JÓVENES MUJERES GITANAS: PREPARÁNDOSE DIGITALMENTE PARA LA INCLUSIÓN EN LA REALIDAD POSTCOVID-19

<< Background >>The COVID-19 pandemic was a hard blow to the learning and inclusion processes of young roma women due to their social, economic, and health vulnerability, but above all because the digital society that has emerged since is very hostile towards them. At that time, a too rapid digitalization process began that ended up discarding on-site attendance, and the processes we need to enhance our social, economic, educational, cultural, and labor inclusion became fully virtual or telematic.Although the worst moments of COVID have passed, nowadays applying for social support or carrying out social security procedures is still made via complex digital platforms, in addition to the fact that many training courses have online assistance, looking for a job also involves electronic applications or virtual interviews…All of this, which was set in motion to be useful during a health emergency and for the society of the future for most, has become an obstacle to the inclusion of minorities who have specific barriers, low qualifications, large family burdens, low digital skills… and of course economic difficulties, as many young roma women usually have.<< Objectives >>With the project “YOUNG ROMA WOMEN: DIGITALLY PREPARING FOR INCLUSION IN THE POST-COVID-19 REALITY” we wanted to provide an answer to this situation of need for roma women, but that should also be useful for others, and that would stop exclusion due to the lack of digital adaptation after the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, we set ourselves –and have fulfilled– the objective of creating a non-formal digital training methodology for young roma women in this post-COVID-19 reality, to increase their inclusion in a society that turns its back on us, using something that everyone can usually access: their smartphone (one of the few digital tools that they master autonomously and with ease).But we have also achieved the objective of the training strategy we have created being useful for other social organizations that work with other groups with obstacles to access the digital world. Our methodology is dynamic, simple to apply, and appealing, so it is easier to connect with them and get them involved in non-formal education processes that enhance their inclusion autonomously and independently, also managing to generate networks of friendship.<< Implementation >>To reach these ambitious goals, the partnership formed by AGFD and FUNDACIÓN PUNJAB (from Spain), E-ROMNJA and AMARE RROMENTZA (from Romania), ROMANIPHEN (from Germany), and RIBALTAMBIÇÃO (from Portugal) carried out a large number of activities during the 30 months of the project, with which we managed to create powerful high-quality results and overcome the difficulties that arose along the way. We would like to highlight:4 TRANSNATIONAL MEETINGS; 8 ACT. FOR THE SELECTION OF THE PARTICIPANTS; 47 TRAINING ACT.; 29 VIRTUAL COORDINATION MEETINGS of partners; 32 MEETINGS WITH POLICY MAKERS to gain the support of local and regional governments; more than 300 ACT. FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESULTS; continuous EVALUATION ACT. and at key points of the project; a DISSEMINATION AND VISIBILITY CAMPAIGN to spread the project; 2 PILOT TESTS of the Course (in Spain and Portugal) with 90 participants, and 10 tests of the strategy in 8 countries (Serbia, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Germany, France, and Romania); participation in a RADIO PODCAST; 21 VIDEOS; a large MULTIPLIER EVENT in Malaga with more than 100 attendees, and dozens of EVALUATION AND MONITORING ACT.<< Results >>With these activities we managed to generate a really useful, dynamic, and appealing strategy for young roma women, which enhances their digital skills, helps them overcome their barriers, and can be applied in other groups. This is thanks to our two MAIN RESULTS:‒ The “DIGITAL COURSE X INCLUSION” (O1), a non-formal education Course for young roma women taught via the “WhatsApp” application on their smartphones (making it more accessible), that enhances their digital training to help them adapt to the post-COVID-19 reality, in addition to their personal, social, health, and professional skills and abilities.‒ And the “DIGITAL GUIDE X INCLUSION” (O2), which explains point by point to any entity how to take a non-formal course through smartphones, not only for young roma, but which can also be easily transferred to associations in other sectors to close the digital gap that many segregated groups suffer today and which limits their inclusion, their social benefits, their education, and their access to the labor market.We also developed 5 TANGIBLE RESULTS: the WEBSITE, 21 NON-FORMAL DIGITAL RESOURCES, the DISSEMINATION CAMPAIGN itself, a SUPPORT SERVICE THROUGH TECHNOLOGIES, and THE REPORT GENERATED FROM THE PILOT TESTS.