“Holding the camera was like holding the future in my hands…” – GlobalGirl Media participant

Fighting stigma and transforming the image of Romani girls in Europe

Why we care: Roma girls grow up in ghettos throughout Europe surrounded by poverty and violence – stripped of their rights and dignity just because they are Roma.  

How we’re solving this: By providing Roma girls with media tools to tell their stories and be the voices for their community.

At 12 million, Roma are the largest and the most discriminated minority in Europe. Wherever they live, exclusion is a daily reality for Roma. Roma women carry a double burden of stigma and violence because of their ethnicity and their gender. While educational levels and employment rates are extremely low among Roma, Roma women have higher school dropout rates and earn less than men.

Widespread violence against women is considered acceptable, preventing women from going to school, working, or seeing a doctor. Most Roma youth grow up in poverty in isolated ghettos and attend segregated schools. In this environment, Roma girls have few opportunities for breaking out of the cycle of prejudice, poverty and violence.

The Romedia Foundation is building a movement using the power of media to fundamentally change the image of Romani women in European public consciousness. The Buvero project of Romedia Foundation believes Roma girls have a lot to say about their communities, passions, struggles, and dreams. That is why it will give 36 Roma girls the tools to tell their stories through blogs, websites, and TV broadcasts. By training girls in social media, filming and editing, journalism and storytelling, and connecting them to supportive media mentors, Roma girls will be the powerful voices for the future of their communities.

BUVERO has big plans for its trainings in three countries in Europe:

• Intensive media workshops and video production training over 5 weeks
• 72 blogs and 16 web videos produced by 36 girls
• Regional, national, and global visibility for the girls’ stories through partnerships with media centers, news broadcasters, and the GlobalGirl Media Initiative
• Mentoring and practical production skills in collaboration with women media professionals

Locations of trainings:

• Budapest and Szendrőlád – Hungary
• Belgrade and Valjevo – Serbia
• Skopje and Kumanovo – Macedonia

The Buvero project will partner with the U.S.- based GlobalGirl Media Initiative, which has successfully completed similar programs in the United States, South Africa, and Morocco. This is how we invest in the next generation so that they are ready to lead.