Philosophy and mission

Empowerment and mobilization of young Roma

Empowerment and mobilization of young Roma is one of the key priorities in the mission of ternYpe. We want to support the youngsters, as individuals and as a group with all its diversity, to strengthen their identity, to develop their own vision and to realize their dreams. To reach our mission we are searching for new tools to encourage and enable young people to become active citizens, and to influence changes in their communities, as well as in their societies. As an international network we invest our main efforts into the grassroots on local, regional and national level. Capacity-building, self-organization and networking are key tools to make this long-term process sustainable and effective.

Strengthen youth participation! Raising the voice of young people!

We want to raise the awareness for active citizenship of ALL in ONE society. On behalf of “ternYpe” we appeal to politicians and policy makers to put the youth issue on the agenda, to include young people in the decision-making processes, and to strengthen the voice of Roma youth. Having a voice is essential for participation and active citizenship and is necessary to ensure a democratic society regardless of social class, gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. There is a great need to include a youth dimension in the policies and programmes for Roma and in general, which are developed based on a mutual dialogue between young people, policy-makers and public administrations.

The problem of weak youth participation does not affect only the Roma community – it is a social phenomenon present in all European countries. The access of young people to social and political participation is limited and their voice is seldom recognised by those who decide on their future. Youth participation cannot just be channeled through democratic elections and representation, but requires adequate approaches based on the needs of different young people. In the context of Roma youth, these barriers are even more visible.