Roma discrimination in the labour market harms everyone, not just Roma. Equality of opportunities and treatment in employment is part of the fundamental principles and rights at work that are the foundation of social justice, and are therefore an integral part of the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda.
Many initiatives have focused on Roma inclusion and non-discrimination over the last decades.
The overall balance of these initiatives highlights the need for further systematizing approaches to address the underlying factors that impair Roma youth in their labour market integration and access to decent employment.
The number of Roma inclusion measures in employment is significantly smaller than in other areas. No new data regarding the impact of Covid-19 were reported in 2021.
Through SEPAL project we have been working and analysing the situation of Roma youth employment, factors of risk, vocational issues, labour market perspectives and define new lines of interventions to improve labour and social insertion.
Following up the work through SEPAL Pro project, during this year we have organized a series of workshops and trainings aiming the promotion of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) as an important alternative of labour insertion. Social and Economy is an economy whose social purpose is fundamental.
During October 2022, we talked to and trained young people on how they can connect with SSE. Bon Pastor, is a neighbourhood with a potential and considerable Roma community as well as a high-level of poverty. Approximately 15 youngsters, participated in the workshop discussing ways in which we can portray their realities in the SSE taking into consideration their cultural and social particularities.
They did not know what social and solidarity economy is, which are the objectives; what kind of opportunities it offers them, who are the political and local agents and actors’ protagonist of SSE in their territory and what resources we can implement in order to guarantee their participation.
So, during the second part of the workshop our youth group called Changemakers, explained to them what is SSE, how it works, who are the local agents and why their participation is important before and during the implementation of SSE policies.
In fact, the changemakers group is composed by NEETs and volunteers engaged with SEPAL Pro project.
After this first workshop, we agreed to keep working together in order to adapt the Social and Solidarity Economy policies to their realities.
Enerida Isuf
Project Coordinator
SEPAL PRO Spain
