural camps;

265 Roma and non-Roma students were informed about equity and interculturality within the camps. Among the activities carried out were: dissemination of information about Roma history and culture, clarification of the concepts of interculturality, diversity, discrimination, anti-Gypsyism, racism, accumulation of information about Roma history (Slavery, Disenfranchisement, Holocaust, communist period).

Identifying and promoting successful models;

265 students benefited from the brochure of successful models, which included the stories of successful people identified in the 5 localities of Ilfov.

Financial education and entrepreneurship clubs;

50 students have improved knowledge of finance and entrepreneurship, accumulated throughout the implementation of the clubs.

Social theater clubs;

In the summer of 2022, we transformed the school hallways into film sets, and on November 22, 2022, 57 students from the 5 partner schools participated in the closing event of the activity, in Bucharest, where they saw each other the work. Secondary School No. 1, Pantelimon ended our meeting by choosing to play directly on stage. I watched both already known theater shows, "Take, Ianke and Cadîr", but also shows made from scratch by young people, with the help of teachers, "Căutarea", "P. R.I.E.T.E.N', 'No One Ever Flies Alone' and 'A Life Lesson'.

Public speaking clubs;

50 students learned argumentation skills through the debate and public speaking clubs. On November 16, 2022, in Bucharest, 52 students participated in the end of the activity and gave a speech each on the occasion of the International Day of Tolerance and were awarded. Acceptance of the other, respect, appreciation, knowing other worlds and the fact that we don't know them all – were just some of the themes that the children brought up and said out loud, on stage, for the first time in front of a microphone (and to some more or less foreign eyes). An exercise in courage and overcoming fears for each individual, which brought them closer to themselves, but also to others.