The project focus is on strengthening youth workers’ capacities in Roma women
organizations to promote gender equality and inclusion and create a platform
for cooperation among CSOs, mechanisms for equal opportunities and
antidiscrimination, as well building an inclusive society where gender-sensitive
issues are raised jointly that will lead to greater and bold youth engagement,
participation and leadership for the development of vibrant, inclusive,
democratic and equitable societies, as an essential part of a healthy and
resilience democracy.
The main project objective is to empower the capacities of youth workers in
Roma women organizations for influencing the Roma youth’s participation in
democratic processes.
The action’s specific objectives are:
– Enhanced capacities of Roma youth workers on the topics of gender
equality, discrimination, antigypsyism, and
– Increased Roma youth participation, to foster a local response to deal
with gender equality, discrimination and antigypsyism.
Project Leader: the Roma Women and Youth Association “LULUDI”
Project Partner: the Association of Roma Women “OSVIT” from Nis, Serbia.

Project timeframe: 01 January 2023 – 01 January 2024

1. Capacity building Training for Roma Youth workers
A 5-day Training for 12 Roma youth workers from North Macedonia and
Serbia on gender equality, discrimination and antigypsyism was organized in
Veles, North Macedonia.
The training was implemented by certified trainers, in an interactive way with
practice tasks for the participants. The aim of the training was to empower
the capacities of Roma women and youth workers in Roma women
organizations from North Macedonia and Serbia for influencing the Roma
youth participation in democratic processes.
Training topics:
1) Gender equality – what is gender equality and why is important
2) Antidiscrimination – what is discrimination, how to recognize its forms and
how we can act against discrimination by using existing tools
3) Antigypsyism – learn together about the concept of antigypsyism, how to
recognize its forms, and ways to raise awareness of this phenomenon
4) Digital tools – learning IT tools and the use of digital tools in the everyday
work with Roma youth, especially on organizing and implementation raising
awareness campaigns.
5) Focus groups – organization and conducting focus groups as tool for data
collection and analysis.
2. News Flash Meetings
The participants after the training had follow-up meetings on regular basis in
order to share their views, and challenges, share good practices, useful tools
and information regarding the organization of focus groups and collecting
data. The meetings of the participants served as a communication tool
between the youth workers and at the same time, as networking tool for
building trust and cooperation between the youngsters, and as well between

the partner organizations. Overall, this activity have an impact on increasing
active youth participation.

3. Conducting Focus groups with the local Roma Youth community
The 12 Roma youth workers who took part in the Training had the task as a
follow up to organize and conduct focus groups with the local community. To
the group of youth workers was provided mentorship support, i.e one mentor
was engaged for each country group of youth workers. The mentors task was
to lead the Roma youth workers in the process of preparation, organizing and
conducting focus groups, as well to monitor closely their work.
The Roma youth workers with the support of their Mentors and the project
team have conducted:
– 8 focus groups with 51 local Roma youth, aged from 16 to 33 years old,
both male and female, have participated in the focus groups and shared their
perceptions regarding the topics.
 – 1 created a methodology for conducting focus groups with the local Roma
community on the topics of discrimination, gender equality, and antigypsyism
 – 1 created Мanual for conducting focus groups

4. Reporting from collected data of conducted focus groups
The data collected from the conducted focus groups was proceed and used
for the creation of national reports of the partner countries, and a regional
report. The reports give a picture of the level of knowledge, perceptions, and
needs of the local Roma youth community regarding what are their
perception about gender equality, gender stereotypes and harmful patriarchal
attitudes, recognition of discrimination and its forms, as well as about
reporting and dealing with discriminatory behaviors, what are the challenges
they face from discrimination and antigypsyism, and what is the level of
knowing what antigypsysm is.
 – 2 national reports prepared from conducted focus groups with youth Roma
communities
– 1 Regional report prepared relating to analysis of the data collected from
the focus groups and defined recommendations
 *

* Read the Report from North Macedonia – REPORT OF THE PERCEPTIONS AND VIEWPOINTS OF YOUNG ROMA AS REGARDS GENDER (IN)EQUALITY, DISCRIMINATION AND ANTIGYPSYISM

5. Raise Awareness Campaign
The youth workers had the opportunity to share the gained knowledge and
experience from the training via an Informative and educational video
campaign. Created 4 educational and informative videos as part of the
Awareness Campaign. The campaign is distributed in Macedonian, Romani,
Serbian and English through various digital tools, social media and traditional
media in Macedonia and Serbia.
The aim of this campaign is to have an impact on increasing the Roma
youth’s participation in detecting and raising issues related to gender
equality, discrimination and antigypsyism.
 – 1 campaign strategy and plan created
– Young Roma workers mobilized to take specific actions for promotion and
raising awareness through active participation
– 4 videos produced
 – 1 Regional raising awareness campaign conducted https://shorturl.at/dtuJ7
6. Final event for presentation of final outcomes
Regional conference held in December 2023 in Europe House in Skopje, with
participation of all stakeholders relevant to the issue of gender equality, anti-
discrimination and antigypsyism. At the final event, the project partners
presented the project, activities and its implementation results. Also
presentation was by the Roma youth workers presenting the results of the
held focus groups, recommendations from the reports, and sharing their
experiences, knowledge, and initiatives, share tools and good practices for
improvement.