integration of roma in spain sesimbra, 10th march 2012

Integration of Roma in SpainSesimbra, 10th March 2012

The Roma in Spain

• In Spain the Roma are named “gitanos” (gypsys). Historically, their presence in Spain is dated in the fifteenth century.

• Of the 10-12 million Roma living in Europe, Spain has the second biggest community, estimated at 900,000 people, or about the 2% of the total Spanish population.

• Spain invests almost €36 million annually in them.

• In Spain, only 5% of Roma live in makeshift camps, and about 50% of Roma are homeowners.

• All Roma in Spain have access to health care and education.

• Almost all Roma children start elementary school (although only about 30% complete it), and more than 85% of the country's Roma are literate.

Integration of Roma in Spain

Much of the Spanish good work in integrating Roma is thanks to its specific history with the community.

After the Franco’s dictatorship and in order to guarantee stability in the country, the constitution written in that moment was inclusive of all ethnic groups and cultures, thus shielding Roma from institutional exclusion. And because Roma were the single most impoverished population in the 1980s in Spain, they attracted the most development efforts.

During centuries, Roma in Spain have melded into Spanish mainstream culture — flamenco dancing and their traditional dress and this gaves them a good way to integrate with the rest of the population in some regions, specially in the south of Spain.


Roma dancing in a procession of the Gitanos brotherhood during Holy Week in Málaga, Spain


At first, some programs to promote the Roma integration were wrongheaded. Roma were moved directly from shanties into special public housing just for them and their children went to transitional schools.

The results can still be seen in some parts of Seville, where housing blocks for Roma became broken down tenements.

The transitional schools failed, too, as Roma shunned them and educators decided that Roma children should not be isolated.

Now, government policy is to scatter Roma in public housing and send their children to neighborhood schools. Mediators have been set up in the schools to help if problems arise. And social services help with the transition.


In Spain, more than 30 years of government programs to help Roma have begun to show signs of success. Virtually all young Roma children are in elementary school. Nearly half of their parents own their own homes and many are holding down mainstream jobs.

Spanish integration approach has been instrumental in pairing access to mainstream social services with targeted inclusion programs.

Some experts say Spain’s secret is that it has concentrated on practical issues, such as access to housing and jobs.

Integration of Roma in SpainOngoing challenges

We still have a long road ahead to improve the integration of Roma in our country:

- Almost all Roma children , 94%, go to primary school but the school dropout rate for Roma children between 12 to 18 years old is a staggering 80 percent .

- Although Roma has a high activity rate, only half of those who work it does for others (compared to 81% of the Spanish average) and of these only 15% have a permanent job. Most of them work selling things in street markets.

- Almost all live in flats but nearly 5% of the population still live in shacks.

Integration of Roma in SpainOngoing Challenges

- A 12% suffer severe exclusion, although they are the 2% of the population.

- A 17% of households receive social assistance.

-Their life expectancy is 8-9 years less than their compatriots.

- The Roma women's access to education is lower than the Roma men. It is especially significant that a 33% of Roma woman from 18 to 24 years old drop out school for "their" family responsibilities: to look after their brothers or to marry, while the 9% of men of the same age drop out for work: a strong differentiation of roles at a young age.

The professional qualifications of the Roma population: Ongoing Challenge

-The Roma population is a long way from the average levels of training and professional qualifications of the rest of the population. They have a very low or almost no presence in Initial and Upper vocational training. It’s not that they are discriminated against or prohibit access, but there isn’t suitable training offer, there is not sufficiently accessible in accordance with the conditions and needs of the Roma population. Some barriers to access are:

-- Lack of appropiate difusion of the programs and opportunities addressed to this sector of the population.

-- Offer training activities and courses sometimes are not adapted to the level of initial training of these people.

-- Inadaptation of the offer for timetable, duration, etc. In relation to socioeconomic and family status of this population.

