Roma Transitions: From Necessity to Virtue
The Association of Roma Students in Novi Sad was founded 12 years ago. Initially a group of several enthusiastic young Roma gathered around Radio Novi Sad, the students wanted to alleviate the hurdles to education in Serbia. They have subsequently grown into a large organization whose numerous social projects transcend the notions of student and of Roma.
The association currently employs five persons, two professional associates and several dozens of volunteers. Apart from the ongoing program helping around thirty Roma students with their enrollment into medical and dental colleges, the association is also active in the implementation of the equal opportunities program for high school students.
“Our aim is to adapt the high school environment to the needs of various students, and to make classes engaging by fostering multiculturalism instead of imposing it, all this by getting to know the students who enroll in these schools. “We are also active in the Roma employment project as one of the organizations who intiated the unionization of collectors of secondary raw materials. The Community Development Project is also interesting. It empowers the citizens living in Roma settlements to do something for themselves, to develop a self-help culture and take some actions”, says the president of the association, Nenad Vladisavljev.