PEER

The PEER Project (Participation Experiences and Empowerment for Roma youth) involves partners in nine countries working with Roma children and young people aged from 8-18 to empower and build capacity and opportunities to engage participatively with them. It is funded through an EU Fundamental Rights and Citizenship grant. The EU definition of the term Roma includes the ethnic groups Travellers, Gens du voyage, Kalé, Sinti and others. In each country and community the project uses the words that people choose to use to describe themselves, their ethnicity and their nationality. For example, young people involved in PEER in the UK describe themselves as Welsh Gypsies, Romany Gypsies, Scottish Travellers.

In this manual that will be used across the EU, the EU term Roma is used. PEER will enable Roma young people to co-lead and take part in activities that involve learning about participatory action research together and identifying issues that concern them; getting a better understanding about the issues by learning from others; Analysing the issues and planning for change; carrying out their plan to achieve change; and reflecting on and sharing lessons about what has been achieved. The changes might be in their own understanding, the views and actions of their peers, their own and wider communities, or the actions and decisions of professionals and politicians.