Czech NGO to run accredited course for educators at Museum of Romani Culture

On 24 and 25 November, an accredited course for educators and others involved in education will take place at the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno that will familiarize those attending with the sociocultural specifics of Romani pupils. The course is being implemented by the R-Mosty organization within the framework of its program supporting inclusive education.  

There are still places available on the course. Its aim is to provide teachers and others involved in education (workers at drop-in facilities for children and youth, educational psychological counseling centers, or municipal education departments) who encounter or might encounter Romani pupils with an information service in the form of integrated data about Romani cultural specifics, history and language and the current sitation of some Romani pupils and their parents, as well as examples of good practice.  

As part of the course, space will be created to link this information to the specific experience of the educators and to hold an interactive, open discussion of various related topics. Another component is the presentation of innovative teaching methods using elements of the kinesthetic teaching style which has proven reliable in practice with Romani children.

An important element of the course is its offering of measures that open up the opportunity for better collaboration between schools and Romani families and improve the relationship between Romani pupils, their teachers and the school in general. Participants will receive written background materials (a syllabus) for each block of the course as well as innovative didactic aides such as a bilingual comic book about Romani history, banners featuring world-famous Romani figures, and language banners that encapsulate the typical manifestations of the Romani ethnolect of the Czech language.

An analysis of all these materials during the course will explain how to use them in practice. The course is being implemented in collaboration with the Museum of Romani Culture by the R-Mosty organization, which has been involved in working in socially excluded localities in Prague and the Central Bohemian Region since 1992.

During a five-year period, with the support of the Czech Education Ministry, as many as 300 educators and other workers in the areas of drop-in clubs, educational psychological counseling centers, municipal social departments and social services have attended the R-Mosty accredited course. Featured lecturers are the Romani Studies scholars Mgr. Barbora Šebová, Mgr. Radka Steklá and David Tišer and the director of a primary school in Kopřivnice, Mgr. Vlasta Geryková.  

The two-day course begins at the Museum of Romani Culture on Monday, 24 November at 9 AM and ends at 16:00 (the same hours apply to 25 November). There is no fee and refreshments will be provided.

Those interested can apply by e-mail to adam@r-mosty.cz or by calling 725 345 594 (project manager Adam Pospíšil). More information about the course is available at www.r-mosty.cz.