Program duration: 01/01/2022 - 30/04/2024
Empowering Young Roma Women in matters of health, prevention and human rights: a new methodological approach
The project “Empowering Young Roma Women in matters of health, prevention and human rights: a new methodological approach” is implemented within the Active citizens fund program, by the Prolepsis Institute in collaboration with the Intercultural Education Laboratory (IEL) of the Department of Educational Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
The Active citizens fund in Greece is supported through a € 13.5 m grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as part of the EEA Grants 2014 – 2021. The programme aims to develop the sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector in Greece, and to strengthen its role in promoting and safeguarding democratic procedures, active citizenship and human rights. The Fund Operator for the Active citizens fund in Greece is Bodossaki Foundation in consortium with SolidarityNow. More information: www.activecitizensfund.gr/en/
Information about the project and the need to empower young Roma women:
This project aims to empower Roma women, as well as organizations (NGOs, universities, etc.) working with Roma populations on matters relating to common attitudes and habits that can have a negative impact on their health, the implementation of preventive medicine and the importance of human rights.
Roma constitute one of the most vulnerable population groups in Greece. Life expectancy of the Roma people is 10 years shorter compared to the general population. They are increasingly affected by transmittable and chronic diseases and are found to have higher prevalence of habits, such as smoking and unhealthy dietary choices, which can lead to chronic disease, while barriers in health care access further exacerbate the problem. In terms of health, Roma women are more vulnerable to specific health issues compared to the general population. In addition, they are exposed at increased risk of domestic violence and they have limited access to education.
The project will run for 28 months, from January 1, 2022 to April 30, 2024. Quantitative and qualitative research will be carried out within the project, aiming to explore the needs and the idiosyncratic characteristics of Roma women, in terms of health and prevention (smoking, dietary habits, prevention of gynecological diseases and vaccinations), human rights, domestic violence, mental health, and social exclusion.
Subsequently, educational tools and appropriate methodology for approaching Roma women in matters, of health and human rights will be developed. The activities of the project will be implemented in specific areas throughout Greece (Volos, Chalkida, Thiva, Agia Varvara, Zefyri) initially to educators (Roma and non-Roma women), who will then transfer the knowledge acquired to their communities (Roma women ≤25 years old).
Prolepsis Institute – Project Promoter
Since 1990, the Prolepsis Institute, the Promoter of the Project, has been contributing to the promotion of public health through educational and research activities. At the same time, it implements important social and humanitarian work aimed at combating poverty and social exclusion. More information about Prolepsis Institute’s work here.
Intercultural Education Laboratory (IEL) -Partner of the project
The partner of the project, Intercultural Education Laboratory (IEL) belongs to the Pedagogical Department of Secondary Education and is an evolution of the Intercultural Education Center (founded in 1996). Its foundation (Issue B ‘4971 / 31.12.2019) reflects the need for diffusion and application of intercultural education at all levels of everyday life, as a result of the multicultural character of modern Greek society. The Laboratory has undertaken numerous studies, which concern issues of intercultural education at national and international level. The aim is to research, produce and promote knowledge related to interculturalism, always in the light of interdisciplinarity and cooperation and other scientific fields in order to serve the public and social interest. For this purpose, scientific lectures, workshops, seminars, symposia, conferences and other scientific events are held. Research – Educational Programs are implemented to support vulnerable social groups. At the same time, through the operation of the Laboratory, postgraduate students, doctoral candidates and postdoctoral students are provided with the opportunity for further research as well as the possibility of connecting and communicating with universities of other institutions, foundations, and institutes dealing with issues common to those of the Laboratory.
More information here and here.
News
Active participation of young Roma women in the educational activities of Prolepsis Institute in Thebes and Zephyri
September 20, 2023: Last week, the scientific team of Prolepsis Institute visited the areas of Thebes and Zephyri in order to inform young Roma women about health issues and prevention as part of the project “Empowering young Roma women in matters of health, prevention and human rights: a new methodological approach”.
The active participation of young Roma women highlighted the need for proper informational activities from experts on these issues.
More specifically, the educational material developed by the project team of Prolepsis Institute includes 4 units: Prevention of gynaecological issues, Vaccinations, Smoking and Nutrition. The interactive trainings included, among other things, presentations, distribution of printed informational material, but also the completion of questionnaires for research purposes.
The aim of the project is the empowerment of young Roma women in matters of health, prevention and human rights, a more complete understanding of their needs, the investigation of their own perceptions of the specific issues, as well as the evaluation of the developed methods and educational tools.
The educational activities will continue in the following days in the regions of Chalkida and Agia Varvara.
Notably, in all areas included in the project, apart from the trainings by the experts, previously trained Roma women will have the chance to also conduct trainings, transferring themselves the knowledge they have acquired to their communities.
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Actions 5 & 6 of the project “Empowering young Roma women in matters of health, prevention and human rights: a new methodological approach” have been completed.
