The Roma Education Resource Book INSTITUTE for EDUCATIONAL POLICY

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Roma Education Resource Book INSTITUTE for EDUCATIONAL POLICY The Roma Education Resource Book INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL POLICY BUDAPEST, 2001 OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL POLICY Nador u. 11, 1051 Budapest, Hungary tel: +36 1 327 3862; fax: +36 1 327 3864 http://www.osi.hu/iep/ The Roma Education Resource Book OVERVIEWS AND POLICY ISSUES METHODS AND PRACTICE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE Edited by CHRISTINA MCDONALD JUDITH KOVÁCS CSABA FÉNYES O PEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE Foreword Published in August 2001 by The Open Society Institute Dear Reader, The Institute for Educational Policy and the OSI Educational Sub-Board have continued to place importance on educational equity, generally, and the education of Roma pupils, specifically, within the Soros Foundation Network’s agenda. Information is knowledge and knowledge is power. Learning is essential for understanding issues, and for us as a community to collectively work at overcoming inequities in systems of education that disfavor specific minority groups. Thus, IEP has continued to search and compile articles that will help us learn, that will lead the way to finding solutions, and that may enlighten us a bit more from what we do not know. Share the contents of this book with interested people. Be creative in its use. Read, enjoy and learn! IEP For copyright, please contact the authors and the original publishers. Designed by DR-CAM, Budapest Printed by Syculus Ltd., Budapest (www.syculus.hu) 5 Acknowledgement Table of Contents IEP would like to acknowledge and than the work of those who Foreword . 5 contributed to this volume by translating articles into English, Acknowledgement . 6 Please contact IEP for specific names of individuals if interested, Overviews and Policy Issues . 15 Education of the Roma in Central and Eastern Europe: Trends and Challenges . 17 By Dena Ringold, The World Bank, Washington D.C. I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND . 17 II. METHODOLOGY AND MEASUREMENT CONSTRAINTS . 18 III. POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS . 21 Fertility and demographic trends . 22 IV. E DUCATION STATUS . 24 Access in the socialist era . 24 Educational attainment in the transition period . 25 V. CONSTRAINTS TO ACCESS . 28 Poverty and Education . 28 Cultural and Linguistic Factors . 31 Education Quality . 32 VI. POLICY IMPLICATIONS . 36 Cross-Cutting Issues . 36 Education Interventions . 38 REFERENCES . 41 Roma Education Policies in Hungary . 43 By Péter Radó, Assistant Director, Institute for Educational Policy, OSI-Budapest INTRODUCTION . 43 1. THE POLICY PROBLEM . 43 2. SYSTEMIC ENVIRONMENT AND POLICY MAKING . 45 2.1 The transformation of the systemic environment of policy making . 45 2.2 The involvement of Roma community to policy making . 47 3. THE ETHNIC DIMENSION OF POLICIES . 47 3.1 Language and culture . 48 3.2 Discrimination . 49 6 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 4. THE OVERALL EDUCATION FRAMEWORK OF POLICIES . 49 I. INTRODUCTION . 121 4.1 Regulation . 49 I.1. Note on Methodology and Organization of the Report . 121 4.2 Curriculum and assessment . 50 I.2. Brief Background and History of Roma and the 4.3 Textbook publishing, teacher training and pedagogical services . 51 Educational Process in Bulgaria . 122 4.4 Financing . 53 I.3. Profile of the Education system in Bulgaria . 125 5. DIFFERENT PROGRAMS FOR ROMA CHILDREN IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION 54 I.3.1. Legal provisions . 125 6. TARGETED GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS . 56 I.3.2. Structure of the educational system in Bulgaria . 127 6.1 The 1992 strategy . 56 I.3.3. Administrative Structure . 128 6.2 The 1995 strategy . 57 I.3.4. Financing . 129 6.3 The 1997 strategy . 58 II. SITUATION OF ROMA AND SCHOOLING – GENERAL TRENDS . 131 6.4 The 1999 strategy . 58 II.1. Profile of schools . 131 7. OVERALL EVALUATION OF POLICIES (Summary) . 60 II.1.1. „Romani neighborhood school“ . 131 REFERENCES . 62 II.1.2. „Mixed Schools“, segregated classes“ . 133 II.1.3. „Ethnic Bulgarian schools“ . 134 II.1.4. „Special schools“ . 134 The Gypsy Minority in Bulgaria II.2. Problems Concerning School Attendance, – Policy and Community Development . 