Roma Political School

Roma citizens vote, but are almost entirely absent from candidacy, party structures and public debate. Political participation without political preparation stops at the ballot box.

• Strengthen political participation and civic engagement
• Build leadership skills and policy understanding
• Prepare Roma who stand for office, not only vote

• Individual and group mentoring
• Development of impact-oriented strategies
• Electoral campaign simulation
• Case study simulations
• Academic presentations (theory and practice)
• Debate simulations
• Communication and public speaking training
• Field study visits
• Dedicated mentors for each working group

Participants & Outreach

The programme received 24 applications from 11 municipalities. Participants came from diverse educational and professional backgrounds, including vocational education, BA and MA studies, and community work.

• 2 participants worked as community mediators (Rrogozhina and Roskovec)
• Gender balance: 13 women and 11 men
• Main locations: Tirana (7), Pogradec (3), Elbasan (3), Korça (2)

Training Structure

The programme included 6 modules delivered across 27 sessions and a total of 50 training hours.

• Over 21 thematic topics covered
• 16 national and international lecturers and practitioners
• Combination of academic, interactive, and experiential learning methods

Core Training Modules

1. Political Systems & Elections

Political systems, electoral processes, campaigns, and participation of Roma in political life.

2. Roma Political Movement

Identity, history, emancipation, civil society, and minority rights.

3. Leadership & Civic Engagement

Leadership skills, advocacy, mobilisation, women’s empowerment, and artivism.

4. Rule of Law & Democratic Systems

Governance, constitutional principles, justice systems, and EU integration context.

5. Anti-Roma Racism & Media

Hate speech, media representation, digital activism, and cultural narratives.

6. Public Policy & Governance

Policy cycle, participation, good governance, and advocacy tools.

Key Speakers & Contributors

The programme engaged Roma and non-Roma academics, activists, journalists, policy experts, and international practitioners.

Methodology combines individual and group mentoring, electoral campaign simulation, case study work, debate simulation, public speaking training and field study visits, with dedicated mentors throughout.

Programme detail

Roma Political School

The Roma Political School is a structured capacity-building programme aimed at strengthening political participation, civic engagement, leadership skills, and policy understanding among Roma and non-Roma youth in Albania.

Project Description

The Roma Political School is designed as an intensive training programme combining academic learning, practical exercises, and civic engagement tools.

• 21 participants certified (or in final certification stage)
• 6 modules delivered with practical and theoretical components
• 5 working groups created for applied assignments
• Policy brief produced on Roma political representation
• Study visits and field-based learning implemented
• High engagement across all sessions and topics

Practical Assignments

• Electoral campaign simulation
• Social housing policy proposal
• Intersectional discrimination analysis
• Hate speech media analysis
• CSO development and strategy work

Evaluation

Participants provided continuous feedback after each session. Evaluations were generally positive, ranging from good to excellent, with requests for deeper focus on:

• Roma history and genocide (Samudaripen)
• Electoral systems
• Community organising
• Policy cycle and governance