The Roma Education Fund will host a side-event at Corvinus University’s Salt House on September 7, 2015 in anticipation of the kick-off of the European Educational Research Conference in Budapest, Hungary.
The Roma Education Fund will host a side-event at Corvinus University’s Salt House on September 7, 2015 in anticipation of the kick-off of the European Educational Research Conference in Budapest, Hungary. This afternoon event will present a brief survey of its work to close the gap in educationa achievements between Roma and non-Roma entitled, Ten Years of the Roma Education Fund: From Pilot Projects to Education Policies.
Over the past 10 years REF has shown that desegregation is possible and better for all; that substantive Roma participation is crucial for success; and that effective cooperation on the ground delivers the kind of change that can transform the lives of tens of thousands of Romani pupils. As part of its mission to close the gap in educational achievements between Roma and non-Roma, REF has advocated for change through academic and policy debates, producing knowledge, generating data and disseminating information on how best to deliver equitable outcomes in education. Many international bodies and national governments have actively sought partnerships with REF to advise on policy and implement projects to promote inclusive education.
This unique side-event explores the role of REF and its contribution to developing good practices. With remarks by Andrzej Mirga, Chair of the Roma Education Fund, and featuring leading educational researchers like Gabor Kezdi, Magda Matache, Andrew Ryder and Cristian Brüggemann, along with presentations by core REF staff who are presenting at ECER later in the week, this event brings together policymakers, Romani scholars and activists to reflect critically on the achievements and lessons of the first 10 years of REF.
In an open debate, participants will discuss the results of REF’s contribution to developing good practice, and to better understand how the knowledge REF produces, the data it generates, and the information it disseminates actually have impacted the stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of education policies. Roma and pro-Roma scholars, educational practitioners, policy makers and REF staff reflected critically on:
- The lessons learned and potential cooperation with education scholars and Roma in the upcoming years.
- A review of recent developments in the ongoing struggle to improve educational polices for Roma.
- A proposal to form a Romani Education Network that would be part of EERA.
This event also provided REF’s supporters and staff, board members, donors and beneficiaries an opportunity to reflect on the results of a decade’s work while looking ahead at the challenges and opportunities to close the gap between Roma and non-Roma pupils.
The full concept and agenda can be downloaded by clicking here.
Please note this event is by registration only on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you would like to attend, please RSVP:
Marius Taba, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, mtaba@romaeducationfund.org
Andrew Ryder, Associate Professor, Corvinus University, andrew.ryder@uni-corvinus.hu
Tom Bass, Communication Officer, tbass@romaeducationfund.org
