UPre Women
Participants
Profiles of brave Roma women who have decided to change their lives, fight obstacles and thus contribute to changes in the discriminatory attitudes of the majority population in Slovakia towards the Roma minority
About UPre Women
UPre Women: Capacity building and employability programme for women from the marginalized Roma communities
In 2020, only 32% of Roma women in Slovakia worked. Roma women are experiencing extreme marginalisation resulting from ethnic, geographical and gender discrimination and the violence to which they are often subjected.
The UPre Women educational and development programme aims to:
- empower Roma women to build their self-esteem and acquire the necessary information and skills to make informed decisions,
- enable Roma women to gain financial independence and stability and secure their livelihoods,
- empower Roma women to become actors of change in their communitiesand positively influence or lead other Roma women
- eliminate the prevailing harmful stereotypes about Roma women, especially on the part of employers, and to reduce the combined discrimination that Roma women face to a greater degree than non-Roma women, but also as Roma men.
Roma women are being educated in the area of job preparedness (writing a CV, preparing for an interview,etc.), in financial literacy, but also in the field of personal development (gender equality, gender-based violence, strengthening communication skills, etc.).
The whole process is carried out by experts and expert organizations in Roma communities, with the support of mentors. At the same time, the Carpathian Foundation cooperates with employers in the regions to create employment opportunities for participants.
UPre Women received support from Norway through Norway grants with co-financing from the state budget of the Slovak Republic for a pilot project, during which a team of partners and experts will work with 40 women from marginalised Roma communities in Veľký Krtíšand and Dobšiná in 2022 and 2023.
The pilot project UPre Women is carried out by the Carpathian Foundation in cooperation with the Labour Agency of the Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region,Civic Association Childhood to children and the Community Centre of Minorities Veľký Krtíš.
After successful implementation of the pilot in these locations, we plan to extend the UPre Women programme to other marginalized Roma communities in Slovakia. We also plan to establish a Platform of Inclusive Employers to facilitate experience and knowledge sharing amongst employers interested in employing Roma, especially Roma women.
UPre Women: Capacity building and employability programme for women from the marginalized Roma communities benefits from a 199 956 € grant from Norway through the Norway Grants. The project has been co-financed from the State Budget of the Slovak Republic in the amount of 29 993 €.
If you want to know more about programmes and projects financed by the EEA and Norway Grants in Slovakia, visit www.eeagrants.sk or www.norwaygrants.sk.
The Norway Grants represent Norway’s contribution towards a green, competitive and inclusive Europe. Through the Norway Grants, Norway contributes to reducing social and economic disparities and to strengthening bilateral relations with beneficiary countries in Central and Southern Europe and the Baltics. Norway cooperates closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). Together with the other donors, Norway has provided €3.3 billion through consecutive grant schemes between 1994 and 2014. Norway Grants are financed solely by Norway and are available in the countries that joined the EU after 2003. For the period 2014-2021, the Norway Grants amount to €1.25 billion. The priorities for this period are: #1 Innovation, Research, Education, Competitiveness and Decent Work #2 Social Inclusion, Youth Employment and Poverty Reduction #3 Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy #4 Culture, Civil Society, Good Governance and Fundamental Rights #5 Justice and Home Affairs. All projects are co-financed by the State Budget of the Slovak Republic in the amount of 15%.
NEWS
Learn about current events and highlights from the programme UPre Women, as well as the stories of the participating Roma women and their mentors, which we will gradually add to the News.
We conducted training for the partners of the UPre Women program
UPre Women not only empowers Roma women but also our project partners. At the end of June, we conducted a training in Dobšiná aimed at
A mentor is like a shadow. A mentor is like a shadow. She always walks two steps behind her mentee.
In May 2022, training of UPre Women mentors took place in Dobšiná and Veľký Krtíš. Mentors learned not only what the mentoring programme entails, but
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Donation
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Financial and programme partners
Get involved!
Are you an employer near Dobšiná or Veľký Krtíš? Are you interested in joining us in enabling Roma women from marginalised backgrounds to gain work experience and integrate into the labour market? Contact us on natalia.prihodova@karpatskanadacia.sk or +421 903 497 082.
Are you interested in supporting the development and increasing employability of women from marginalised Roma communities? Contact us on veronika.m.fricova@karpatskanadacia.sk or +421 949 174 809.
The UPre Women program was supported by:
Thank you.
Contacts for the UPre Women's team
Minority Community Center
J. A. Komenského 759/3
99001 Veľký Krtíš
