IV Roma Students Gathering of Catalonia

The 4th Meeting of Roma Students in Catalonia for the RTransform Project took place on 10 June 2023 at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), located in Bellaterra, Barcelona. The meeting was attended by 77 Roma women from the municipalities of Amposta and Tortosa (Tarragona), Salt, Font de la Pólvora, Figueres, (Girona), Gavá, Badalona (Barcelona), and from different neighbourhoods of Barcelona, such as La Mina, Bon Pastor and San Cosme.

The inaugural table was hosted by the rector of the Autonomous University, Javier Lafuente, and the dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, Margarita Freixas. In the company of members of the Drom Kotar Mestipen Assembly.

The conference was given by Silvia Molina, Professor of the Department of Pedagogy at the University of Rovira i Virgili who was the speaker on the topic: Special educational needs in the Roma community: barriers to inclusion and learning. Actions to overcome them. Topic previously chosen by the Roma women.

On Saturday 28th May, the XXI Roma Women Student Gathering of Catalonia took place in the city of Amposta

The activity, which was attended by about 60 Roma women from different parts of Catalonia, had as its central theme Family Education.

Roma Women Student Gatherings are a pioneering activity organized by the Romani Association of Women Drom Kotar Mestipen, the first of which was held in 2000. Drom Kotar Mestipen is the first Roma women’s organization that existed in Catalonia.

If last October 2021 the 20th edition of the Gathering was held at the Rovira i Virgili University, in Tarragona, this Spring edition took place for the first time in the area of Terres de l’Ebre and Montsià, in the Catalan region of Tarragona. You can see more in the following video.

The main conference of the Gathering was delivered by Professor Carme García Yeste, Professor of the Department of Pedagogy at the University Rovira i Virgili, and director of the Consolidated Group recognized by the Catalan government, Methodology of Educational Research with Social Impact (MEDIS).

After the inaugural conference, the role model table was held, with the testimonies of Roma Women from different backgrounds. From vocational training students to undergraduate students, to women who are studying for their university access exams.

It should also be mentioned that during the Trobada, a childcare service was in operation. This space, run by members of the organization team and volunteers, was designed so that the little ones could enjoy themselves by doing different activities while their mothers took part in the Trobada.

The event was opened by Ms. Cesca Domènech i Ruera, Director General of Civic and Community Action of the Government of Catalonia; Mr. Adam Tomàs i Roiget, Mayor of Amposta; and Dr. Rosa Maria Kostic Cisneros, President of the Romani Association of Women Drom Kotar Mestipen.