63 Continuation and Overall Achievement Levels . 136 By Elena Marushiakova & Vesselin Popov, Institute for Folklore, Sophia, Bulgaria II.2.1. Romani children not attending school . 137 II.2.2. Low percentage of Romani children attend kindergarten . 137 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND . 63 II.2.3. High drop-out rate amongst Romani students . 137 ETHNOSOCIAL STRUCTURE . 70 II.2.4. Overall lower achievement levels amongst Romani girls and women . 138 THE NUMBER OF GYPSIES AND THEIR MIGRATIONS . 73 II.3. Discriminatory Attitudes, Deliberate Segregation and Exclusion . 138 POLICY OF THE STATE INSTITUTIONS AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES AFTER 1989 . 83 III. CURRENT NEEDS IN VIEW OF IMPROVING THE EDUCATION AND GYPSIES AND THE NON-GOVERNMENTAL SECTOR . 86 SCHOOLING OF ROMA IN BULGARIA . 140 GYPSY MOVEMENT . 93 III.1. No institutionalization of bilingual programs . 140 SUMMARY . 97 III.2. Unequal expectations and BIBLIOGRAPHY . 103 a lack of a support scheme for critical transition years . 141 ANNEX . 106 III.3. Insufficient pre-service and in-service teacher training, and presence of Romani teachers . 142 III.4. Lack of multi-cultural curriculum and textbooks, Education for Romanies in Finland . 107 including Romani language . 143 By National Board of Education, Romany Education Unit III.5. Insufficient textbooks and general teaching materials in Romani neighborhood schools . 145 DAY CARE AND PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION . 107 III.6. Lack of extra-curricular activities of Romani students and THE COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL . 109 meaningful involvement of parents in the schooling process . 145 THE TEACHING OF THE ROMANY LANGUAGE IN SCHOOLS . 110 IV. CURRENT POLICY FRAMEWORK CONCERNING ROMA AND EDUCATION . 147 ADULT EDUCATION FOR THE ROMANY POPULATION . 111 IV.1. Governmental policy on Roma . 147 THE EDUCATION UNIT FOR THE ROMANY POPULATION . 114 V. DONOR PROGRAMS . 150 VI. CONCLUDING REMARKS . 151 DATA SHEET . 153 Roma in the Education System of Bulgaria: REFERENCES . 156 A Problem Analysis . 119 ANNEX 1: AGENDA OF THE WORKING VISIT TO BULGARIA IN PREPARATION OF THE REPORT By Jennifer Tanaka & Christina McDonald, „ROMA IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM OF BULGARIA – A PROBLEM ANALYSIS“ . 157 Institute for Educational Policy, OSI-Budapest ANNEX 2: LIST OF NGOS IN BULGARIA WITH PREVIOUS OR CURRENT ACTIVITIES CONCERNING EDUCATION AND ROMA . 159 FOREWORD . 119 ANNEX 3: MAP OF SELECTED ROMANI SETTLEMENTS IN BULGARIA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . ..
Recommended publications
  • ROMANI in the BALKAN LINGUISTIC LEAGUE Victor A
    Romani in the Balkan Linguistic League 1 ROMANI IN THE BALKAN LINGUISTIC LEAGUE Valkanike @Glossologia:@ Sygkhronia kai Diakhronia/Balkanlinguistik: Synchronie und Diachronie, ed. by Chr. Tzitzilis and Kh. Symeonidełs. Thessaloniki: University of Thessaloniki. 2000. 95-105. Victor A. Friedman University of Chicago 1. INTRODUCTION The Romani language raises serious and interesting theoretical questions for the concept of the linguistic league in general and for the concept of Balkan linguistic league in particular. In this paper I wish to examine some aspects of Romani as a Balkan language and the question of Balkanisms in general. The Balkanization of Romani must be understood on several levels. From a strictly structural point of view, we can distinguish three levels of Balkanization in Romani: 1) the earliest pre-European diaspora which resulted from contact with Greek (but also with Slavic), 2) the continued contact shared by all those dialects that remained in the Balkans, whether on Austro-Hungarian or Ottoman territory, 3) the intensive contact of sedentarized dialects. Moreover, a striking feature of Balkanization in Romani is that while it has obvious effects on certain aspects at all levels from phonology through syntax, there are other areas that in the canonical Balkan languages (i.e. Albanian, Greek, Balkan Romance, and Balkan Slavic) show the effects of Balkanization but in Romani do not. I would argue that this might not be for structural reasons but rather for sociolinguistic ones. Owing to the specific social position of Romani, resistance and boundary maintenance play a special communicative role that results in the differential adoption of Balkan features.
