20.12.2016
On the 19th of December 2016, we had our multiplier event in Oradea, Romania. During this event, the young people shared their views about poverty with forty representatives of public institutions. Some of the authorities present at the event included: child protection representatives, social assistance and social inspection specialists, the people’s Ombudsman, the mayors of the communes of Holod, Tetchea, Alesd and Sanmartin (former mayor), local councilors, and Roma leaders.
The young people decided to use a video clip to communicate their unique perspective about youth poverty in Romania, specifically Roma youth poverty. The clip included information about:
- Examples of young people who provided valuable insights into the kinds of problems affecting societies;
- Overview of poverty and ethnic based inequality in Romania;
- Two major problems affecting young people living in predominantly Roma communities: lack of access to electricity and lower educational attainment;
- Solutions proposed by the young people to address these problems. The solutions were (1) access to electricity for everyone and (2) a national educational tax for children between the ages of 7 and 14 not enrolled in school, similar to the environmental taxes for toxins, which have been increasingly used across the EU to influence the behavior of member states.
The moderator of the event was one of the young people involved in the project, who, as we all discovered, is a great public speaker! The voice in the video clip was provided by a very creative 11 years old - who also helped to make the actual clip.