Roma Versitas Albania · Tirana · Working since 2016
We walk with Roma students from the first classroom to the policy table.
Mentoring, tutoring and scholarships at every stage of education — then into the institutions where decisions about Roma lives are actually made.
How we began
Roma Versitas Albania grew out of a programme, not a plan. From 2014 the RomaVersitas Programme was already mentoring Roma students through university in Tirana. In 2016 that work was constituted as an independent Albanian association so it could hold grants, employ staff and answer for its results in its own name.
- Founded
- 2016programme work from 2014
- Registration
- Decision No. 5347Tirana Judicial District Court, 30.05.2016
- Legal form
- Non-profit associationLaws 8788 & 8789 of 7.5.2001
- Based in
- TiranaAlbania
Education is not charity. It is the route by which a community stops being spoken about and starts speaking.
Roma Versitas Albania
Four pillars, thirteen programmes
The organisation's own framing.
- Pillar 1 Education Support at every stage — from a child's first year of school to postgraduate study. 6 programmes
- Pillar 2 Employment Placing Roma graduates inside the public institutions that shape Roma lives. 2 programmes
- Pillar 3 Participation Roma who do not only vote, but stand for office and shape public debate. 2 programmes
- Pillar 4 Social Inclusion Legal advocacy and cultural work against the prejudice that holds exclusion in place. 2 programmes
Open calls and tenders
Sorted by deadline. Calls close automatically.
What the work looks like
All 13 programmes-
Education
RomaVersitas Program
Retention, academic performance and graduation support for Roma students in tertiary education.
Completed
-
Participation
Roma Political School
Structured capacity-building in political participation, leadership and public policy.
Completed
-
Employment
WinForVET
Vocational education and training routes into employment for young Roma in Albania and Kosovo.
Completed
Policy research · 2025 · Commissioned by RVA
Roma enrolment in vocational school fell by two thirds in a single year.
-
−64%
Roma vocational enrolment fell from 251 students to 91 in a single year.
-
70%
of students report having felt discriminated against at school.
-
61%
have never received career counselling, a service mandated by law.
-
9%
have support from a Roma or cultural mediator, despite standing recommendations.
Work with us
We partner with institutions, universities and civil society across Albania, the Western Balkans and Europe.