IDEA ROM ONLUS is the first Italian association of Roma Women and is component of the National Roma Federation. The association operates in Turin (Italy) at the biggest settlements of Roma families in the city. The Association is made up of Roma women belonging to different communities in Turin, some with professional experience in the field of cultural mediation. Idea Rom promotes progressive forms of direct representation, formal and substantive, of different communities. In 2010 the association was awarded by a Special Plaque of the President of the Italian Republic due to its work to promote the social integration of its community. In 2011 IDEA ROM ONLUS was partner of E R.R.C. (European Roma Right Center) in Budapest for the project "Research on the Situation of the Romani Women in Italy". The result was the CEDAW shadow report to the Commission (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women) which periodically checks the implementation of the UN Convention signed by every signatory state.
Among the most important work already carried out some projects on education of Roma children and empowerment of Roma women.
The institutional goals: to promote integration and active participation of Roma people in the Italian and European society, while respecting the different identities, the dignity and the fundamental values of civilized life; obtain the acknowledgement of Roma as an ethnic and linguistic minority, with full rights of citizenship; countering the prejudices and all forms of discrimination, direct or indirect, against Roma; promoting the emancipation and the role of women within Roma community; supporting protection, growth, education and social integration of young Roma; promoting intercultural relations in the civil society, facilitating relationships and interactions among individuals, communities and cultures, promoting understanding, dialogue, meeting and enhancement of mutual differences.
The activities carried out so far have mainly targeted the Roma families in Turin, particularly in the northern and southern area of Turin; beside these areas, some activities touched other common areas in the city or in the hinterland of Turin (Collegno, Chieri, Moncalieri, etc. ...). The families belong to different communities (Roma from Former-Jugoslavia, Romanians Roma, Sinti Piedmontese, Abruzzo Roma, Calabrese and Neapolitans Roma), they dwell in some authorized parking areas, others in spontaneous settlements, and others in apartments or itinerant. A significant proportion of interventions having Roma children as beneficiaries has been carried on in primary compulsory school by young women who make up the Association itself.
The association has currently a very flexible organizational structure, using both voluntary work and wage-earning employees, but also benefiting of the aid offered by other agencies. The association doesn't have external units and doesn't not own a sead, using locals wich are available free of charge from the Center Sereno Regis and the 6th District of the City of Turin.
Role in the project: The main role of IDEA ROM in the project is to coordinate WP4 (Set-up and implementation of Centers of Supplementary Education for Roma Children). In the framework of this WP, it will set up of the support centre in Italy, it will prepare a framework for the monitoring of the training and for the monitoring of the children’s improvement, prepare a schedule for monitoring visits, realise monitoring visits in the support centres in Italy, draft 3 monitoring reports (every 2 months) on the progress of the training in Italy and draft 3 comparative reports summarizing the situation in each partner’s country.
Also, IDEA ROM will organize the research in Italy and train the teachers to teach the Roma children taking into account their cultural background. Finally, IDEA ROM will participate actively in the field of dissemination, evaluation and sustainability of the project.
Operational and Financial Management: Two project managers will be appointed for the management of the project. One will be responsible for the operational aspects of the project and the other will be responsible for the administrative and financial aspects. Inside the organization, working groups will be created according to the tasks of the project.