    [Show full text]
  • Romani Syntactic Typology Evangelia Adamou, Yaron Matras
    Romani Syntactic Typology Evangelia Adamou, Yaron Matras To cite this version: Evangelia Adamou, Yaron Matras. Romani Syntactic Typology. Yaron Matras; Anton Tenser. The Palgrave Handbook of Romani Language and Linguistics, Springer, pp.187-227, 2020, 978-3-030-28104- 5. 10.1007/978-3-030-28105-2_7. halshs-02965238 HAL Id: halshs-02965238 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-02965238 Submitted on 13 Oct 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Romani syntactic typology Evangelia Adamou and Yaron Matras 1. State of the art This chapter presents an overview of the principal syntactic-typological features of Romani dialects. It draws on the discussion in Matras (2002, chapter 7) while taking into consideration more recent studies. In particular, we draw on the wealth of morpho- syntactic data that have since become available via the Romani Morpho-Syntax (RMS) database.1 The RMS data are based on responses to the Romani Morpho-Syntax questionnaire recorded from Romani speaking communities across Europe and beyond. We try to take into account a representative sample. We also take into consideration data from free-speech recordings available in the RMS database and the Pangloss Collection.
    [Show full text]
  • A THREAT to "STABILITY" Human Rights Violations in Macedonia
    Macedoni Page 1 of 10 A THREAT TO "STABILITY" Human Rights Violations in Macedonia Human Rights Watch/Helsinki Human Rights Watch Copyright © June 1996 by Human Rights Watch. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. ISBN: 1-56432-170-3 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 96-77111 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report was researched and written by Fred Abrahams, a consultant to Human Rights Watch/Helsinki. It is based primarily on a mission to Macedonia conducted in July and August 1995. During that time, Human Rights Watch/Helsinki spoke with dozens of people from all ethnic groups and political persuasions. Extensive interviews were conducted throughout the country with members of government, leaders of the ethnic communities, human rights activists, diplomats, journalists, lawyers, prison inmates and students. The report was edited by Jeri Laber, Senior Advisor to Human Rights Watch/Helsinki. Anne Kuper provided production assistance. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki would like to thank the many people in Macedonia and elsewhere who assisted in the preparation of this report, especially those who took the time to read early drafts. Thanks also go to those members of the Macedonian government who helped by organizing a prison visit, providing information or granting lengthy interviews. I. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Macedonia faces difficulties on several fronts. As a former member of the Yugoslav federation, the young republic is in a transition from communism in which it must decentralize its economy, construct democratic institutions and revitalize its civil society. These tasks, demanding under any circumstances, have been made more difficult by Macedonia's proximity to the war in Bosnia.
    [Show full text]
  • The Political Empowerment of Roma Youth in Bulgaria: Challenges and Perspectives Atanas Stoyanov243
    The Political Empowerment of Roma Youth in Bulgaria: Challenges and Perspectives Atanas Stoyanov243 This paper was written by the author, a young Roma activist, for the Roma and Sinti Youth Conference: Activism, Participation, Security, organized by the OSCE/ODIHR Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues. The opinions contained herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the OSCE, ODIHR, or any participating State. Introduction 243 Despite these efforts, a number of reports pub- lished by local and international non-governmental Bulgaria is the country with the highest percentage organizations (NGOs) suggest that these and other of Roma in Europe. Although not reflected in official integration strategies remain ineffective.246 A partic- statistics, numerous international organizations and ular problem with such strategies is that they are of- studies estimate that Roma make up approximate- ten developed without the full participation of Roma. 244 ly 10 per cent of the total population of Bulgaria. This paper is premised on the view that the only way Over the past twenty years, the country has witnessed to assist Roma in dealing with the challenges they face a series of efforts to improve the living standards of is to provide for their political empowerment; Roma Roma. Since the fall of communism, organizations must be afforded a place at the decision-making ta- such as the Open Society Institute in Sofia and the ble in order to shape their own future. The political Human Rights Project, among others, have been participation of Roma in Bulgaria has been neglected established with the aim of improving the situation for many years and continues to limit the capacity of of Roma and of promoting democratic values more Roma to realize their full potential.