The professional qualifications of the Roma population: Ongoing Challenge

We have to ensure an improvement in equal opportunities for this population in their first job and an increasing permanence in the labor market, improving their work conditions and sustainability of their social insertion.

In sum, the challenge is the need to advance the effective incorporation of this segment of the population to education and vocational training as a whole, which is a challenge for the competent authorities and for the Roma community.

Integration of Roma in Spain:Good Practices

• ACCEDER Programme: promoting equal access to jobs

The program takes young and unemployed Roma, and teaches them technical skills and helps them earn a professional qualification. At the end, they are placed in jobs through a series of agreements with private companies

Integration of Roma in SpainGood Practices

• ACCEDER Programme: promoting equal access to jobs

In fact, the ACCEDER programme has focused on the promotion of labour-contract employment versus selfemployment as a better means for social inclusion, understanding that through coexistence in labour market, cultural understanding between Roma and non Roma people would be facilitated.


• PROMOCIONA Programme

The Promociona Programme seeks to promote the educational mainstreaming of Roma students with a view to achieving higher academic standards at the end of primary education and throughout the compulsory secondary level of education and to promotecontinued vocational training or higher education.


• PROMOCIONA Programme

The specific objectives are:

• To facilitate the transition between Primary and CompulsorySecondary Education, the permanence in the educational systemand advancement on to upper studies.

• To generate and enhance the conditions needed to achieveacademic success within the Roma community and, in general,of the entire educational community through work with the different stakeholders: students, families, schools and other social agents.


• Programme “When I grow up I want to be....”

In september 2010 the Fundación Secretariado Gitano launched an awareness-raising campaign through all of Spain.

First objective: talk to Roma children and their parents about the importance of school

Second objective: to draw the attention of public authorities so that they do something about the educational deficit of the Roma community



A van and a mobile photography studio covered 5722 km through all of Spain, showing 20 professions from which children can choose for their pictures



An activity encouraged Roma children to finish school by taking their picture and adding it to an illustration of the career they chose.



It’s a programme to encourage Roma children to dream about what they want to be when they grow up and to achive that dream


• Campaign “Know them before judging -Your prejudices are the voices of other”

It is a call of attention to society about the ignorance we have of the Spanish Roma community and the need to meet them. To combat prejudice and extereotips, and promote and approach to the community and Roma culture

Prejudices are spread

as fast as this card

FETE-UGT and the Roma

Our trade union, as others, has the responsibility and the opportunity to provide answers to those social changes that have a greater impact on the education system.

Our initiatives range from the creation of presential and virtual spaces for reflection and exchange, through information campaigns and sensitization to the development of teaching materials for classroom work.

From FETE-UGT, we opt for a collaborative working methodology for network development, recognition and visibility of best practices and the realization of a strong speech about the values upon which to build a new model of society in that everyone is committed.


We have elaborated an inventory of resources for intercultural learning and education in values to help teachers in their professional work and also like a source of personal enrichment.

Some of this tools are in our intercultural education web site named "aula intercultural" http://www.aulaintercultural.org/sommaire.php3?lang=enIn this web site, you can find everything about the interculturalism and an special block dedicated to the teachers that work with the Roma. Also we have teaching tools to work at the classroom against racism and intolerance, to know other cultures, gender equality, immigration, etc.

The union also offers courses for teachers in schools with cultural diversity, some of them especially aimed at teachers working with Roma.

http://www.aulaintercultural.org/sommaire.php3?lang=en

This is a brief summary of what has been done or is doing in Spain for the integration of Roma.

With the economic crisis public administrations have made strong budget cuts in social services, education and health.

With these cuts, many programs focused on the neediest groups have been eliminated or severely beaten.

We do not know what the future holds, we know for what we want to fight.

Thank you for your attention

Manuela Rodríguez CalvoSesimbra, 10th March 2012

integration of roma in spain sesimbra, 10th march 2012

Documents

roma integration

spainintegration of

countrys roma

young roma children

spainin spain

south of spain

spanish integration

elementary school