Digitize – tools for Roma adults to use the internet and promote education

Project leader: Amaro Foro

Partners: Asociatia Nevo Parudimos, Co-efficient Ungaria, RROMA Macedonia

Period: 01.03.2021 – 28.02.2023

Budget: 148.606 EUR

Nr. of the project: 2020-1-DE02-KA227-ADU-008321

Nevo Parudimos Association, as a partner, together with Amaro Foro Germany, Co-Efficient Hungary and RROMA Macedonia, is implementing the project Digitalize – tools for Roma adults to use the Internet and promote education, funded between 01.03.2021 and 28.02.2023. through the European Union’s Erasmus + program.

This project was born from the need of the Roma communities with which the four partner organizations work to have access and the necessary knowledge to access basic services through the Internet, a need amplified by the Covid pandemic. The fact that since the beginning of the pandemic most of the services accessible to the population have moved to the online environment has meant that people from disadvantaged groups, especially Roma adults, face a much greater exclusion, access to public services being much more limited. due to the precarious economic situation that did not allow them to access the internet and due to the educational situation (more than 40% of Roma adults are illiterate – data from the Agency for Fundamental Rights).

Thus, a need has been identified for these adults to become literate in the use of the Internet and technology in order to keep pace with the changes brought about by the pandemic and to have easy access to public services.

This project aims to increase the access of Roma adults to public services by developing a tool that will allow them to learn more easily how to use the Internet for this purpose.

The objectives of the project are:

• the development of two innovative artistic tools to facilitate the Roma’s learning about the Internet and how to use the Internet for daily activities.
• Increase the IT knowledge and skills of 80 Roma adults from the 4 partner countries
• increase the knowledge and skills of 20 social workers, health mediators, NGOs and volunteers on how to support adults from disadvantaged backgrounds to develop their IT skills and knowledge.
• Empower civil society organizations in working with Roma using modern technology.

The beneficiaries of this project will be 80 adults from Romania, Germany, Macedonia and Hungary whose ages can be divided into two groups, young Roma adults between 18-35 years old and middle-aged Roma. adults between 36-55 years old. In addition, 20 social workers, health mediators, NGO workers and volunteers will be included.

The project will be implemented through two guides – “Basic Digital Skills” and “Digital Skills for All”. The first material was aimed at centralizing tools for teaching basic digital skills in the use of Internet devices and online communication channels for illiterate people, mainly based on illustrations. The second material will provide information on the safe use of the Internet for accessing public services and for activities of daily living such as shopping, banking, education and more.