    [Show full text]
  • Populism, Voters and Cleavages in Bulgarian Politics*
    56 POLITOLOGICKÝ ČASOPIS / CZECH JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE 1/2017 Populism, Voters and Cleavages in Bulgarian Politics* EMILIA ZANKINA** Abstract The growing success of populist parties from across the political spectrum in Europe calls for an examination of the link between populist parties and voters and the new (if new indeed) cleavages that such parties exploit. Scholars have pointed to the erosion of traditional cleavages as one rea- son for the success of populist parties. Such analysis fits well with the established democracies of Europe but has little application in the East European context. Traditional cleavages have taken root in few places in Eastern Europe before communist takeover and became even less relevant follow- ing four and a half decades of communist rule. With the fall of communist regimes across Eastern Europe, the only meaningful division within society was that of anti-communists and supporters of the old regime. Similarly, concepts of Left and Right had (and to a great extend continue to have) lit- tle relevance in the East European context where the Left came to be dominated by former commu- nist parties and the Right engulfed an ideologically incoherent opposition. The stronger the former communists were (such as in Bulgaria and Romania) the more fragmented the Right was, as it was the only available space for political competition. The present paper aims to examine voter support for populist parties in Bulgaria and analyze on the cleavages that those parties exploit or create. Thus, the paper examines the impact of populist parties on the political landscape in terms of the changes that those parties result in in voter behavior and cleavage formation.
    [Show full text]
  • Romania & Bulgaria 7
    ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Romania & Bulgaria Maramure¢ p166 Moldavia & the Bucovina Transylvania Monasteries Cri¢ana & p76 p183 Banat p149 ROMANIA Bucharest The Danube Delta p34 & Black Sea Wallachia Coast p211 p60 The Danube & Northern Plains p427 Sofia BULGARIA p296 Veliko Târnovo & Black Sea Coast Central Mountains p395 p359 Plovdiv & the Southern Mountains p321 Mark Baker, Steve Fallon, Anita Isalska PLAN YOUR TRIP ON THE ROAD Romania & BUCHAREST . 34 Sinaia . 77 Bulgaria Map . 6 Around Bucharest . 58 Bucegi Mountains . 82 Romania & Snagov Lake . 58 Predeal . .. 83 Bulgaria’s Top 17 . .. 8 Braşov . 85 Welcome to Romania . 18 WALLACHIA . 60 Around Braşov . 92 Need to Know . 22 Ploieşti . 62 Bran . 93 Târgovişte . 65 Poiana Braşov . 94 If You Like… . 24 Piteşti . 66 Zărnesţi . 95 Month by Month . 26 Curtea de Argeş . 68 Hărman & Prejmer . 97 Itineraries . 29 Craiova . 70 Saxon Land . 98 Drobeta-Turnu Severin . 73 Regions at a Glance . .. 31 Sighişoara . 98 Fortified Saxon TRANSYLVANIA . 76 Villages . 104 Prahova Valley . 77 Făgăraş Mountains . 106 SALAJEAN / SHUTTERSTOCK © SHUTTERSTOCK / SALAJEAN WOMEN IN ROMANIAN TRADITIONAL DRESS Romania Contents UNDERSTAND Sibiu . 109 Iza Valley . 178 Romania Around Sibiu . 116 Vişeu & Vaser Valleys . 181 Today . 230 Székely Land . 118 Borşa . 182 History . 232 Sfântu Gheorghe . 118 The Dracula Myth . 242 Miercurea Ciuc . 120 MOLDAVIA & THE BUCOVINA Outdoor Activities Gheorgheni . 122 MONASTERIES . 183 & Wildlife . 244 Odorheiu Secuiesc . 123 Moldavia . 185 Visual Arts Odorheiu Secuiesc & Folk Culture . 249 to Târgu Mureş . 124 Iaşi . 185 Târgu Mureş . 125 Târgu Neamţ & Around . 193 The Romanian People . 252 Southwest Piatra Neamţ . 194 Transylvania . 129 Ceahlău National Park . 198 The Romanian Alba Iulia .
