The project is an emergent and prevention response to survival conditions of 92% of the Roma community working and living with waste in Albania. It will encourage participation models and listening to Roma’s voice, through use of social networks like development mechanisms. Informing on social media, building the denouncing directory at Riciklimi.al; the competition with photos and blogs from Roma and for the Roma will accompany this initiative.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Berat, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Korca, Lezha, Shkoder, Tirana, Vlora
Describe the specific community with whom you will be working.
Around 92% of the Roma community in Albania works and lives with waste, in conditions of extreme poverty, racial discrimination, high illiteracy level, ravaged housing, with no water and electricity, with a very limited access in use of social networks. Only 15% of the Roma people who work with waste (according to the IFC study) have received basis information on computer and are potentially familiarized with the internet. Because of our work for many years with the community, we believe that accessing and using online platforms from the Roma will make their voice in the waste problematic, heard.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
Participation of Roma in social networks and activities of this project will bring this problematic to the attention of local citizens and decision-makers, directly influencing in the improvement of living conditions of the Roma community working and living with waste in Albania but not only. It will also influence in the majority populaiton in the creation of a cohesive and democratic society, where human rights and freedom are respected.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established that will contribute to the success of the project.
Our work until now has enabled us to create strong and direct relations with members of the Roma community living and working with waste. Also, partnership with Roma community organizations, recycling business and the communes with Roma community in Albania guarantees us on the success of this project in the long term.
How many participants do you think will be involved in your project?
There will be over 24 members of the Roma community in Albania which will be trained in advance, on building online social networks on waste and encouraging their community to involve in it. The 24 members will enable involvement and access of 7636 Roma community members living and working with waste in online social networks, through informal education stimulation, participation in competitions etc.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
The project will enable the participants in training techniques for the use of information technology, technology tools and content of social media where they will act (media that are most prevalent today in the Europe).Thus the participants will increase their capacity in terms of the use of computer, browser, camera, cellular device, the website which are necessary tools that participants act to represent their context.By means of best practices, participants will be taught to act in social media like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Riciklimi.al. All basic materials expertise that this project will translate in Roma language, offering information in the form of a wider Roma community.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
During the workshops of this project,, we will use 6 computers, 6 digital cameras, 6 mobile devices, 1 video projector, 24 USB for each group of participants or participants in specifically.Internet lines which will be used is 512 KByte / s.These are sufficient technology tools for the realization of seminars and other products of the project.
What is your current relationship with the community with whom you plan to work? What makes you the most appropriate individual or organization to implement this project?
Since 2010, EPER Center has established a program for the support of the Roma community who works with waste.We have realized over 4 projects associated with this community all over Albania, being closely familiar with their problems and situation with which they live.We provide ongoing services to improve the living conditions of the Roma community that works with waste, they oriented towards the formal employment and level access community-based services. Also in November 2012, we have built the only national social media “Riciklimi.al”, where Roma collectors have a special place in this platform.For the above, this project will be complementary and an added value in our work with the Roma community like a model beyond the national context.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
Our main challenge the related to the involvement of a considerable number of (about 7636 individuals) Roma who works with recycling in Albania for the accessing and utilization of online social networking.This would be made possible through the capacity building of 24 community members for information technology (technologies, tools, media) who will be our voice in this purpose.Also the translation of basis information technology / social media in Roma language, will be an additional security to achieve this challenge.Informal education for social networks, stimulus for community members, participating through social media contests, etc., will be other methods that will help the challenge and overcome potential barriers to this project.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
The “Waste in my city” was built with a clear strategy the monitoring and evaluation, of which the philosophy is the quality and the quantity of the actions of Roma working with recyclable waste in Albania will perform in social networks.The project itself will build and use several social networks where not only the participants of the project, but also all the Roma in Central and Eastern Europe can be included in these social networks built by us.All activities and products of the project will be published in these social networks serving at the same time as models in the digital global community involvement of vunerable communities around the world, similar to Roma community in Albania.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2013?
- Publication of the Call for 24 Roma community members participating in the training (June 2013)
– Realization of 3 training sessions with members of the Roma community (July 2013 – August 2013)
– Building of social networking Facebook, Twiter, Google + and Riciklimi.al (July 2013 – August 2013)
– Building photography competition “Roma and Waste Recycling” and their publication in 4 social networks. (August 2013 – December 2013)
– The realization of informative brochures for information technology and social network in Roma language and publish them in social networks. (September 2013 – October 2013)
– Realization of the awareness campaign “Roma, waste and social networks” of the 24 Roma Community for 7636 members of Roma community, that works with waste all over Albania (October 2013 – December 2013).
– The announcement of winners of photography competition “Roma and Waste Recycling” and share prices. (December 2013).
Detail a specific budget of up to $4,000 USD for operating costs.
Payment of Project Coordinator: 6 months x $ 110 = $ 660
Payment of social platforms editor: 4 months x 50 $ = 200 $
Training room for 24 participants: 3 sessions x 90 $ = 270 $
Training materials for 24 participants: 24 participants x 3 $ = 72 $
Payment of trainers: 3 training x 100 $ = 300 $
Cocktail of participants in 3 training sessions: 72 participants x 3.5 $ = 245 $
USB shopping for participants in training: 24 participants x $ 10 = $ 240
Inside trasport interurban for participants in training: 72 participants x 8 $ = 576 $
Payment for Roma language translation experts: 1 product x 400 $ = 400 $
Transport of participants in 9 regions with the Roma community who work with waste for the campaign: 48 participants x $ 5 = 240
Transport of participants in 9 regions with the Roma community who work with waste for the campaign: 48 participants x $ 6 = 288
Payment for the winner of the photography competition: 1 winner x 500 $ = 500 $
Besides the microgrant funding, what other resources and support are you seeking for your project to ensure its success?
Rising Voices may contribute in the dissemination of this project beyond the national event in Albania making this initiative in a model for the Central and Eastern Europe Roma community working and living with waste or minorities throughout the world working and living in difficult conditions through the access in online social networks like forms influencing in the improvement of living conditions and in touching the change.
Contact name
Migena Nako
Organization
Environmental Center for Protection, Education and Rehabilitation (EPER Center)
