CENTER FOR INTERETHNIC DIALOGUE AND TOLERANCE AMALIPE is the largest Roma organization working for better education, community development and equal integration of Roma in Bulgarian society. The name itself shows the goals and the way the organization works – “Amalipe” is a Roma word that means “friendship”, ie. working for Roma integration, we include people from all ethnicities. Roma integration will make Bulgaria a more developed and economically strong country. It will help for a better life for all ethnic groups and active people from all ethnic groups should be involved in this process. That is why the Amalipe Center unites the efforts of Roma, Bulgarians, Turks and others, guided by the values of interethnic dialogue and tolerance.
Representatives of the Amalipe Center have been elected by the Roma organizations as members of the Monitoring Committees of the operational programs Science and Education for Smart Growth and Human Resources Development. The organization participates in the Management Board of COIDUEM and in the European Roma Platform.
OUR VISION, MISSION AND LONG-TERM GOALS:
Amalipe Center believes in the equal integration of Roma in a society based on the preservation of Roma identity and mutual knowledge and solidarity between Bulgarians and Roma.
OUR MISSION is to stimulate the modernization and empowerment of the Roma community in Bulgaria for its active participation and equal access to resources and development processes, with a priority focus on access to quality education, quality health care and social services. This process is impossible without the modernization and emancipation of Romani women.
Amalipe’s LONG-TERM GOALS are:
- to develop capacity within the community by raising the educational level of Roma children and youth to promote the development of Roma girls and women and to overcome negative traditional practices
- To develop skills for self-organization of the Roma community
- To strengthen the participation of Roma in the decision-making process
- Stimulating a consistent and responsible state policy, which envisages expanding the access of Roma to education, quality health care and social services, monitoring and feedback to improve policy measures and practices.
- Foster the emancipation of Romani women and the overcoming of harmful traditional practices such as early marriages.
OUR APPROACH to achieving these goals includes:
- participation of Roma at all levels and application of a bottom-up approach; application of the principle “for Roma with Roma”
- application of innovative methods and practices at local level: in each of the areas in which we work we apply practical models that we test in the field;
- systematization of the practical results of the pilot initiatives of partner organizations in order to include them in the national policies;
- advocacy for national, regional and local institutions to continue and institutionalize good practices tested by Amalipe and other organizations;
- advocacy for institutions at the national level to form a sustainable model for Roma integration and to accelerate the integration process;
- development of a network of structures of the organization and partner organizations, which can apply certain practices on a national scale, as well as to advocate for local and national institutions: Roma Integration Network;
- preparation of analyzes, monitoring and evaluation of the existing policies related to Roma integration.
PRIORITIES AND HORIZONTAL PRINCIPLES IN THE ORGANIZATION’S STRATEGY:
- maintaining close liaison and exchange of information between the local and national level for more effective advocacy actions, as well as publicizing the real needs of the Roma community;
- equal participation of women in solving community problems;
- optimizing and accumulating resources through partnerships with other Roma organizations and stakeholders in order to increase the effectiveness of actions; every child and family deserves to be helped to reach their full potential, according to the organization’s code of ethics for working with children.
Amalipe is the only Roma organization that has its own local, regional and regional offices. We build these structures with three goals:
- To support more effectively our partners (schools, municipalities, local organizations, activists), as well as the local communities we work with.
- To effectively implement activities throughout the country: bringing together the impact of different community groups, youth groups and schools, our ultimate goal is to activate local communities, accelerate the modernization and development of the Roma community in different regions of the country and support the formation and implementation the national policy for Roma integration.
- To create a network that unites the efforts of thousands of Roma and friends of the Roma – an energy that can turn the wheel of Roma integration.