WIR SIND HIER!

We want to know! • Rethinking educational concepts. Identifying and combating unequal educational opportunities for Sinti and Roma • Conference
10.04.2024, 9:30 – 17:00

The racist discrimination of Roma and Sinti in the German education system is still massive – this is proven by both scientific studies and the lived experiences of young people affected. All too often, school is not a safe place for them to learn and develop. Successful career paths are made difficult or even denied to them. The fact that education is a human right, which 160 countries, including Germany, have recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is often forgotten or ignored and hardly ever communicated. Countless reports from those affected make this clear.

Above all, the conference would like to focus on the approaches that have been developed in recent years to make educational opportunities for Roma and Sinti fairer and what, for example, can be transferred from model projects such as WIR SIND HIER! beyond the project framework or even into regular structures.

Most of all, however, we would like to come together with you: To discuss together, exchange perspectives and network in the fight against antigypsyism in the education system.

Programme:

9:30      Registration & coffee

10:00    Welcome & programme of the day
Speakers: Hamze Bytyçi (Chairman of RomaTrial e.V.), Dr Mehmet Daimagüler (Federal Government Commissioner against Antigypsyism, to be confirmed), Thomas Heppener (Head of the Department for the Promotion of Democracy at the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, to be confirmed), young participants from the project WIR SIND HIER!

10:30     Input: Educational situation of Sinti and Roma in Germany and possible answers: the project WIR SIND HIER! by RomaTrial e.V. and the “Knowledge campaign” of the Hildegard Lagrenne Foundation

11:15    Introduction to the workshops

11:30    Project gallery

12:00    Lunch break with project gallery and networking

13:00    Workshops

15:30    Coffee break

15:45    Presentation of the workshop results as a fishbowl discussion with the workshop leaders and the audience; Moderation: Leah Carola Czollek

16:45    Conclusion: What can the state structures learn from our work?

Workshops on offer:

1. WE ARE HERE for everyone! Basic and awareness-raising workshop

With Estera Sara Stan, Alexander Rönisch, Merle Weißbach (WIR SIND HIER!/ RomaTrial e.V.)

2. No longer speechless in the face of racist statements against Sinti and Roma!

With Kelly Laubinger (Sinti Union Schleswig-Holstein)

3. Between cultural understanding and educational responsibility – Roma and Sinti in the school system: recommendations for action for actors in the school context

With Dzoni Sichelschmidt, social worker and educational counsellor for Sinti and Roma

4. Sinti and Roma in current educational media

With Riem Spielhaus, Head of the “Knowledge in Transition” Department at the Georg Eckert Institute and Professor of Islamic Studies

5. Strategies of emotional confrontation in the work against Antigypsyism

With Sara Paßquali, trainer and counsellor

Complete programme at: https://wer-ist-hier.de/

 

Accessibility information:

For constructional reasons, the Volksbühne’s Grüner Salon is not accessible for wheelchair users. Most of the workshops (13:00 to 15:30) will take place in the neighbouring Karl-Liebknecht-Haus and are accessible for wheelchair users.

The input part of the symposium and the final discussion will be interpreted into German sign language. If you require sign language interpretation for the workshops, please let us know when you register.

An awareness team is available.

 

Registration:

Please register by Wednesday, 20 March 2024 at post@wer-ist-hier.de. Please provide the following information:

Name:

Pronoun:

Organisation:

Desired workshop and your second preference:

We look forward to your participation. Please bring relevant materials to display. This invitation can be forwarded to other interested parties.

 

Who are we?

WIR SIND HIER! is a multi-award-winning pilot project in Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony, funded by the federal programme Demokratie Leben! and the Berlin Participation and Integration Programme, in which young Roma* were trained as peer trainers against antigypsyism and other educational tools against antigypsyism were developed and tested: A forum theatre play, a participatory documentary film and a virtual tour of a former concentration camp.

WIR SIND HIER! is currently in the fifth and final year of the project. For this reason, we would like to take the opportunity to share our experiences with you and look for further successful approaches to combating antigypsyism in the education system. With the second conference as part of the project, we want to create opportunities to exchange ideas with various stakeholders in the school and extracurricular education sector so that we can rethink educational concepts and learn from each other.

The WIR SIND HIER! project is funded by the „Demokratie leben!“ programme of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and the Participation and Integration Programme of the State of Berlin.