    [Show full text]
  • Romania: Danube Delta Integrated Sustainable Development Strategy
    Romania: Danube Delta Integrated Sustainable Development Strategy About the Danube Delta Region The Danube Delta is one of the continent’s most valuable habitats for specific delta wildlife and biodiversity. Established as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and a Ramsar site in 1990, it is the Europe’s second largest delta, and the best preserved of European deltas. The most significant physical and ecological feature of the Danube Delta is its vast expanse of wetlands, including freshwater marsh, lakes and ponds, streams and channels. With an area of 3,446 km2, is the world’s largest wetland. Only 9% of the area is permanently above water. The Delta hosts extraordinary biodiversity and provides important environmental services. It is the home of over 1,200 varieties of plants, 300 species of birds, as well as 45 freshwater fish species in its numerous lakes and marshes. There are 16 strictly protected areas in the delta where no economic activities are allowed, and areas for ecological rehabilitation and buffer zones between economical areas where tourist activities are permitted as long as the environment is protected. Dual Challenge in Developing the Danube Delta A dual challenge for the sustainable development of the Danube Delta is the conservation of its ecological assets and improvement of the quality of life for its residents. The Danube Delta is the largest remaining natural delta in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It is also the only river that is entirely contained within a Biosphere Reserve. It is important to conserve all of its ecological assets. 1 Danube Delta is perhaps one of the least inhabited regions of temperate Europe, with only about 10,000 people in one town (Sulina) and about 20 scattered villages.
    [Show full text]
  • Minderheitenpolitik in Bulgarien
    ULRICH BÜCHSENSCHÜTZ MINDERHEITENPOLITIK IN BULGARIEN Die Politik der Bulgarischen Kommunistischen Partei (Bkp) gegenüber den Juden, Roma, Pomaken und Türken 1944-1989 Freie wissenschaftliche Arbeit zur Erlangung des Grades eines Magister Artium am Fachbereich Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften der Freien Universität Berlin. Berlin 1997 (Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Holm Sundhaussen) Letzte Änderung: 1.6.2004 Digitale Osteuropa-Bibliothek: Geschichte 8 ISSN 1613-1061 1 INHALT 1. Einleitung ___________________________________________________ 3 1.1. Ziel und Aufbau der Arbeit ___________________________________ 3 1.1.1. Anmerkungen zur Terminologie, Übersetzung und Transliteration_ 9 1.2. Überblick über die Quellen__________________________________ 11 1.2.1. Statistiken____________________________________________ 11 1.2.2. Gesetze und Verordnungen ______________________________ 14 1.2.3. Quellen zu Beschlüssen der BKP__________________________ 15 1.3. Der historische Hintergrund _________________________________ 16 1.3.1. Die Etablierung des kommunistischen Regimes ______________ 17 1.3.2. Die stalinistische Periode 1948-1953_______________________ 19 1.3.3. Die Entstalinisierung 1953 bis 1962 _______________________ 21 1.3.4. Die Ära Živkov _______________________________________ 25 2. Die Politik gegenüber den Juden, Roma, Pomaken und Türken _____ 29 2.1. Die kurze Geschichte der Juden in der Volksrepublik Bulgarien _____ 29 2.1.1. Die bulgarischen Juden und die „Endlösung“ ________________ 29 2.1.2. Die Nachkriegszeit 1944-1952 ___________________________
    [Show full text]
  • Sinfo-December-2013.Pdf
    12 ISSN 1854-0805 December 2013 The latest from Slovenia ON THE POLITICAL AGENDA INTERVIEW: Miroslav Mozetič, MSc IN FOCUS INTERVIEW: Dr Bojana Rogelj Škafar HERITAGE: Slovenian Potica Polona Anja Valerija Tanja Irena Vesna Let this New Year be the one, where all your dreams come true, so with a joyful heart, put a start to this year anew. Wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year 2014. Editorial Board CONTEnts EDITORIAL ON THE POLITICAL AGENDA INTERVIEW 7 Miroslav Mozetič, MSc Photo: Bruno Toič In these times of financial and social crisis, the Consti- tutional Court faces new chalenges A Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/ST Tamino Photo: IN FOCUS INTERVIEW 14 Dr Bojana Rogelj Škafar Tanja Glogovčan, editor Research and communicating our knowledge of the wealth of ethnological heritage are of key importance A few of this year’s events to inspire you for the year to come Our December issue being focused on Slovenian ethnological Photo: Personal archives Personal Photo: characteristics, we are delighted to present below the work and success of the Slovene Ethnographic Museum, viewed through the experience of its Director, Dr Bojana Rogelj Škafar, and its permanent exhibition entitled “The Relationship between Nature and Culture”. The forthcoming year will mark the 600th anniversary of the beginning of the enthronement rituals of the Carinthian dukes, which has since been one of the most important distinctions of Slovenia in the European area and is also one of the topics dealt with in this issue. HERITAGE 28 Dr Janez Bogataj There is no holiday in Slovenia without the traditional Slovenian Slovenian potica festive cake potica.