April 27th, 2023: At the end of April 2023, actions 5 & 6 were completed, which concern the training of potential future trainers in the modules for which material was developed during actions 3 and 4. In particular, trainings were carried out by the collaborators of the Prolepsis Institute (on health issues and prevention) and of the Intercultural Education Studies Lab of the Department of Educational Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (for human rights), so that the future trainers will be able to carry out informative actions for young Roma women during the next phase of the Project which will start in May. The trainings of the trainers took place in the intervention areas, i.e. in Volos, Chalkida, Thebes, Zephyri, and Agia Varvara, where the field research had preceded.
The project will continue with the pilot application of informative actions by the trainers to young Roma women in the intervention areas, while at the same time an evaluation of the methods and educational tools developed during the Project is carried out.
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Development of appropriate educational tools.
January 27th, 2023: At the end of December 2022, actions 3 & 4 of the project “Empowering young Roma women in matters of health, prevention and human rights: a new methodological approach” were successfully completed. The actions concerned the development of appropriate educational tools for health and prevention issues (action 3) and for human rights (action 4). More specifically, the educational material developed by the Prolepsis Institute for health and prevention includes 4 units (Prevention of gynecological issues, Vaccinations, Smoking and Nutrition) and consists of a theoretical background for the development of the material, a presentation for future trainers, a presentation for trainees, a brochure and a poster.
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Radio interview with Professor of Epidemiology Athena Linos, President of Prolepsis Institute, on Alpha 98.9
April 8th, 2022: Professor of Epidemiology Athena Linos, President of Prolepsis Institute, spoke on Alpha 98.9 and journalist Vicky Karatzaferi about the new project “Empowering Young Roma Women in matters of health, prevention and human rights: a new methodological approach”. Listen to the full interview here.
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Radio Interview with Afroditi Veloudaki, Managing Director of the Prolepsis Institute, on SKAI 100.3
March 31st, 2022: Afroditi Veloudaki, Managing Director of the Prolepsis Institute and Health Communication Specialist spoke on SKAI 100.3 and journalist Vassilis Koufopoulos on the new project “Empowering Young Roma Women in matters of health, prevention and human rights: a new methodological approach”. Listen to the full interview here.
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Press conference for the project on Wednesday, March 30th 2022
March 30th, 2022: Prolepsis Institute organized a Press Conference on Wednesday March 30, 2022, at 15:00 – 16:30, for the launch of the project “Empowering Young Roma Women in matters of health, prevention and human rights: a new methodological approach”. The online Press Conference presented the project, its objectives, as well as the educational activities that will be designed. The event’s agenda is available here.
Read the Press Release here. You can watch the entire Press Conference on the Prolepsis Institute’s YouTube channel.
Educational Materials
About the EEA Grants:
Τhe EEA Grants are jointly financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The EEA Grants are available to the 13 EU member countries that joined the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA) in 2004, 2007 and 2013 as well as Greece and Portugal. The decision-making body of the EEA Grants is the Financial Mechanism Committee, which is composed of representatives of the Foreign Ministries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. More information: www.eeagrants.org & www.eeagrants.gr
About Bodossaki:
The Bodossaki Foundation is one of the most respected privately-owned public benefit organizations in Greece. The Foundation is the culminating point of its founder’s brilliant course in life and remains the carrying vessel of the values and ideas that he faithfully served throughout his eventful life. The Foundation was established in 1972 by Prodromos – Bodossakis Athanassiades who decided to donate his entire fortune to support health care, equal opportunities, quality in education, scientific progress and environmental protection. The Foundation has a deep knowledge of social needs in Greece and has administered so far more than €450m supporting its causes.
The Bodossaki Foundation also supports NGOs working with socially vulnerable groups and has lately set the strengthening of civil society as one of its primary objectives. Since 2013 it administers the regranting facilities of the EEA Grants for civil society in Greece. More information: www.bodossaki.gr/en/
About SolidarityNow:
SolidarityNow (SN) is a non-governmental organization established in 2013 to respond to the needs, and advocate for the rights of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups, indiscriminately. SN’s Headquarters are in Athens, with large operations in Thessaloniki and activities across the country. The organization’s vision is to improve people’s lives and to empower them to create a just and inclusive society. SN’s actions fall under three main strategic priorities: a) Promoting safety and protection; b) Catalyzing livelihoods opportunities; c) Strengthening the independence of civil society and defending open society values. SN has supported 300,000 people to date, both through direct project implementation and through regranting programmes. Through its regranting initiatives, SN has supported 73 different programs and provided a total funding of € 14.4M to support Greek civil society organizations. More information: www.solidaritynow.org/en/
Contact for more information about the project:
Afroditi Veloudaki, PhD, Managing Director of Prolepsis Institute: a.veloudaki@prolepsis.gr, tel.: 210-6255700