    [Show full text]
  • Roma Early Childhood Inclusion+
    ROMA EDUCATION FUND Invest l Educate l Engage ROMA EDUCATION FUND Roma Early Childhood Inclusion+ Republic of Bulgaria Report Roma Early Childhood Inclusion+ Report on Roma Inclusion in Early Childhood Education and Care, Health, and Social Care Republic of Bulgaria September 2020 AUTHORS Consultants Gancho Iliev Deyan Kolev Lyuboslava Peneva Milena Ilieva Teodora Krumova Project research team Alexey Pamporov George Angelov Dimitar Dimitrov Dragomira Belcheva Ilko Jordanov Petya Brainova Ralitsa Dimitrova National and international editorial team Anita Jones Boyan Zahariev Jana Huttová Arthur Ivatts This RECI+ Report was prepared by Open Society Institute–Sofia Foundation. The presentation of material and country designations employed throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Sponsoring Agencies concerning the legal status or delimitation of frontiers or boundaries of any country, territory, city, or area. The opinion expressed in this publication are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sponsoring Agencies. ISBN 978-954-2933-62-5 (paper) ISBN 978-954-2933-63-2 (pdf) For further information, please contact: Almaz Ismayilova I Open Society Foundations Early Childhood Program I [email protected] Marko Pecak I Roma education Fund I [email protected] Vera Rangelova I UNICEF I [email protected] © UNICEF photos l SWZ/2011 l John McConnico Design and layout l Judit Kovács l Createch Ltd. Printed in the Republic
    [Show full text]
  • Bulgaria About This Guide
    Expeditionary Culture Field Guide Varna Veliko Tarnovo Sofia Plovdiv Bulgaria About this Guide This guide is designed to prepare you to deploy to culturally complex environments and achieve mission objectives. The fundamental information contained within will help you understand the cultural dimension of your assigned location and gain skills necessary for success (Photo: Souvenir vendor in the old part of Plovdiv, Bulgaria courtesy of CultureGrams, ProQuest). The guide consists of 2 parts: ECFG Part 1 is the “Culture General” section, which provides the foundational knowledge you need to operate effectively in any global environment with a focus on Eastern Europe. Bulgaria Part 2 is the “Culture Specific” section, which describes unique cultural features of Bulgarian society. It applies culture- general concepts to help increase your knowledge of your assigned deployment location. This section is designed to complement other pre- deployment training (Photo: US and Bulgarian senior NCOs discuss enlisted force development concerns). For further information, visit the Air Force Culture and Language Center (AFCLC) website at https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/AFCLC or contact the AFCLC Region Team at [email protected]. Disclaimer: All text is the property of the AFCLC and may not be modified by a change in title, content, or labeling. It may be reproduced in its current format with the express permission of the AFCLC. All photography is provided as a courtesy of the US government, Wikimedia, and other sources. GENERAL CULTURE PART 1 – CULTURE GENERAL What is Culture? Fundamental to all aspects of human existence, culture shapes the way humans view life and functions as a tool we use to adapt to our social and physical environments.
    [Show full text]
  • The GRT Achievement Programme 2006/8
    Li Sobindoy –Roma in Action Edited by Dr Brian Belton Senior Lecturer YMCA George Williams College Canning Town London THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN FUNDED WITH SUPPORT FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION. THIS PUBLICATION [COMMUNICATION] REFLECTS THE VIEWS ONLY OF THE AUTHORS, AND THE COMMISSION CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY USE WHICH MAY BE MADE OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN. Introduction The following is the result of a Grundvig partnership, made up of organizations from Germany, Turkey, Spain and the UK. We sought to focus at educational (formal and informal) activities, principally focusing on the position of Roma and Sinti1, transmitting something of the history, culture and values of Roma, but also suggest ways and means of responding to these socially and economically challenged groups. We also wanted to question existing non-Roma perceptions about Roma, providing some food for thought and perhaps inspiration in terms of social responses that can effectively promote the challenging of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, while inviting Roma to develop a level of autonomy within host societies, but also contribute to those societies as a the culturally rich, vibrant and diverse population they are. However, the core of the research is the effort to share and suggest innovative practice, approaches to and practical action for building positive relations between Roma and majority populations in the European context. This encompassed examining actual and potential responses to the causes of Roma poverty and exclusion, which we take to be part of the cause and effect of prejudice and discrimination experienced by these groups. The partnership has proved to be a valuable resource to create a platform for exchange of methods, the sharing of information and successful approaches, developing personal and group insight and providing educational activities for non-Roma about and with Roma as well as for dissemination of good practice.
    [Show full text]